17 Feb 2025
Parking attendants were out in droves to take advantage of Monday’s introduction of the much-derided on-street parking charges in Harpenden town centre.
With the exception of the first half hour, it is no longer free to park despite arguments put forward by retailers, residents and town councillors calling on SADC not to press ahead with the proposals.
The new payment meters were causing problems by 9.10am.
One lady was almost in tears trying to work out the new machine. At first she couldn’t get it to work but then she was puzzled by the 10p charge for her “free” half hour.
Leah Rowland said: “This morning has been so stressful. I had to download an app. Then it’s charged me 10p. It’s a bit confusing as you think you’ve done something wrong.
“If the money is going to the council then I suppose that is fair enough as they do need the money but I hope they spend it on the right things.
“One thing I can never understand in this whole furore is why they don’t take the station car park back as they could make lots from that surely?”
Two workmen who parked their van outside Silver Palette found the sticker to tell them how to park was missing from the sign.
Construction workers James and John Smith usually sit in a café somewhere in town to eat between jobs in the area but now they don’t think they will.
James said: “We are p***ed off. We used to come here to eat and support local cafés but there isn’t a way of parking now, it seems, without having your pants pulled down.
“They make it increasingly difficult for people – look at that sticker – only half of it has been applied to the sign.”
Local resident Debbie, who didn’t want her last name used, said she feels there was no proper consultation by the district council: “It was just a given really, the charges.”
Asked if the added expense will put her off coming into Harpenden she said: “No. I’ve still got to do what I’ve got to do so I will just have to pay for it.
“But I feel sorry for the shopkeepers and the older people who will find it hard.”
Nikki Simpson, who works in Serena Hart gift shop, is often picked up by her husband so they can go for a meal or to the supermarket.
“It will be annoying now without that free hour for us to leave the car after I finish work. It’s very inconvenient. We won’t be bothered to pay to park. We will just go somewhere else.”
Local resident Peter Anthony. who lives in a village near Harpenden. said: “This is my nearest place to come to a chemist, a supermarket or takeaway. It’s really offputting… the thought of having to pay to park for longer than half an hour. It’s a hassle.
“Half an hour might be long enough to do what I need to but if there is a delay in the pharmacy or something, that will be very stressful. One of the things I liked about living here was that I could pop up here for a short time and not worry about paying.”
Redbourn resident Nigel Gardner, the Conservative candidate in last year’s General Election, says he likes to support local businesses: “It’s a sad day – and not just for Harpenden’s hard working high street traders and our local economy.
“Everyone – from our young mums to our pensioners – will find their daily lives harder as a result of the council’s actions.
“St Albans council have simply not listened. It’s hard to come to any other conclusion than their officials are ideologically motivated – with little understanding of what makes Harpenden tick.”
Usually notable by their absence, at least three parking attendants were patrolling Harpenden in a bid to catch out anyone who had failed to realise the charges were in place.
But as the day progressed, it became increasingly obvious that motorists were boycotting the town, with dozens of vacant spaces which would normally be full.
Resident John Talbot gave a scathing summary of the situation: “Well the combined council voted for it, the weak-minded politicians failed to oppose it, preferring to think of their political careers rather than oppose the imposition of parking charges on the streets of Harpenden.
“This is a sad day indeed for the once thriving, once busy town of Harpenden, as between 12pm and 1pm today, a normally exceedingly busy time, more than half of the available spaces were not occupied,
“Immediately the traders will be affected and will have noticed a fall in trade already. Harpenden felt like a ghost town!
“Councillors, if you voted for this or even abstained, you only have one honourable course of action and that is to resign your seat with immediate effect.”
Harpenden town councillor Richard Scott, who has fought against the charges for months, said: “SADC continue to add insult to injury to Harpenden’s residents and retailers with Monday’s botched and poorly-communicated implementation of their unwanted High Street parking charges.
“I have been in touch today with several of our independent retailers, each of whom has noticed significant declines in footfall. Moreover the much-touted ‘free 30 minutes’ isn’t free at all, but subject to admin fees, further deterring shoppers and visitors from our High Street.
“Local Facebook groups are ablaze with Harpenden residents objecting to the SADC parking charges. And they have every right to be, as SADC chose to impose these charges without Harpenden’s consent and without even bothering to put them to a vote at the district council.
“As a Harpenden Lib Dem who has volunteered hundreds of hours campaigning to get local councillors and our MP elected, it is incredibly upsetting to see our hard-won local reputation shredded in a matter of months by these greedy and damaging SADC parking charges.
“We have critical county council elections coming up in May. I am deeply worried about the impact of the SADC parking charges on local voters and our ability to motivate our local volunteers. I fear that Harpenden’s excellent Lib Dem county council candidates will pay a heavy price for the hubris, greed and authoritarianism of the St Albans Liberal Democrats.”
