‘End free parking at shopping centres’

RGData has called for a levy to be imposed on the operators of out-of-town shopping centres as a way of ending the practice of free parking and maintaining fairer competition for town centre retailers.

Appearing before yesterday’s sitting of the Dáil committee on jobs and enterprise, RGData — the main representative body for the independent retail grocery sector — said it was seeking members’ support for national guidelines on car parking. It said retailers in town centres are suffering due to an inequality in parking regimes in built-up areas and out-of-town shopping centres

Director general Tara Buckley said that a paid parking system on all new developments in out-of-town/edge-of-town retail centres should be established, while local authorities should also attempt to address the issue of parking availability and accessibility to shops in town centres.