Frustrated residents have hit out at parking charges in a picturesque North Yorkshire market town, warning that local businesses are suffering from “death by a thousand cuts”. A business forum leader has welcomed the council’s review of disputed town centre parking fees, saying: “It should have happened to start with.”
Paddy Morton, manager of the historic Strickland & Holt family store on Yarm High Street and chair of Yarm Business Forum, handed over a petition to Stockton Council in May, supported by Stockton West MP Matt Vickers. Mr Morton said scrapping the first free hour of parking – in favour of a flat £1.50 charge for up to three hours – was “the wrong decision”. The policy, introduced in February, sparked uproar among traders and shoppers alike, with many claiming it has deterred short-stay visitors and contributed to falling footfall on the once-thriving High Street.
Mr Morton said: “It’s welcome news that the council is reviewing the policy – but that review should have happened before the charges were implemented in the first place.”
He warned that many small businesses were already under pressure from rising costs, and that the loss of the free hour was compounding the damage.
Stockton Council is run by Labour – but only by minority control with independent councillors. This is despite there being a higher number of Conservative councillors.
Local anger was evident online, with one Teesside Live reader writing: “It’s the principle of it all. For decades and decades it was free. Just a parking disc. Why, when everything is so much more expensive now – tax, council tax, road tax – should we be charged? Death by a thousand cuts.”
Another added: “If you charge too much for parking then people stop buying. Anywhere that has free parking is booming – it’s not a hard problem to solve.”
Stockton Council says provisional data shows footfall in both Yarm and Stockton was higher from February to May this year than during the same months in 2023 and 2024. But Mr Morton argued that the figures did not reflect what businesses are seeing on the ground – with some traders reporting lower spend and a drop in spontaneous visits.
The council originally said it would wait a full year before assessing the impact of the new charges, reported Teesside Live. But a unanimous vote by councillors, prompted by the business forum petition and a Conservative motion, brought that review forward.
Councillor Paul Rowling, cabinet member for resources and transport, said: “While initial data collected in the first four months is showing that footfall is up in our town centres, we want to delve deeper and analyse the information and trends.”
He added: “This will allow us to get the full picture of what removing the first hour of free parking has done to change residents’ and visitors’ habits and how this may be affecting our town centre businesses.”
Contacted by Express.co.uk, he added: “We made a commitment to review the changes agreed in October to fully assess the impact they are having across Yarm and Stockton Town Centre on residents and businesses. This is why we asked Cabinet to agree the scope of the review, to get this detailed work underway.
“While initial data collected in the first four months is showing that footfall is up in our town centres we want to delve deeper and analyse the information and trends.
“This will allow us to get the full picture of what removing the first hour of free parking has done to change residents’ and visitors’ habits and how this may be affecting our town centre businesses.
“We also want to engage with those affected and listen to what they have to say.
“The thorough review will be undertaken, and we’ll report the findings back to Cabinet as soon we can.”
The council will now decide the scope of the review, with “all options on the table” – including reinstating the free hour.