Well, a delegation of traders from Tilehurst along with myself and other local councillors presented their petition this evening to the Council’s Cabinet. When you realise that there were 2,200 signatures on the petition which were collected in just two weeks, you will understand the depth of feeling over the proposed new car park charges in Tilehurst. Roger Kent, who owns a shop in Norcot Road, presented the petition and explained the depth of feeling amongst local traders against the withdrawal of the first hour free car parking, and the likely effect on their trade.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Jo Lovelock, responded and offered to retain 30 minutes free parking and to look at ways of refunding shoppers car park charges if they bought a certain amount of goods.

None of us were at all happy with the Council’s new proposal and will be taking up the Council’s offer to discuss the car park charges with Cllr Page, the Lead Councillor for Transport (when he returns from holiday).

In the meantime, the council has agreed to hold back on the new charges until this discussion has taken place.

My advice to the shopkeepers is to hold firm and explain to Cllr Page that doing away with one hour’s free parking is no way to support local shopping centres. We are very proud of our local shops in Tilehurst, and especially of the fact that almost all of them are real independent local traders, not branches of big chains. I will certainly do my best to support them and with 2,200 Tilehurst residents also supporting them I think we have a very good case to put forward.

Well done to the Tilehurst traders for organising the petition.

Today was a victory for local shops in Tilehurst but the campaign is far from over yet.