24 Jul 2025
Harpenden businesses have refuted suggestions by SADC leader Cllr Paul de Kort that they are in any way happy with the on-street parking charges in the town.
And they have urged him to actually speak to retailers to find out how they really feel.
Speaking at last week’s Full Council meeting, Cllr de Kort told councillors: “There’s certainly many people in Harpenden who have changed their mind quite considerably about the parking charges. An awful lot of businesses have said to me, ‘well, I thought it was going to be difficult and I opposed it, but now, actually, I haven’t noticed a difference’.
“Others said it’s been much better. I can see some councillors in my group nodding because they’ve had the same experience, particularly people who work in business.
“Also, residents have said the same. Many have said, ‘I now come in and shop in the centre because I can find a parking space’.”
Councillors also heard there were no further plans to consult with Harpenden residents about the charges.
A team from the St Albans Times pounded the pavements of Harpenden to speak to businesses about whether they had changed their minds about the parking charges and were now in favour.
Matt from Okka brasserie said: “Of course we’re not happy. We’ve still got the same problems. Our customers are complaining about it and saying it’s so expensive. Obviously before it was so easy to park. Our weekends are the same but takings for weekdays are down around 10 to 15 per cent.”
Barran Ozgur, manager of Bru and Cru, said he totally disagreed with suggestions that the situation had calmed down: “People are still not happy with it but many have now given up trying to get it changed. It’s affected everyone, our takings are down probably 20 to 30 per cent compared to before the parking charges, especially on weekends. I think it’s the same everywhere though.”
Andy and Sean, who work in Brad & Dills but travel in from Hitchin, said they couldn’t speak on behalf of the businesses, but could comment as employees who work in the town.
“It’s a big issue for staff parking. You have to park further and further out of town now, and if you absolutely peg it it’s a seven minute walk, but what happens when people want parking restrictions on their road?
“The kind of people who work on a high street, like ourselves, tend to be people on less money, so it’s effectively a tax on them to park nearby. If we want to park in Sun Lane just around the corner, they only charge for parking between 10-12, but that’s £5.50, which is almost half an hour’s wage. That really adds up, especially if you work five days a week.
“Why can’t the council provide parking for employees, or a permit that gives a discount? Support for local employees is just as important as supporting the customers.”
Paul Geary, owner of Friends hair salon, said their customers are still finding the app difficult to navigate: “It’s still not working properly and it’s still really complicated. Our clients now tend to get dropped off a lot more, or they walk into town instead of parking.”
Fiona Thomas, owner of Oui boutique, said her customers are in more of a rush since the charges were introduced: “Our returns rate has gone up because people aren’t necessarily trying things on anymore. They’re coming in, grabbing items and saying if it’s not right they’ll come back.
“People are still really confused as well. I saw an elderly lady pull up across the road and I asked her if she’d registered for her free parking, but she had no idea about doing it, so I think many people just don’t realise. They see ‘free half hour’ and don’t understand about inputting the code.
“One day I had to go into the Post Office on my day off, and when I inputted the top code the app said it wasn’t valid anymore, but the bottom code charged me £1.75 even though I only wanted half an hour.
“Sometimes you get charged, sometimes you don’t get the free half hour, sometimes it’s more expensive. I don’t think I’ve ever been charged the correct amount. Once I was charged £5.45 which should never be the case with the free half hour.”
She disputed any suggestions that the situation had improved: “Genuinely I haven’t heard any businesses saying, ‘oh yeah I was vehemently against it and now I love it’, they’re all still against it.”
Denise Hancock works in Swanne Boutique, which has introduced Thursday evening openings to get around the parking charges.
She said: “It’s appalling. A lady came in this morning saying there wasn’t any mobile reception outside so how could she download the app?
“As far as we’re concerned, people are clock-watching all the time and don’t have time to try anything on. It’s just not working at all.”
Donna Browne, manager of the Silver Palate, was shocked to hear claims the parking system was working: “They’re absolutely off their heads, nobody agrees it’s a good thing. I had customers in the other day and they added their 30 minutes, but they were slightly over and so the attendant gave them a ticket. They’re militant, the inspectors, they don’t let you get away with anything at all.
“Not one person from the council has come and spoken to us about it. We’re still running an offer to refund customers up to £2.50 when two or more people eat a meal in the restaurant because it really does impact on people.”
Barrie Woolston, owner of Molasses House art gallery in Station Road, said he’s not been approached by Cllr de Kort, any other district councillors, or any representatives from SADC.
He had a blunt response when told how Cllr de Kort was claiming many businesses had changed their mind about the charges: “Bollocks. Nothing’s changed. Buying a piece of art is a considered purchase, so it takes a while to explain about the artist and so on, but after 25 minutes people are saying, ‘I’m really sorry, I’ve got to go’, so you’ve got to start all over again if they come back.
