
Car parking fees in council-run car parks are likely to be frozen this year, it has been revealed at a meeting of local businesses.
Councillor Gina Dowding broke the news to business owners during a meeting called because many firms continue to struggle during the cost of living crisis.
Julie Shaw, owner of Simply Baby shop in the city centre, told the Indivision meeting on Friday that the cost of car parking is "the biggest gripe with customers walking through the door".
In response, Councillor Dowding, Lancaster City Council's cabinet member for climate action, said: "We are not putting up parking charges this year, unless something bizarre happens."
The council is due to set its budget for 2025/26 very soon.
Last year the council increased charges by 10 per cent, for use of its car parks across the Lancaster and Morecambe District.
The Indivision event was held on Friday evening at 3-1-5 Health Club on Mannin Way off Caton Road, and attended by around 40-50 people representing businesses from the area.
Panellists at the meeting included Lancaster & Wyre MP Cat Smith, Morecambe & Lunesdale MP Lizzi Collinge, Mark Davies, chief executive of Lancaster City Council, and Nick Wilkinson, cabinet member for Lancaster's regeneration and local economy.
Indivision is an off-shoot of the Totally Local Lancaster group, set up to support and champion local businesses.
Paul Cusimano, from Totally Local Lancaster, said: "I think getting two MPs to a business-led meeting is a great achievement. It shows they care about our area.
"We want to find a way to bring a group together to action things.
"We don't want to be a city that's deteriorating."
Sean Thornton, owner of 3-1-5, opened the meeting by calling for the government to do more to support the health and fitness sector.
Mr Thornton said this would "reduce NHS burdens and increase workplace productivity".
Mr Davies then spoke about the benefits of several upcoming projects in the area; listing the Eden Project Morecambe, the Canal Quarter in Lancaster, plans for a new hospital in Lancaster, an ambitious plan to revamp Lancaster museums and a new Economic Strategy for the area.
Mr Davies is pictured below speaking at the meeting.
The panel was then asked about car parking in Lancaster city centre.
The council's draft car parking strategy has been widely criticised by local businesses, who are worried it will make parking in the city even more difficult for shoppers.
In October, the council announced plans to work towards providing 1400 to 1500 car parking spaces in the city centre in future, after previously targeting 1300 to 1400 spaces.
There are currently a total of 1624 parking spaces in city council-run car parks in Lancaster city centre.
This includes permit-holders only car parking (which are not available for general use) and the 287-space Castle Car Park, which is currently closed for refurbishment due to safety reasons.
Read more: Council raises target for car parking spaces in Lancaster after public backlash - Beyond Radio
The draft strategy suggests relocating two multi-storey car parks to the fringes of the city centre.
It also suggests that three permit-only car parks in Lancaster would be converted to short-stay within the next three years, parking at the car park opposite the old Kingsway bus station would be expanded to create 20-70 new long-stay spaces, and 70-150 temporary coach and car parking spaces would also be created on council land by early 2025 at locations to be confirmed.
This would be to counteract the planned loss of parking spaces when new housing is built on the St Leonardsgate car parks (close to the Grand Theatre) and Nelson Street car park (close to Lancaster Town Hall) as part of the planned Canal Quarter development.
Mark Hutton, chair of trustees at the Lancaster Grand Theatre, said there were concerns over reducing car parking spaces and where the replacement spaces would be.
Mr Davies said the council would make public their "definitive view" in due course.
"At this time nothing has changed," he said.
"We've been told we need to deliver things for the hospitality sector.
"We can't give a specific answer at this point in time.
"But the message has been received loud and clear by the council. We have to get this right."
He also said the council now had access to an Automated Number Plate Recognition System, which would help with identifying the number of cars using the city and the peak times car parks are used.
Councillor Wilkinson said dropping parking charges "would put the council in a difficult financial position".
"We rely on car parking (fees) to subsidise what we do," he said, saying the money goes towards putting on events like the annual light art festival Light Up Lancaster.
Lizzi Collinge, (pictured below speaking at the meeting), spoke about improvements that were needed to local bus services.
But Linda Thomas, from Expressions of Lancaster, said: "My customers don't want to come (to Lancaster) on public transport."
She asked the panel if they thought it was a good idea to build housing in the city centre, and move car parking to the outskirts, and not the other way around.
Councillor Wilkinson said: "My view is that housing and parking are both equally important.
"We have a housing crisis. The Nelson Street (development) will be socially rented accommodation.
"We want to get quality affordable housing into the city centre for people who work in the city centre and provide good quality access."
He also pointed out that the council has increased its car parking spaces target for the city centre, and said that it was crucial to reopen the Castle multi-storey car park, which the council leases from the Department of Work and Pensions.
Julie Shaw said: "It's really positive that the council has listened to us."
Mr Hutton also praised the council's response to the Climate Emergency but asked if the same leadership could be shown to make Lancaster "a commercial success", saying the "brand of Lancaster isn't strong".
Mr Davies spoke about how river defences on the Lune and on Caton Road had protected businesses since the floods of Storm Desmond in 2015.
"We all want to make Lancaster a thriving city centre," he said.
"It outperforms a lot of other city centres. But these things take time."
Councillor Wilkinson said he wanted the vision for Lancaster to be "heritage-based" and promote the city centre's many historic attractions.
Other issues raised at the meeting included a lack of signage promoting the city.
Mr Cusimano said there is "not one single sign for a visitor attraction for Lancaster coming up the M6".
Business owners also spoke about the huge effects of the rise in minimum wage and national insurance contributions, on their running costs.
Mr Cusimano said he knew of a business which employs 190 highly-skilled staff, who will have to pay £200,000 a year more because of the government's hike on employer national insurance contributions.
Rachael Hamilton-Southward, from Northern Dye House on Gage Street, also spoke about the "disgusting and embarrassing" state of the streets in central Lancaster, particularly dirty side streets and alleyways.
*Look and listen out for more on this issue, coming soon to Beyond Radio.
The meeting ended with Isam Salah, who closed his Lancaster restaurant the Misso Lounge in 2024, addressing the panel about his reasons for the closure and calling for greater vision to improve the city centre.
Mr Salah said he'd shut down the restaurant "not because there is no business, but because we lost hope and trust" in decision-makers.
He also called for a committee to be set up to take issues forward from the meeting.
Mr Cusimano, in a post on the Totally Local Lancaster page, said afterwards: "Last night, we had a great turn out for only our second meeting. We want to thank everyone that braved the adverse weather conditions at the end of the week.
"We billed it as 'No Ordinary Meeting', and it wasn't.
"Firstly, and key to anything, and everything going forward, we were privileged to welcome Cat Smith MP, Lizzie Collinge MP, Mark Davies LCC Chief Executive Officer, Councillor Gina Dowding, Councillor Jean Parr and Councillor Nick Wilkinson. Now there's a line up you don't see every day!
"We received updates on a host of projects that are/about to happen throughout the District, as well as initiatives that will help form future, key strategies. Many of the audience contributors reinforced challenges from the previous meeting. Whatever the sector, the businesses are facing the very same challenges.
"BUT, action is required. 'Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures' (Dr. Navina Evans). There were lots of 'take away' points from last night, and following further conversations last night and this morning, two immediate action points have been identified and are to be followed up, the progress of which will be shared at our next meeting."