The plans to reduce our free parking from one hour to 30 minutes is the thin end of the wedge. Other councils have taken away free parking, so it would be naive to think Hertsmere Council will not do the same in the near future.

I have a copy of the council’s latest core strategy planning policy for town centres and shops and it shows one empty unit in Darkes Lane, whereas there are now ten empty units — it is hopelessly out of date.

Reducing our free time can only make matters worse. The one-hour free parking has been our lifeblood and is absolutely vital. Without it, I doubt whether many of the shops would have survived.

We need support and constructive effort to get people back to the high streets.

Our local shops are good for the community and provide a lot of local employment.

At a recent meeting, when one councillor was asked whether free parking would go in the future, he replied: “It is inevitable. No high street has free parking anymore”.

Therein lies the problem. This is exactly why high streets across the country are dying. How can we ever hope to compete with supermarkets which have free parking?

Until this is addressed by all councils, we will continue to see the demise of our high streets.

There are petitions and names of councillors to contact in shops in Darkes Lane and the High Street.

If you value the shops we have left, then please support our campaign.

Chris Piercy
Elaines Stationers, Darkes Lane, Potters Bar