“It’s not like a restaurant where you can just knock the parking charges off the bill!”
Chris Pierce, manager of The George pub, highlighted another impact of the parking restrictions.
“People can’t really stay in here as long as they used to. They’ve got to be out of here within an hour and a half or two hours, which is such a quick turnaround for us it’s putting pressure on the kitchen.
“For people to be able to get back to their cars in time we have to get food out much quicker than the kitchen would like to.”
Lara Wares, owner of Threads gift shop, said: “I haven’t been asked, or commented to Cllr de Kort, or anyone else from the council, and I haven’t heard of anyone who has.
“I do think being able to find a parking space more easily has been positive but that could easily have been achieved by just enforcing the previous free parking time restrictions.
“The negative impact of the parking charges include that the vast majority of people are now spending only 30 minutes or less in the town centre which is terrible for the local economy, and that the older generation are finding it hard to access the town centre which I find very sad – I would urge SADC to address urgently.”
Elaine Bradford, who has been leading a retailer-driven campaign against the charges in Harpenden – including sending a letter opposing the fees signed by 50 local businesses – also responded to Cllr de Kort’s comments: “He has not been in touch with me as the author of the letter on behalf of the 50 retailers and is steadfastedly refusing to meet with us to discuss anything to do with parking. So I’m not sure who he is getting his feedback from.
“What he is saying is not in step either with my last survey either, where it is clear that the majority of people are not in favour of the parking changes and a sizeable percentage are still staying away and/or going to other locations where parking is free or there is more time for them to get things done.
“What hard evidence does he have? If this is true then I challenge him to name retailers he has spoken to and provide us with hard evidence that it is working for anyone other than SADC.”
We also spoke to regular shoppers in the town, Gillian and John Thornton.
“We bought one of those very expensive parking permits, but for our friends there is still a lot of confusion. You can come here at certain times of the day and it’s virtually empty – everybody I know avoids using the machines because they’re not very reliable and they’re confusing.
“We went to Lussmanns the other day and there was a lady outside who was trying to use the app to pay. She was entering in the numbers and the app wasn’t working and there is obviously no assistance. So, the system is flawed, or can be flawed, so there is a lot of frustration.
“I also encountered a couple who didn’t live in Harpenden over by the Cross Keys who were asking where the machine was and how it worked and so on. They got so befuddled with it they went off and went to Amenbury Lane, and they said ‘oh we don’t think we’ll come here again’.”
District councillor Matt Cowley, leader of SADC’s Conservative group, said: “In the space of a year, the Lib Dems have gone from a 1,500 vote lead across Harpenden to a 600 vote deficit – as a direct result of bringing in parking charges on our High Street. If Cllr De Kort thinks that’s evidence that people in Harpenden support the parking charges, then the people of Harpenden will have to send him another message at the ballot box next May. Our town deserves better than this ideological crusade against our businesses and residents.
“The Lib Dems’ excuses for bringing in parking charges are crumbling around them – the latest evidence of that came at Full Council. Despite claims of mass illegal parking to justify the charges, new figures show that the Lib Dem parking enforcement team managed to issue less than two PCNs per hour in Harpenden last year. Either there was an illegal parking problem and the Lib Dems weren’t up to the job of tackling it; or their claims don’t hold water. What a mess.
“The Lib Dem leader says he believes in evidence-based decision-making. I agree. The evidence is that he’s running a failing administration – and we’re paying the price. It’s time that changed.”
Town councillor Richard Scott, who has actively supported local businesses in Harpenden by campaigning against the charges, had the final word on Cllr de Kort’s comments.
“A recent survey revealed that a staggering 87 per cent of British people trust politicians not very much or not at all.
“In this context it is critical that those elected to serve their communities, including St Albans district councillors, tell the truth and act in good faith.
“In response to Cllr Paul de Kort’s recent statement to SADC that many people and businesses in Harpenden have changed their mind quite considerably about the parking charges, I think it is incumbent upon Cllr De Kort to clarify exactly how many people and businesses in Harpenden he believes have changed their mind on SADC’s unwanted parking charges and how he would know this anyway, given that he and his council have refused to meet with the 50 leading Harpenden businesses that wrote to him in April expressing their concern and asking to meet with SADC on this matter.
“We know that the charges introduced by Cllr de Kort and his ally, Cllr Helen Campbell, were imposed on Harpenden without any democratic mandate and in the face of huge opposition from Harpenden residents and local businesses. ”The right course of action now is for SADC to start listening sincerely to Harpenden and to increase the initial free period from 30 minutes to one hour.”
SADC has confirmed that the single-code modification to the app has been developed, tested and is working, but around 90 new signs need to be installed before it goes live, which might take a couple of weeks.
All four main networks have also been tested for signal strength, but if there are drop-outs then customers are advised to pay through a different means.
