Negative view (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Negative view

9:00am Saturday 23rd June 2012 in Letters

ON the topic of reasons why Evesham town centre is on the decline.

Recently I read this response – ‘Evesham has no more empty shops than other comparable towns’.

Oh, so that’s all right then.

Evesham centre is only dying at the same rate as others. How negative.

The cost of parking is a major factor, especially since the increase in charges. Drivers queue for spaces in the two-hour free parking at the Co-Op while the Oat Street car park is 50 per cent empty.

Unless councillors have the wisdom to allow two hours of free parking during the period when Hampton Bridge is replaced, I am afraid more shops will be closing as even more shoppers go out of town or elsewhere.

Festivals and so on may create a temporary boost in trade, but our town centre shopkeepers require consistency, and in order to survive that means customers on a regular basis.

M STOWE, Mickleton