Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Traders fear parking charge rise from £2.80 to £6 will kill off shops
Traders in Harringay have hit out at parking charge hikes which they warn could spell the death of their high street by “driving away” potential customers. Shoppers will now have to shell out £6 to park for up to two hours on the stretch of Green Lanes next to the Harringay Ladder, and business-owners say the increase from £2.80 imposed by Haringey Council is already costing them dearly.
Clive Disney, 49, of Disney’s furniture shop, a family business which has been based in Grand Parade since 1913, told the Advertiser: “People are going to pull up to the meter, see the charge of £6 and drive off.
“This is going to have a really big impact, especially in the current trading situation. If times were good, it is something we would fight anyway but so many businesses are really struggling at the moment.
“Already we get so many people ringing up for a quote because they say they passed by and couldn’t find a parking meter or it was too expensive to stop.
“The trading estate is just up the road and it is free to park up there. We are supposed to compete on an even basis with those shops but it’s impossible.
“Once we have got the customers in the shop we can hopefully impress them with our service and the more personal experience of shopping at an independent, family-run shop like ours, but if we can’t get them in in the first place we don’t stand a chance.”
Shefik Mehmet, chairman of the Harringay Traders’ Association, called an emergency meeting of traders on Tuesday afternoon to address the issue.
He said: “I get calls every day from traders reporting back from their customers about parking problems. We are being classed the same as the Wood Green shopping centre area which is ridiculous. “This is going to make things very difficult for business-owners and we are going to see more shops closing.”
Councillor Nilgun Canver, cabinet member for neighbourhoods at the council, said that the rise in parking charges was the first since 2008.
“Careful consideration was given to the impact of the increased costs, and the changes were introduced in April following a consultation period, including a survey of visitors to the area,” she said.
“The popularity of Green Lanes as a shopping area means that demand for parking is very high. We hope that the new charges will encourage a turnover of use – discouraging drivers from taking spaces for too long and allowing more shoppers to visit the area, which will be of benefit to traders.”
Story from Haringey Advertiser
Tags for Forum Posts: high street parking, high streets
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Anette on
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@ Alice, why should locals spend money on goods they clearly do not want? Just to keep shops they're not interested in in business? Makes no sense..
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Permalink Reply by KP on
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We're not "whinging" Alice. We are saying that there's nothing that makes us want to spend our money there. If local traders start catering to our needs/wants then we might start spending money there. Otherwise we will shop elsewhere - simple!
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Permalink Reply by Hugo Read on
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So if I were to open a quality Wine Merchants on Green Lanes (seriously), that stocked:
- good quality wine at fair prices
- wine at a range of price points, but not bargain basement (ie £6 and up)
- highlighting small producers that you won't find in supermarkets
- probably focussing on Italian wine, but certainly not exclusively
- probably having a small Italian deli counter as well, selling some quality cheese and meats and with a coffee machine, but not definitely
...would you all buy wine from me and not Sainsbursy or online?
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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I think if you got the range of pricing points right Hugo, it could work. Would there be any value a monthly subscription option - a local version of a wine club with events tacked on.
And I've just the premises for you. ;o)
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Premises looks interesting Hugh. I was actually thinking of the empty lot(s) on the corner of Pemberton Road, as that's my road. I fancy that commute!
I would certainly do it in conjunction with a wine club, events, an online shop and various other elements (like possibly an attached mini-deli). You can't make it work by just having a shop, sitting in it and hoping to make a living from passing trade.
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Green Lanes would certainly be higher visibility for passing trade!
My suggestion was somewhat tongue in cheek, but I half wondered whether there might be some value in being colocated with a great venue.....(and then of course there's the historical link that appeals to me).
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Permalink Reply by Mr Growbag on
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I like the idea, Hugo. Think there's a niche for a good/unusual wine shop. There was once a Threshers here but it closed down in 2008 - I imagine from supermarket competition - but if a wine shop offered something different (specialist, knowledgeable service, cheese(!), tastings, wine club etc) it might work. Would do my best to support it, if, as Hugh says, it was pitched right on products and price.
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Permalink Reply by Danzigger on
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Me too. I often go to Baldwins, the butchers on Green Lanes because they offer a service that you don't get in the supermarket - good advice, specialist cuts and unusual produce. I'm happy to pay higher prices to get that level of expertise. Go ahead Hugo - if you build it, they will come....
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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The added-value customer focussed approach described by Hugo Read seems very similar to that of the Big Green Bookshop in Brampton Park Road, Wood Green. Have all HoL members living nearby taken a look in the shop and considered signing-up for their newsletter about events and offers?
'Every little helps' if we really want to keep independent stores.
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Permalink Reply by Peter L. Bailey on
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Hugo if you chucked in some decent beers/ales to go with the decent vino then I'd be in and out like a yo-yo :-)
...an increasingly wonky yo-yo...
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Permalink Reply by Alison P on
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I would too Hugo, but remember Oddbins ... Lots of what you are saying addresses things they didn't, but their main problem seems to have been being squeezed by the supermarkets and all their bogof and the wine warehouses. Wouldn't that be an issue here too?
(Am writing with experience having just seen my brother made redundant from Oddbins).
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