Date: 09/10/2007
Thanks to a decision by High Peak Borough Council, shoppers in Glossop town centre will have two hours free parking in the period leading up to Christmas.
The High Street has been a building site since the Gas Alliance started digging up roads and pavements to put in new pipelines. In the next few weeks the Council will start to repave the High Street and replace the street trees.
Emily Thrane, the Council's executive lead for car parking said: "Our local councillors have left me in no doubt that we must respond positively to representations from the town's shopkeepers about the impact of disruption from the works in the town centre. With the important Christmas trading season coming up the Council wants to support the town's businesses by allowing free parking for two hours.
"Glossop is really improving and the new Howard Town Mill, brighter Manor Park and changes to the town centre will make the town an even more attractive place to visit. But I know there have been problems, not least the loss of parking spaces through the closure of the Lux Lux car park. This Council wants to make sure that Glossop's shops prosper and people can easily pop into town to do their shopping. The new arrangements will start on 26 October and it will last until the works now being carried out in the town centre have finished."
A Council spokesman said: "The paving work on the High Street is due to start this week. There has been a delay because of the difficulty of sourcing British stone, getting it cut and supplied to site but this has now been done. We have concerns about the quality of the work done by the contractors on the reclaimed paving. They have acknowledged that the work is not up to the standard we wanted and will ensure that the work is completed to the required standards. We will continue to keep businesses and local people informed of the progress of the scheme, help with any problems, and make sure that any disruption is minimised. "
The contractor is committed to completing the work before Christmas.