With the distinct prospect that from April car parking in Rhuthun will half to 20p for the first hour, there should be even more incentive for town traders to adopt Rhuthun / Ruthin’s win-win suggestion to refund shoppers their first hour, subject to a minimum spend. Terms & conditions would apply etc etc. Click here for the original suggestion.
News of the lower 20p charge broke just before Christmas. Meanwhile, traders are blaming parking costs in the press for a poor Christmas. Is this fair? Let’s unpack the issue.
1. Locals are forsaking Rhuthun for towns with cheaper car parks
That anyone might desert Rhuthun for Yr Wyddgrug/Mold or Cheshire Oaks because parking is cheaper or free is, frankly, a little silly. For an average 1400cc car running on unleaded, at Rhuthun petrol prices, the cost in petrol alone to and from Mold would be at least £2.12. That would rise to £8.65 if all running costs are included. Petrol to Cheshire Oaks would be £6.35. Would you do this to save 70p for two hours’ parking?
2. Shoppers are not visiting Rhuthun from other areas as they once did
This stems from last week’s Free Press article in which Siop Nain’s proprietor wondered why his Wirral customers would ever come to Rhuthun when car-parking charges are so “ludicrous and criminal”. With such varied shopping experiences on their doorstep as Birkenhead, Chester, Liverpool & Cheshire Oaks, Wirral residents are obviously making a deliberate decision to visit Rhuthun (long may that continue). Would car-parking charges really put them off? They may even feel that 70p for two hours represents real value when compared to £1.25 for one hour in central Birkenhead.
We’re not suggesting that parking charges are popular but we do need perspective. The issues Rhuthun and other market towns throughout Wales face are more to do with the search for choice and the rise in internet and out-of-town shopping – even possibly at Tesco’s Rhuthun. Online spending is now 10 per cent of all UK retail sales and the total online spend was predicted to increase by 56 per cent comparing 2005 and 2006.
The trick, then, is to position Rhuthun so that it offers something unique, challenges now echoed throughout this site.
Sources. Fuel economy, Ford official figures for a 1400 petrol Focus (42.8 mpg). Total running costs per mile for the same car, Yahoo.com (37.6p per mile). Mileages, AA. Internet shopping, Total Web Solutions.
News of the lower 20p charge broke just before Christmas. Meanwhile, traders are blaming parking costs in the press for a poor Christmas. Is this fair? Let’s unpack the issue.
1. Locals are forsaking Rhuthun for towns with cheaper car parks
That anyone might desert Rhuthun for Yr Wyddgrug/Mold or Cheshire Oaks because parking is cheaper or free is, frankly, a little silly. For an average 1400cc car running on unleaded, at Rhuthun petrol prices, the cost in petrol alone to and from Mold would be at least £2.12. That would rise to £8.65 if all running costs are included. Petrol to Cheshire Oaks would be £6.35. Would you do this to save 70p for two hours’ parking?
2. Shoppers are not visiting Rhuthun from other areas as they once did
This stems from last week’s Free Press article in which Siop Nain’s proprietor wondered why his Wirral customers would ever come to Rhuthun when car-parking charges are so “ludicrous and criminal”. With such varied shopping experiences on their doorstep as Birkenhead, Chester, Liverpool & Cheshire Oaks, Wirral residents are obviously making a deliberate decision to visit Rhuthun (long may that continue). Would car-parking charges really put them off? They may even feel that 70p for two hours represents real value when compared to £1.25 for one hour in central Birkenhead.
We’re not suggesting that parking charges are popular but we do need perspective. The issues Rhuthun and other market towns throughout Wales face are more to do with the search for choice and the rise in internet and out-of-town shopping – even possibly at Tesco’s Rhuthun. Online spending is now 10 per cent of all UK retail sales and the total online spend was predicted to increase by 56 per cent comparing 2005 and 2006.
The trick, then, is to position Rhuthun so that it offers something unique, challenges now echoed throughout this site.
Sources. Fuel economy, Ford official figures for a 1400 petrol Focus (42.8 mpg). Total running costs per mile for the same car, Yahoo.com (37.6p per mile). Mileages, AA. Internet shopping, Total Web Solutions.
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Parking