Council leader says he's securing 'big investors' to revitalise town centres

The leader of Warwickshire County Council has told rival councillors his administration is "already" in the process of securing "big investors" to revitalise town centres.

Cllr George Finch made the revelation during a row over increases to on-street car parking charges in some Warwickshire towns.

Cllr Jan Matecki, who was in charge of transport and planning prior to May's local elections, argued that putting up the price of a 15-minute stay from 30p to 45p would hurt town centre businesses, putting people off making fleeting visits.

Successor Cllr Jennifer Warren defended the hike with Cllr Finch later stepping into the squabble, insisting parking charges were not the problem.

The leader referenced "failing" local plans in the south of the county "driving shoppers to the convenience of the retail parks outside town centres".

"These big corporations are just destroying towns and the local plans that are failing in Stratford and Warwick, that's the problem. It is not this," he said.

"This is a way to actually bring people in. Yes, they have to pay a charge but that's life."

Cllr Matecki queried whether Cllr Finch had spoken to businesses in Warwick, Leamington and Stratford.

"They are the ones saying that it is the car parking charges that are hurting them. They're not saying it is the local plan," he said.

Cllr Finch sought to switch attention to the district and borough councils, asking whether those in the south had offered free car parking over Christmas – council-run car parks are run by districts and boroughs while on-street parking is handled by the county council.

"Town centres are dying all across the county," said Cllr Finch, a point Cllr Warren voiced her agreement with.

"That's where we have to bring in investors, especially into town centres, ones that are dying – Nuneaton, Bedworth, Atherstone, Warwick as well.

"We are working on that with the economy, we have big investors that we are already bringing in, we are working on to drive the economy and footfall into town centres.

"Unitary (local government reorganisation) will solve a lot of these problems with the charges. Market stalls, you have to pay 200 quid to have chairs outside cafes in Nuneaton and Bedworth, every little sub-charge like that is hurting businesses, not parking."

Cllr Matecki had previously made the case for limiting the increase for 15-minute stays to 35p, using the council's published figures to estimate that the 10p reduction would cost £24,000 per year.

"That is an investment for our businesses," he said.

"One of the things we should be doing is promoting business in this county. High streets have enough problems as it is and this is an ideal opportunity for people to pop in and out without having to pay a high cost."

Cllr Warren said the council had "benchmarked around the country" and noted the limited spaces available in the affected towns.

"They are paying for that convenience," she said.

"We need to generate some income from somewhere, you know how things are across all disciplines of the council. This is a soft touch of getting that money into the coffers.

"I appreciate what you're saying about local businesses but to be fair, a 15-minute stop is not going to be the amount of time where these customers spend a lot of money, it is literally a drop-in.

"We have looked at all the figures closely and we are quite happy with them – as happy as you can be with any increase. We don't really want to do that but this is a fair and balanced increase and there hasn't been an increase for quite a long time."

Cllr Matecki corrected Cllr Warren, pointing out that he had signed off the last increases which kicked in at the start of this financial year (April 2025).

Cllr Warren replied: "I didn't know there was an increase last year and I have to say I am sure I posed that question but that's another story.

"We have to look at certain types of income from the people it will least affect and that is people who want to jump out of cars for 15 minutes. I stand by the decision to go for those increases."

Cllr Matecki said the shortfall could have been made up by bigger rises for two-hour on-street stays, encouraging people who stay longer to use district and borough car parks and creating more flow in the closer, on-street spaces.

"We looked at different ways and after long consideration this is what we deemed the fairest," said Cllr Warren, who subsequently signed off the new charges for Leamington, Warwick, Stratford and Kenilworth.

From April 2026, a 15-minute roadside stay in a county-run bay will go up from 30p to 45p with half an hour up from 80p to 90p. An hour is going up from £1.60 to £1.80, an hour-and-a-half goes from £2.40 to £2.70 and a two-hour stop will increase from £3.20 to £3.60.

Lower charges in Rugby are set to remain frozen in line with the cheaper off-street provision available in the area.