FREE parking at out-of-town shopping centres must be abolished to save traditional high streets from terminal decline and protect the environment, a government commission will recommend today.

The Commission for Integrated Transport believes that the lack of parking fees at centres such as Lakeside in Essex and Meadowhall in Sheffield is causing shoppers to use their cars and desert towns and cities.

It proposes that centres are forced to charge for parking and spend the money on better bus services and access for pedestrians and cyclists. Fees are likely to start at £1 per hour.

The commission says similar parking fees should apply to every shopping centre and retail park in a region to discourage drivers from travelling to another location where parking is cheaper or free.

It also proposes, in the longer term, that congestion charges should be introduced on busy roads leading to retail centres.

The commission’s report, Sustainable Transport Choices and the Retail Sector, which will be delivered to the Department for Transport today, calls for restrictions on the expansion of out-of-town retailing centres.

The commission believes that financial penalties are needed to persuade those who make regular trips to them to change their habits.

“Given the growing problem of congestion and concerns about the environment, this behaviour is unsustainable,” the report says.

“Nor does the out-of-town retail model help engender social inclusion and accessibility for the wider community.”

The report claims that offers of free parking are “distorting the market” because high street stores are unable to compete.

The commission acknowledges that it is more convenient to travel by car than by bus when buying heavy and bulky items, but says the solution lies in greater use of internet shopping and home deliveries.

The proportion of shopping trips made by car has grown from 49 per cent in 1991 to 62 per cent last year, though the figure conceals a difference in how people travel to high streets and out-of-town centres. More than half (53 per cent) of city centre shoppers travel by bus, on foot or by bicycle, compared with only 13 per cent visiting retail parks.

Helen Holland, the commission member who chaired the inquiry into retailing, said: “Introducing parking fees at retail parks would make people think twice about getting in the car and driving out of town.

“The commission recognises that for some shopping trips the car is the most convenient option, but this level of car use is not sustainable.

“We want to see local authorities, retailers and transport operators taking the right decisions to support the high street. Out-of-town shopping centres surrounded by gridlocked streets and irate shoppers will not help anyone — least of all the retailers.”

Manchester and Strathclyde have already voiced support for such fees. But retail park owners will resist any attempt to force them to introduce fees.

Clare Lamont, marketing manager of Lakeside, said: “People have been parking here for free for 16 years and to start charging would be very unpopular. Our research shows free parking is an important factor in choosing where to shop.”

Fuel duty to be frozen

FUEL duty is to be frozen at least until the Chancellor’s Pre-Budget Report in response to volatile oil prices. John Healey, Treasury Minister, said that the Government would not go ahead with the planned inflation-only increase on September 1. He said that the position would be reviewed again at the time of the Pre-Budget Report, which is expected in November or December.

The AA Motoring Trust said: “With continued instability in oil-producing parts of the world . . . this decision is the only good bit of news in a long summer of escalating car fuel prices.”

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