Joe Robertson, Member of Parliament for Isle of Wight East, has today (09/12/24) called on the Isle of Wight Council to freeze parking fares following Small Business Saturday last weekend (07/12/24).
The Council will look to set parking charges as part of the next Budget round, which is due to be decided in February.
Following Mr Robertson's intervention last year, when he was serving as the Chair of the Council's Corporate Scrutiny Committee, the Council reversed its proposal to increase charges after several years of successive increases.
He is now calling on the Council to do the same for this coming year.
On Saturday, Mr Robertson visited some small businesses across the East Wight including the Yarbridge Inn at Brading.
He heard of the challenges facing small business owners including how the growing cost of parking put people off visiting the high street and instead shopping online or at the big supermarkets.
The call comes following the new Government’s decision to increase employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs), which will make it harder for small and medium-sized businesses to stay afloat.
Joe Robertson MP said:
“Small businesses drive the Island economy, with over 99% of our businesses in East Wight being SMEs employing local people and investing in our communities.
“We should make it easier, not harder, to set up and run small businesses on the Island.
"The Government’s decision to increase employer NICs will mean fewer jobs and make it harder for small businesses to get by driving up costs.
“That’s exactly why I am calling on the Isle of Wight Council to play its part by freezing parking fares, helping to make it more affordable for local people to visit our shops and high streets.
"For too long, parking charges have been seen as an easy way of increasing Council revenue with little regard to the wider cost to our local economy.”
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