Traders are blaming a hike in York car park charges for a sudden drop in sales – but the council says the city’s economy is still thriving.
The differing viewpoints came in a wide ranging debate on the impact of the big increase in parking charges implemented in April.
City of York Council brought in revised rates last week after a backlash over the changes which saw some car park prices go up by 500%.
But the increases are still significant – and have hit businesses in the pocket, says Phil Pinder, chair of York High Street Forum.
He told the full council meeting on Thursday that York has seen a year-on-year decline in monthly retail sales for the first time since the pandemic.
Sales have dropped by more than ten per cent this June compared to the same month last year.
“Shoppers are not travelling by other means. They are travelling elsewhere,” he said.
And he also noted that the number of residents shopping in the city had declined by 2.5% in the year to date, while visitor shoppers were up.
“Locals are staying away. Visitors are filling the gap. That’s not sustainable, not for all the businesses are in York. And surely this was not the intended consequence of councillors to create a city centre solely for tourists.
“This isn’t just about numbers, it’s about the soul of our city. The High Street is where community meets commerce.
“If we want to continue to price out our own residents, we risk turning York into a pace people visit but no longer want to live in.”
Talking York down
But Cllr Kate Ravilious, the Labour-run council’s transport spokesperson, said data including for footfall and shop vacancy rates showed York’s economy was performing well despite parking charge hikes.
There was an almost 18,000 year-on-year increase in footfall on Parliament Street and Micklegate between May 2024 and this year, the council says.
And the Centre for Cities puts the latest estimated vacancy rates in York at 5.9 per cent of units compared to a UK average of 9.2 per cent.
Cllr Ravilious said: “It’s disappointing to hear people talking York down, we’re bucking the trend and the city’s doing really well.
“There’s no point in putting more buses on for them to get stuck in traffic, we have to address both in combination.
“We need to see how these new changes will play out and support the city.”
The council’s Labour administration has defended the hikes saying they are needed to help meet the aim of cutting car use in York by a fifth by 2030.
It says car use needs to be discouraged to help cut congestion and free up roads for other modes of transport.
Cllr Emily Nelson, Labour ward member for Westfield, said her husband’s bus journey from Foxwood to the council’s West Offices HQ that morning had taken 55 minutes due to traffic.
The councillor said: “It seems baffling to me that we’d be fighting to encourage people to drive to Micklegate for 30 minutes even though it benefits businesses there when it harms the wider city.”
Half hour rates championed
Meanwhile City of York Council is to look into the costs of restoring half-hour rates removed in April and their potential impact on congestion, following a vote at the meeting.
Liberal Democrat economy lead Cllr Ashley Mason put forward the motion. He said the council should bring back the half-hour rate to help businesses already struggling due to National Insurance hikes and US tariffs.
He added the council should have looked at wider parking provision in the city and work to improve public transport before hiking charges.
Cllr Mason said: “We all support efforts to reduce congestion and improve public transport but we shouldn’t do it before we’ve built an alternative and not at the expense of people’s livelihoods.”
He also insisted that city centre footfall had dropped by 90,000 from May and June in 2024 to May and June this year – saying that “isn’t a drop off, it’s a cliff edge”.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Christian Vassie, of Wheldrake ward, said the hikes hit people who had no choice but to drive from York’s villages to access services unavailable closer to them.
The councillor said: “I take three 7kg boxes of books from Wheldrake to Bishopthorpe Road to deliver them to Amazon, I can’t cycle with these.
“There’s no places where I can do that in Wheldrake, we need to find a way for the villages and the city to share a common strategy.”
Conservative group leader Cllr Chris Steward said expecting people to use Park and Rides to travel to Micklegate was hope over reality.
The councillor said: “I get my hair cut in Micklegate and I’d pay to park for half an hour but that’s a trip I’m less likely to take with these higher rates.”
Additional reporting: Joe Gerrard, Local Democracy Reporter