Independent retailers association calls private parking firms ‘greedy’

The British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) has said that private parking firms in retail town and city centres are ‘greedy’ and harming trade.

BIRA, which works with over 6,000 independent businesses of all sizes across the UK, has made the announcement following news that private parking is set to become a billion-pound-a-year industry as the number of tickets issued by firms hits an all time high.

Data released by the DVLA suggests drivers are set to receive more than 11 million penalties in private car parks this financial year, 2022-23.  

Already, in the first three quarters of the year, 8,564,762 vehicle keeper records have been bought by the companies from the DVLA.  This figure is a proxy for the number of tickets issued as it allows the firms to chase up vehicle keepers for supposed parking infringements on private land.  Each ticket can be for up to £100 suggesting more than £1 billion will be demanded from drivers this year.

But BIRA has called these firms ‘greedy’ and a huge deterrent to people wanting to park in city and town centres to do their shop.

BIRA CEO Andrew Goodacre said: “This figure released by the DVLA is phenomenal and just goes to show that being a private parking firm is a very lucrative business. But this greed by the many firms we now see popping up throughout the country has a counter-productive outcome as its driving people out of the centre and to either shop online or to out-of-town shops which more often than not are not owned and run by independent traders.

“We need our businesses to be supported and nurtured if the high street is to survive, not have another barrier to them being able to thrive in such a difficult economy,” he said