A TOWN CENTRE salon owner believes Sunday parking charges are killing businesses in Dunfermline.
Debbie Jobson, who runs Hope Hairdressing, has been left saddened that Maygate is now deserted on a Sunday since the fees were introduced.
She took to the Press’ Facebook page to highlight this with a photo showing the empty road last Sunday.
Although her salon isn’t open on a Sunday, her and husband Brian use their day off to catch up on jobs she can’t get done during the week.
“We have owned Hope for 19 years and there have always been loads of cars down by the Abbey and along the Maygate on a Sunday,” she said.
“Since the charges, there have been no cars and no people. It is killing business. Speaking to business owners they feel the same.
“Especially in the Heritage Quarter where we are, it is a place where we would see people parking their cars and going into the Glen or going up for a coffee.
“That was the whole beauty of a Sunday. People could park and do whatever they wanted. The charges make a huge difference and it is really sad.”
Over the years, Debbie said she has enjoyed watching people wander round the heritage quarter but says this doesn’t happen anymore.
“It is just a lovely area where people used to mill about. With the new library, this area has got such potential.
“I know the parking thing is the whole of town and the cafes and stuff up the town are feeling it too.
“A Sunday used to be a great day for the town but to park here for an hour is £1.10 or, if you pay through the app, it is £1.50 – I have relatives in London who don’t pay that on a Sunday. It is an expensive coffee.
“We really need to incentivise people to come into town and free parking is a huge pull for people but everyone is saying they haven’t seen it so quiet.”
When Fife Council agreed in September to introduce Sunday parking charges, depute leader Councillor Lesley Laird said: “With the ongoing significant budget challenges facing all local authorities, we are one of the few councils that hadn’t already introduced parking charges on Sundays and as a council we signed up for this when we approved our budget decisions back in February.
“Parking charges in Fife compare very favourably with neighbouring authorities and in Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy, the private car park operators associated with the shopping centres already charge all day on Sundays.”
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