Parking improvements
From the very start of Caterham BID (known as Caterham Valley For You) in April 2017, local businesses and their customers identified that the provision of parking was one of the key priorities needed to help our town centre to thrive.
One of the issues affecting businesses in the past year has been continuing problems with one-hour parking bays in Croydon Road.
These are essential to maintain the flow of visitors to Caterham Valley and its shops and offices, but have consistently been misused by people over staying and often blocking them for days at a time.
Parking improvements
“Our customers and clients always ask us about the parking situation, as it makes it so much more difficult to just pop into town to do a quick shop or pick orders up if spaces are permanently occupied,” says Andrew Browne, chairman of Caterham Valley For You.
“In a bid to find a solution to the woefully inadequate parking enforcement taking place in Caterham town centre, we initiated conversations with Surrey County Council and Tandridge District Council many months ago.
“A parking enforcement officer is a rare sight in Caterham and the misuse of spaces in our town centre has become such a huge issue for businesses.
“Indeed, Caterham Valley For You, which is funded solely by levy paying local businesses, has even offered to purchase, install and maintain parking meters and the provision of parking enforcement ourselves.”
Community support
Tandridge District Council approved the BID’s proposal and has already agreed to support it. Almost a year and a half ago, a Surrey County Council committee also passed a motion of no confidence in the current parking arrangements and management.
Still though, there has been no movement forward due to the proposal stalling at county council level. This is partly due to the contracts that they already had in place, which are evidently not being managed effectively and are proving to be to the detriment of businesses in Caterham Valley.
“All we’re asking for is Surrey County Council to support the Caterham community by giving shops and businesses the help they need to sort out the parking situation in a high street that is struggling, just like many others around the country,” says Sue McGeown, Caterham BID manager.
“We realise that talk of parking enforcement and meters is not always a popular topic with the public, but it’s absolutely essential to not only help small businesses trade effectively but to also allow people to pop in to collect items from shops, grab lunch or visit for appointments.”
Caterham Valley For You brings together Caterham Valley’s fantastic range of shops and businesses and uses its influence to help improve Caterham as a place to shop, work and visit.
- Find out more about our businesses in the Caterham Valley business directory.
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