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10
Mar
‘We want Tesco to flourish in Ripon… but car park rules need to change’
Ripon councillors are to write to Tesco head office calling for the “unfair” parking arrangements at its store in the city to be amended.
Councillor Jackie Crozier told a city council meeting last night (March 9) “a lot of people are very unhappy” about the changes introduced when Tesco replaced Booths at Marshall Way last year.
When Booths existed, customers were entitled to park for free for two hours provided they spent £5 in-store. They could also pay to extend their stay to three hours and parking was free after 6pm.
Now parking is still free for two hours for customers spending £5 in-store, but they can’t stay any longer. Also, the charges are enforced 24 hours a day, which has led to concerns about the impact on Ripon’s nighttime economy, as reported here.
Cllr Crozier, a member of the Independents Putting Ripon Before Party Politics group who represents Spa ward, said she’d received complaints from hairdressers whose customers didn’t have long enough to park at Tesco and the problem was compounded by limited on-street parking in Ripon:
People are struggling to park in Sainsbury’s car park because they are avoiding Tesco car park. We all want Tesco to flourish in our city and we want people to use their car park.
Ripon Business Improvement District has already raised concerns with the Ripon store manager.
Cllr Crozier proposed writing to Tesco head office to “see if we can get this pushed forward”. Her suggestion of extending the parking limit to three hours and returning to free evening parking was unanimously supported.
She said: “That would be fair. We want Tesco to work, and we want our residents and visitors to be able to park.”
Cafe concerns
The car park is run by private management company Horizon Parking on behalf of Tesco.
Cllr Barbara Brodigan, a Liberal Democrat who represents Spa ward, said:
“My understanding is that because Ripon is a city, Horizon is treating it the same as any other city like Newcastle or Manchester which is unfair.”
She claimed Tesco “was not doing as well as they thought they would” because of the parking rules and “it would be in their interests as well as ours that a solution is found”.
Cllr Andrew Williams, leader of the Independents Putting Ripon Before Party Politics group who represents Moorside, said he recently spent £24 in the Tesco café only to discover it didn’t qualify for the £5 required for free car parking because the café operated separately to the store.
He added that on a recent visit at 2pm on a Thursday afternoon the car park was less than a third full, adding:
We need to go back to the system that Booths had because people, particularly elderly people, are very confused indeed about the present arrangements. It is clearly impacting Tesco’s trading position. We can’t afford to have lots of empty spaces on a regular basis.
The Stray Ferret has approached Tesco for comment.
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