We say we want to save the high street. So why are we charging people to visit it?

It sounds simple. It isn't. Independent retailers are working incredibly hard to give people a reason to shop locally. They are putting on events, creating beautiful shops, finding products you won't see everywhere else and offering the kind of personal service that Amazon will never be able to replicate.

And then, sometimes, we put a parking machine between the customer and the shop. Honestly, I don't get it. We spend an enormous amount of time talking about how we can “save the high street”. We talk about regeneration, investment, empty shops, business rates and how we can get people shopping locally again.

However, what if one of the simplest things we could do is just make it easier to visit? I'm not saying parking should be free all day. Of course, councils have costs and parking needs to be managed. I'm talking about 90 minutes.

Give people an hour and a half to park, walk into town, browse a few shops, buy something, grab a coffee and meet with friends. That doesn't seem unreasonable to me. In fact, the evidence suggests shoppers agree.

Recent research from Spring & Autumn Fair and Faire found that 63% of consumers say free parking would encourage them to visit their local high street more often. And 38% of retailers said free parking was the local intervention that would make the biggest difference to their business – ahead of business rate relief.

That makes perfect sense when you think about how people actually shop. You don't want to have to go to the high street with a military-style plan ‘I have 47 minutes, I need this jumper, that birthday present and then I'm out’. You see something in a window. You wander into a shop you hadn't planned to visit. You stop for a coffee. You remember you need a card. You spot something for the kids. That’s how shopping on the high street should be. That's the magic of a high street.

But if you're constantly thinking about how much the parking is costing and whether you're about to get a ticket, you're less likely to linger. And lingering matters.

Independent retailers aren't just selling products. They're selling discovery. They're selling expertise. They're selling the experience of finding something you didn't know you wanted.

Our research found that 96% of consumers want to see more independent shops on their high street, while 95% say they would spend more if there were more independent options. The appetite is there.

People want independent shops. Retailers want customers. And yet we're still putting barriers in the way. That's why I support the campaign for 90 minutes of free parking in town centres.

Will it single-handedly save the high street? No.

However, I'm increasingly convinced that we don't need one enormous silver bullet. We need lots of sensible things that make it easier for people to choose their local high street. And this is one of them.

If you're a council, try it. Give people 90 minutes. See what happens to footfall. See what happens to local businesses. See whether people stay longer.

And if you're a shopper, sign the petition. There is currently a UK Parliament petition calling for local authorities to provide 90 minutes of free parking in town centres. It is open until 23 January 2027.

Sign the petition at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/772686. It will take you less time to sign it than it takes to find a parking space.

If we really want people back on our high streets, perhaps we should start by making sure they can get there without feeling like they've already been charged for the privilege.

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Jackson Szabo is the Portfolio Director of the Spring Fair & Autumn Fair retail trade shows.

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