11 Apr 2025
St Albans MP Daisy Cooper and her Harpenden neighbour Victoria Collins have taken an active role in the row over on-street parking charges following a social media backlash.
The MPs had urged residents to ‘Buy Hertfordshire, Back Britain’ as part of a campaign to support local businesses in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs announced this week.
Daisy said: “I’m urging St Albans residents to get out and show our support for our fantastic local shops, producers and hospitality venues on our high streets. By rallying around businesses at the heart of our St Albans community and economy, we can strengthen our economy and stand up to Trump’s tariffs.”
Victoria added: “With the Government’s jobs tax about to come into force, the flawed business rates system continuing to stifle the growth of brilliant local businesses, and Trump’s trade war now unfolding, our local high streets need our community’s backing more than ever.”
But their campaign saw a major backlash from aggrieved residents angry over SADC’s Liberal Democrat administration for imposing on-street parking charges across the district, which many people feel is having a detrimental impact on local businesses far beyond anything the US President could achieve.
Posting on Victoria’s Facebook page, Rebecca Edwards said: “’Lack of support for local businesses’, you know all about that! No support whatsoever from you for local retailers and residents in Harpenden who are being negatively affected by unnecessary parking charges.”
Penny Swanne added: “You have had the chance to support Harpenden’s local businesses but have shown NO support. Instead SADC run by the Liberal Democrats is systematically killing Harpenden High Street.”
Daisy was told by Ken Edwards: “Not a single mention or recognition about your local council’s ineptitude and incompetence in strangling the High Street with excessive and ineffective parking charges.
“Perhaps spend less time posturing about Trump and more time worrying about things in your locale you can do something about.”
Keith Wright said: “Daisy should really be looking into the scandalous way in which the council has introduced the new parking system throughout the city and beyond. Why are they trying to trap vulnerable people into getting parking fines with a system that’s set up to confuse.”
Parking charges are outside the remit of local MPs, but given the intensity of the comments posted, we felt it necessary to urge both Daisy and Victoria to comment on the ongoing issue.
Daisy said: “Hard-pressed residents and small businesses are facing a perfect storm: the average St Albans employee will be £5,182 worse off by the end of the decade from the ‘jobs tax’, Save St Albans Pubs estimate that an average pub will see a whopping £19,000 extra in business rates costs from April, and energy and food costs show no signs of getting better. These are the issues that dominate my inbox right now.
“Against this background, I completely understand that every extra cost – whether big or small – can add to everyday financial pressures.
“For years, local councils have been starved of resources and powers – meaning they have very few options available to them to balance the books. That’s why St Albans district council – like so many others around the country – are raising parking charges to cover the cost of maintaining those car parks and related enforcement.
“Nobody comes into politics to put up charges but I’m proud that our Lib Dem administration has protected vital services against the odds. As a party we are known for being out and about talking to residents when no other parties bother: we pride ourselves on listening to residents and I’m confident that the council leadership will listen – as they’ve already said they will – to any ideas on how to reform the parking system that is financially viable.”
And Victoria added: “Local residents and businesses are telling me about the difficulties they face as costs continue to rise – making it harder to make ends meet or break even. One local business on Harpenden High Street has even told me that the government’s new ‘jobs tax’ will cost them up to £20,000 more a year. And alongside this, many more have expressed similar worries, also telling me they’re deeply concerned about extortionate rents, business rates cost as well as footfall and turnover. These are all issues we must address, and that I’ve been calling for action on in parliament, whilst also taking action over parking concerns.
“As someone whose mum ran her own gift shop on a high street just like Harpenden, and whose family faced financial difficulty when business got tough – I know that everyday
anxieties like these can be absolutely heartbreaking for the families behind businesses.
“So far as I’ve been campaigning on the issue of parking across the two local councils I cover, it has become depressingly clear how local councils have been stripped of the resources and power needed to properly serve local communities. I even attended a debate in Parliament dedicated to parking fees across the country and heard from many other MPs facing the same issues. Locally, I have however recently written to the council again calling to simplify the process, asking about the feasibility of one-hour free parking, and for a continuous review of the situation for local people and businesses.
“Fundamentally, councils have been left with few financial levers; the district council can’t even put up council tax, and business rates go straight to central government. Even the local Conservatives in Harpenden finally admitted that this was a budgetary issue, and instead proposed to cut face-to-face services and CCTV – whilst shoplifting remains one of the most common crimes in the district.
“Through all of this I have, and will, continue raising these issues on behalf of local people to ensure there’s ongoing monitoring of this situation. I will continue to call on the council to look for financially viable ideas on how to adjust the parking system. I will continue to call on the government and local councils to support our high streets and local businesses.”
Meanwhile, the Harpenden parking charges row has now been picked up by BBC Three Counties Radio, with morning show presenter Andy Collins speaking to campaigner Elaine Bradford, the local businesswoman who has been leading the fight.
She said the impact of the charges was immediate as soon as they were introduced on February 17, with the empty streets recalling the dark days of the pandemic.
“I thought I’d do a quick Facebook survey and expected maybe 30 to 50 responses so I could get a feel for what people were thinking, and I was absolutely overwhelmed when I received 803 responses in 24 hours.”
She highlighted how 77 per cent of those who commented said they were less likely to visit the town because of the charges, and that the half hour free slot was too short to do anything constructive.
Elaine highlighted the response she received from SADC leader Cllr Paul de Kort: “He actually gave an interview to the St Albans Times saying he was going to do all these things for the St Albans district. He said one of his priorities that had learned through the election process was that you can only really find out what needs to happen by talking to a wide range of people. But he’s just not listening.
“He was quoted last week as saying he will look at tweaks, which I’m interested to hear. But I have been messaging him and emailing him since the inception to the point where he’s getting a bit fed up with me, and basically said, ‘Well, who are you? I don’t owe you anything, who are you to demand my time?’
“So I then went to 50 of the most iconic Harpenden High Street businesses and put in a letter to Paul with their signatures, saying we need to have a meeting.”
The show also featured Niki Hackett, landlady of The Oddfellows Arms, who said her lunchtime trade was non-existent and she was about 60 per cent down on takings, with many of her older clientele not having smartphones to pay for parking.
“Nobody’s really that bothered about paying a pound or two pounds or whatever for parking, they just can’t because they don’t have the facilities to do it.”
