29 Sep 2025
Harpenden Town Council is considering commissioning a third party market research firm to survey local residents and retailers about the impact of on-street parking charges.
Town clerk Carl Chivers has already written to SADC seeking a review the current policy ahead of the start of SADC’s September budget-setting process given the concerns about the negative impact it is having on local businesses, with a view to developing an alternative approach that sees an increase in the free parking period for limited waiting bays to 60 minutes.
To help inform this review, HTC is considering commissioning a survey from a research company to understand how local residents and businesses have been impacted by the charges. This would take place in October and November and report back to HTC in December, prior to being submitted to SADC for consideration in their review of charges.
In ploughing ahead with the scheme, which was introduced in February, district councillors ignored overwhelming local opposition from residents and retailers alike.
Out of the 1,199 individual responses received during last year’s public consultation, 95 per cent were in opposition to SADC’s proposals, with the majority saying they feared a negative impact on local businesses.
SADC leader Cllr Paul de Kort has suggested that most people are happy with the on-street parking charges in the town.
