News: Tesco plans to lift barriers to parking at Rotherham store
Tesco is looking to reverse controversial plans for parking restrictions at its Rotherham Extra store.
In 2017, plans were approved by Rotherham Council's planning board despite objections that led to the introduction of three hours free parking at the town centre store with the condition that shoppers wanting to park for over 30 minutes had to spend £5 in the store and register their vehicle. A private company was brought in to enforce the operation.
When the 100,000 sq ft store was approved in 2014 a parking plan to offer two hours free parking was "to limit the availability of free parking and to encourage the use of sustainable transport" and not related to offering users the opportunity to make linked trips into the town centre. It was imposed as a limitation rather than a requirement.
In making the changes in 2017, Tesco said that it was "finding that their car park is coming under considerable pressure and is being used by non-Tesco customers, detracting from the attractiveness of the store as a main food shopping location, and in turn impacting on its trading performance."
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But now the retailer says that there is sufficient space in the car park. The store has remained open during COVID lockdown restrictions but parking control measures have only been reintroduced in April, working intermintently since.
Redline Planning, consultants for Tesco, explain: "Tesco are aware that car parking pressures that necessitated the installation of the control measures approved as part of the planning application have diminished, and that there is now sufficient capacity in the car park to relax the controls over its use. Tesco therefore propose to remove the "park-to-shop" system.
"The new controls will allow all customers to the store to park freely for at least two hours, up to a maximum of three hours."
The automatic numberplate recognition is set to remain and fines for overstaying will still be levied (£70, £42 if paid within 14 days). Tesco said that it would want the planning permission to enable them to bring down the maximum stay from three hours to two hours if required.
Tesco website
Images: Google Maps
In 2017, plans were approved by Rotherham Council's planning board despite objections that led to the introduction of three hours free parking at the town centre store with the condition that shoppers wanting to park for over 30 minutes had to spend £5 in the store and register their vehicle. A private company was brought in to enforce the operation.
When the 100,000 sq ft store was approved in 2014 a parking plan to offer two hours free parking was "to limit the availability of free parking and to encourage the use of sustainable transport" and not related to offering users the opportunity to make linked trips into the town centre. It was imposed as a limitation rather than a requirement.
In making the changes in 2017, Tesco said that it was "finding that their car park is coming under considerable pressure and is being used by non-Tesco customers, detracting from the attractiveness of the store as a main food shopping location, and in turn impacting on its trading performance."
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But now the retailer says that there is sufficient space in the car park. The store has remained open during COVID lockdown restrictions but parking control measures have only been reintroduced in April, working intermintently since.
Redline Planning, consultants for Tesco, explain: "Tesco are aware that car parking pressures that necessitated the installation of the control measures approved as part of the planning application have diminished, and that there is now sufficient capacity in the car park to relax the controls over its use. Tesco therefore propose to remove the "park-to-shop" system.
"The new controls will allow all customers to the store to park freely for at least two hours, up to a maximum of three hours."
The automatic numberplate recognition is set to remain and fines for overstaying will still be levied (£70, £42 if paid within 14 days). Tesco said that it would want the planning permission to enable them to bring down the maximum stay from three hours to two hours if required.
Tesco website
Images: Google Maps
8 comments:
Well, that's as clear as mud! "all customers to the store to park freely for at least two hours" - same only different?
Just means there would be no need to spend at least £5 and validate parking.
Hmmm, could it be owt to do wi Tesco desperately trying to seduce car shoppers back into Car-Unfriendly Rovrum and into their "flagship" store?
Any idea when this takes effect? Or is it just a proposal.
It'll need to go through the planning system but the last few times I've been the validation machines haven't been working anyway...
TESCO are having to do this because the store is not getting the sales, it would be interesting to see how it compares to other stores of similar size. The bigger picture is how Rotherham is seen as not an attractive place to shop either by car or footfall through public transport I can see a time when TESCO will leave Rotherham.
Time to stop car use all together,anyone who took time to read climate report yesterday,would realise were on brink of total catastrophe,yet people worry about free parking!
Oh yeah, let's all use bus, barge, piggyback, lhama, piggyback, cycle, tandem, Shank's Pony and any other half-baked RMBC Laybah transport dream-scheme. Jackanory Jackanory 😍😍😍😍
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