Hadleigh's rejuvenated Chamber of Commerce has weighed in to the fight for Babergh to reconsider its plans to change car parking charges in Hadleigh.

Matthew Prescott Frost, spokesman for the Chamber, told Nub News: "Hadleigh Chamber speaks as one voice on this and we hope Babergh Cabinet will reconsider."

He also argued that Babergh should postpone its decision on parking charges so consultation with the commercial community of the town could be held along with a post Covid impact assessment on the high street

Mr Prescott Frost also made clear the Chamber is keen to work with the council for the good of our community and believes what is good for the commercial life of the town benefits the residents and reflects well on our elected representatives.

In the letter sent to Babergh council leader John Ward, which was shared with cabinet members, the Hadleigh Chamber of Commerce said it understood making council owned assets cost neutral would be a reasonable action and one that could be argued is in the public interest as it reduces pressure on potential increases to Council Tax and to Business Rates.

However, Chamber members believe Babergh's report failed to identify or even acknowledge the global pandemic, which has hit high streets around the country massively impacting footfall and revenue for small independent retailers that are uniquely well represented in Hadleigh.

It also points out on-line retail has been eroding market share for high streets around the country for the past two decades and is permanently changing shopping habits, and the change to charges comes at and time.

Mr Prescott Frost argued: "The Hadleigh Chamber of Commerce is made up entirely of individuals who run businesses in the local area and have a unique understanding of what is and what is not good for business.

He argued that the reasons why ending free parking in the town would be a disaster are extensive and listed 12.

1. It will impact on visitor numbers to Hadleigh High Street, resulting in a reduction in spending with local businesses the vast majority of which are small and independently owned.

1. We know that many businesses currently trading on the High Street are particularly vulnerable due to the pandemic. Even a further small change to visitor numbers could jeopardise their continued ability to trade viably.

1. It will make the High Street a less attractive proposition for new businesses, and this will impact on spending within the High Street. We have recently had new businesses open from other parts of Suffolk – partly drawn by the 3-hour free parking.

1. Even a one-hour parking restriction will often provide insufficient time for meetings / appointments etc for service-based businesses, which will often exceed one hour.

1. Hadleigh High Street does not have the same "draw factor" as a number of other larger towns that are able to justify charges for parking. For this reason, the possible negative consequences arising from the introduction of the change in parking policies are likely to be more serious. We will soon lose our big attraction of Partridges.

1. We feel that Babergh District Council should be investing its time and resources in helping preserve and enhance the High Street, rather than introducing policies that could damage it.

1. A number of businesses have been a permanent fixture of the High Street for decades. If the changes to parking rumoured are introduced, we are confident some will have to undertake an impact assessment, the result of which may be that we will have to re-locate. Hence a loss of rates income and employment.

1. Many local businesses employ low paid staff who park daily in Hadleigh, their ability to work here in the future may be compromised.

1. Parking in Hadleigh, unlike many other towns in Suffolk, is not a scarce resource. In busier market towns with limited parking charging can boost footfall by rotating visitor numbers; in Hadleigh visitor numbers could increase significantly without any pressure on parking spaces. This should be encouraged so as to raise visitor numbers and the amount they spend ultimately raising commercial rents and business rates. This is an unnecessary barrier to trade and a tariff that does not apply to on-line shopping or out of town super-markets.

1. This action will inevitably result in fewer trips to the high street and more to Morrison's where parking is free. Clearly their management does not share the Council's conclusions of how to attract visitors.

1. This measure will have a negative environmental impact when the high street contracts and would-be customers are forced to travel away from their local area to shop.

1. By pushing the footfall away from Hadleigh you will be driving shoppers away, potentially forever, towards on-line retailers and out of town shopping centres which make no business rate contribution to Babergh.

The Chamber concluded that if footfall in Hadleigh was to fall 10% due to a change in parking policy this would undoubtedly make a number of businesses on our high street no longer viable.

According to the council, the short term parking charges will bring in £244,000 in additional income to fund improvements to signs, maintenance, upgrading ticket machines and money for green transport projects. This year subsidising the car parks for the first three hours cost the authority £185,000.

The proposals, published last Tuesday as part of the council's 2021 budget papers, followed an independent car parking study, and if approved will be introduced from July 2021.

Businesses in key communities such as Hadleigh and Sudbury have argued that it will present an additional barrier to businesses already trying to recover from Covid-19, but the council said it was "future-proofing parking provision in Babergh", helping encourage sustainable travel options and allowing the council to address the financial impact of Covid-19.

Councillor Elisabeth Malvisi, Conservative cabinet member for the environment in Babergh's coalition administration, said: "Any income generated from tariffs would be directly ploughed back into improving parking facilities and supporting the wider visions for our towns.

"Ensuring we have localised and future-proof parking plans in place in our towns is vital for our short and long term Covid-19 recovery. But it is also vital in encouraging a shift change towards more sustainable travel and meeting our climate change ambitions.

"It is a careful balancing act. We must make better use of our space, ease congestion and reduce pollution, carry out necessary public realm improvements, as well as continue to support our strong visitor economy.

"By managing our parking stock better, we can make sure people can find the right space, in the right place, leading to positive first and last impressions of our towns. We can act on our climate change ambitions and support residents' wellbeing, and we can make parking fairer, so non-motorists aren't paying for services they don't use."

Babergh leader John Ward's column.