THE ENNISKILLEN business community has voiced its anger after the Council unilaterally decided to raise car parking charges in the town.
At a meeting of the Council’s environmental services committee earlier this month, councillors agreed to scrap the current three-hour stay policy and replace it with an hourly pay system.
Currently motorists pay 40p for three hours to park at Quay Lane South and Shore Road West car parks. The new system will see this rise to 40p per hour.
Speaking at the meeting, council director of environment and place, John News, said the changes were made to align with a policy that had lapsed over Covid.
Cllr Roy Crawford, who represents Enniskillen, raised concerns about the impact of the rise in charges on local businesses.
“Raising parking charges can reduce customer footfall, impact local sales, push shoppers to out-of-town shopping centres or online shopping, and increase costs for employees,” said Cllr Crawford.
“This may lead to a decline in town centre trade, which is my concern at this stage.”
Cllr Dermott Browne, who also represents Enniskillen, said he agreed with the need to regularise parking charges, but said better communication was needed between the Council and the public.
“Communication is crucial,” he said. “People can accept small changes when there is clear engagement between the council, businesses, and shoppers. We must ensure that people have enough time to adjust.”
The motion was proposed by Cllr Debbie Coyle and seconded by Cllr Dermott Browne.
Now, Enniskillen BID – which represents the business community in the town – confirmed to the ‘Herald that it had submitted a written objection to the decision. Omagh Chamber of Commerce has also raised strongly objected to the plan.
The BID objection noted a lack of consultation with local business groups, that it was based on an outdated strategy from 2018, that it could harm the town centre and that it could harm businesses without actually improving parking provision in the town.
The objection also noted that won centre budgets had been reduced, with the removal of the Halloween fireworks from the Council calendar.
“Then to seek additional income from parking was a further blow for the town centre,” said a BID spokesperson.
They added, “Enniskillen BID works hard to promote Enniskillen as a place to stay and enjoy the great variety of shops, cafes, bars and lifestyle businesses that we have in abundance.
“To listen to discussion with council chamber centred around people just wanting to stay for an hour and quickly leave is not good for the promotion of our town.”
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