At a Council committee meeting on Tuesday evening, Medway’s Tory Cabinet member for the local economy suggested the so-called ‘Queen of Shops’, Mary Portas, didn’t live in the real world.
In response to a question about the government appointed Tsar’s assessment that free car parking for shoppers needs to be introduced to help rejuvenate declining High Streets, Cllr Mrs Chitty said,
“Mary Portas has her view but we have to live in the real world, and we need the car park income”.
Her comments were slammed by Labour’s Communities Spokesperson, Cllr Glyn Griffiths, who said,
“The Tories wasted £10m on an unwanted bus station, and are looking to bring in free city centre parking for their staff, yet public car park charges remain, and are deterring shoppers and destroying our High Streets. It shows how out of touch the Tories are with local public opinion”
Mary Portas, who published her review of British High Streets this week.
Notes: See the full report by Mary Portas here: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/business-sectors/docs/p/11-1434-portas-review-future-of-high-streets.pdf
