The overwhelming amount of comments received from shoppers by See and Do Sudbury, the Best of Sudbury and the local press support the Save Free Parking in Sudbury campaign. They oppose any charges whatsoever being imposed (…)
in Sudbury and confirm that they will be less inclined to use the town if there is no long 3 hours free parking. Sam Bawden, Town Team Chairman said “The resounding opposition to charging for the first three hours of car parking is overwhelming. There has been a very clear response and we hope that this message will get through to Babergh District Council and that the immense damage that this would cause will be recognised. Businesses in the town need a stable future to allow for growth and investment and anything that holds back or damages the town can hardly be in the interests of the local authority. Jobs and the wellbeing of the population are reliant on a thriving town centre. We hope that strong support for the campaign to resist the possible changes to charging will ensure that changes are avoided and that a long term commitment to the town centre will be received from Babergh District Council.”
Some of those responding mention the fact that they have moved to Sudbury and have seen what the introduction of Car Parking Charges have done to other towns. Predictably people then went to the bigger towns nearby which had more to offer and their local small town centre died. Nobody wants to see this happen to Sudbury and people have made the point that local Babergh councillors should listen to the views of local people.
Other comments which have been received from shoppers who live nearer to other towns but decide to shop and spend leisure time in Sudbury. Although living nearer to other towns they decide to come to Sudbury because it is a lovely town which covers all their needs and what makes it popular is the fact that it is so easy to pop in and park for free. Shoppers who have left comments said that they are actively put off going to Colchester, Ipswich and Bury St. Edmunds because of the cost of parking the car.
If you would like to leave a comment, please do so here or to see previous comments at https://seeanddosudbury.co.uk/community-news/10154/ and https://seeanddosudbury.co.uk/community-news/save-free-parking-in-sudbury/