Salon owner calls for Diss parking review
The boss of a hairdressing salon is leading a call for a review of parking in Diss after picking up a parking ticket for £25 – despite holding a £300 year-long permit.
Rachel Bettinson, who runs the Half Moon Salon in Mount Street, was left fuming after she picked up the ticket earlier this month for overstaying her time in a nearby short-stay car park, behind Parish Fields Medical Practice.
Mrs Bettinson said she could not find anywhere to park in the town’s nearest long-stay car park, in Shelfanger Road, for which she has a £300-a-year parking permit.
She says parking problems are a regular occurrence for staff working in the area with one staff member having to pay £10 in one day to stay in short stay car parks because the closest long stay was constantly full.
“The parking ticket was the final straw,” she said.
“I couldn’t park anywhere close with my permit, and so left my car in the short stay car park.
“Shelfanger Road car park is always full by 9am.
“I pay £300 for a permit and yet still have to fight to use it. My staff also have the same problem and we all either have to get in early to get a space or, for those starting later in the day, wait for up to half an hour for a space to become free.
“As the long-stay car park is just as cheap as the others, people use it for one or two hours, while the designated short-stay car parks are always half empty.”
Mrs Bettinson is now urging other traders to join her call for a parking review.
In Diss, five car parks are currently managed by South Norfolk Council, while one is privately run.
There are four long-stay car parks in Shelfanger Road, Church Street and Park Road.
“The parking situation also badly affects shopkeepers as shoppers can’t get into the Shelfanger Road car park to use those in the Heritage Triangle, and in the short stay ones you have to pay through the nose for more than three hours.”
Alison Ellis, of CopyDiss in St Nicholas Street, said: “I have the same problem. Do they expect us to walk from the park every day? I am looking to start a petition for a review.”
