Glasgow City Council has postponed the implementation of extending Glasgow’s parking charges to 10pm which had been proposed for the 2024-27 budget. Susan Aitken said that the extension was under review having listened to businesses.
The move follows a meeting held on Tuesday last week which saw the leaders of Glasgow’s business representative groups, industry bodies and hospitality workers’ union joining forces to call on Glasgow City Council’s Leader Susan Aitken to reconsider the proposed 10 pm parking charges. In an unprecedented move, thirteen organisations and businesses including the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the Scottish Hospitality Group (SHG), Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and Unite Hospitality also penned a joint letter expressing grave concerns over the potential repercussions of the council’s plan on businesses and hospitality workers citywide which they delivered today.
The collective plea followed a recent survey conducted by FSB and SHG which showed 97 per cent of the respondents across Glasgow fear that the proposed 10 pm parking charges would be detrimental to their business.
While acknowledging the immense financial pressure facing the Glasgow City Council, the joint letter highlights the extremely challenging trading conditions for hospitality businesses in the city and the potential adverse effect on the safety of workers and customers. It also warns that the proposed parking charges could lead to a loss of hundreds of jobs in bars, restaurants, theatres and nightclubs and potential closures of many otherwise viable businesses throughout the city.
Stephen Montgomery, director of the Scottish Hospitality Group said, “We welcome this announcement as a starting point but we need this policy taken off the table completely to allow the return of consumer and business confidence. We are always ready and willing to discuss how we help to regenerate our city centres, but we must focus on how we restore a proper reliable public transport system, rather than continually hitting our consumers, businesses and workers with a second tax for parking after LEZ.”
Michael Bergson, owner of Bucks Bar told the Dram, “I’m absolutely delighted, it’s fantastic news. The operators in the city centre are elated and relieved at the news as it was going to be a disaster.
“The fact is though, postponing it is not good enough. We need a cast iron guarantee that these charges and anything past 6pm will not apply anywhere in the city to a single parking space.
“Thats the only thing we’ll accept and I’m just glad that everyone involved such as the Scottish Hospitality Group, the Scottish Beer and Pub Association, Scottish Nighttime Industries Association, the Chamber of Commerce and everyone else came together to keep up the pressure against this ridiculous idea.”
An NTIA Scotland Spokesperson said, “The Night Time Industries Association Scotland welcomes Glasgow City Council’s decision to postpone the evening parking charges policy that would significantly burden our night time economy. This move comes as a huge relief to our sector, which is already facing an immensely challenging trading environment.
“We are hopeful that the reversal of this policy marks a first step towards Glasgow Council becoming more responsive to the concerns of businesses, consumers and workers as well as supporting the vitality of our night time economy and culture.
“We extend our sincere appreciation to the Council for their reconsideration and swift action. This decision marks a positive step forward, and we look forward to continued collaboration to address the significant additional obstacles that recent policy decisions have created, and to work together in rebuilding a vibrant night time economy in Glasgow.”