Mary Portas Praises Swindon 

Government retailing report notes positive car parking initiative  
 

Mary Portas unveiled her independent review of the UK's high streets this week, with a set of 28 recommendations aimed at reviving the country's flagging town centres. 

 

And the retail queen praised Swindon in a case study to illustrate her point on encouraging lower car parking fees.

 

The report said:

 

“In response to concern from retailers, the [Swindon] council took decisive action and reduced short-stay car-parking charges in the three premium-rate ‘pay on foot’ multi-storey car parks and all car parks in Old Town for a fixed period of time.

 

“The revised charging structure encouraged a four-hour stay. Feedback from both retailers and customers was overwhelmingly positive, with many people reporting longer stays and more spend in town.

“The council also reported that interest in letting units was on the increase.”

 

The full report is available to read via the link below.