Ahead of Small Business Saturday, and as a means of assisting local traders, the Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy – Janet Finch-Saunders MS – has written to the Leader of Conwy County Borough Council, Councillor Charlie McCoubrey, to urge the local authority to review its Christmas parking charge plans “as a means of encouraging more people to visit and spend in our town centres.”
Denbighshire, Gwynedd, and Ynys Môn are among the local authorities who are offering concession periods in their owned-and-operated car parks, at various times over the festive period. At present, Conwy County Borough Council is one of only two local authorities in the region to not offer a county-wide Christmas parking concession period in its Council-operate car parks.
Commenting on her letter, Janet said:
“The Christmas trading period is incredibly important for our home-grown, small and medium sized businesses. However, at present, Conwy is only one of two local authorities in North Wales who are set not to offer a county-wide Christmas parking concession.
“Elsewhere in North Wales, local authorities have taken proactive steps to ensure that residents and visitors are enticed to spend their hard-earned money in support of local businesses. I am concerned that this may place our towns at a disadvantage when trying to entice shoppers to our high streets.
“How our homegrown businesses have successfully bridged the challenge of the pandemic is a testament to their resilience, innovation and optimism. Ahead of Small Business Saturday, I was most pleased to ask the local authority to reconsider their Christmas parking plans so that we may support them further.”
Small Business Saturday is a grassroots, non-commercial campaign, which highlights small business successes and encourages consumers to ‘shop local’. This year’s campaign, marking its ninth year, will take place on Saturday 4th December 2021. It is hoped that we may surpass the success of last December, which saw 15.4 million people taking part across the United Kingdom, spending a record £1.1 billion.
ENDS
Photo: Janet Finch-Saunders MS visiting local businesses.
