The Islington Chamber of Commerce is an active voice for local business.

With our active and supportive membership we are often called upon to represent the Islington business community.

It has been brought to our attention that the parking charges in our borough have been raised along with a change of usage of parking space. The following are of particular concern:

To allow residents to park on business (Pay & Display) spaces, using their residents’ parking permits, between 10am-2pm.

To increase Pay & Display charges by up to 50 per cent.

Increase of business parking permits.

The middle of the day period is crucial to businesses in the Archway, Holloway and Nag’s Head areas of the borough and across Islington as a whole and the chamber is concerned that not enough has been done to make local business owners aware of the purpose of these changes.

Business need is related to the purpose for which designated parking spaces and permits are required and thus an increase will represent an increase in tax.

The increase of Pay and Display charges may also discourage new customers from visiting local stores and driving much-needed spending in these areas.

We have recently been informed, for instance, that a local gym owner in the Archway area has lost 20 customers due to the increase in parking charges. We strongly urge the membership of Islington Council’s overview scrutiny committee to re-assess these factors and take a closer look at the impact on our local business owners.

In a time when the economic climate is uncertain and many small businesses are struggling to survive; it is important that their concerns are taken seriously. – Ronke Lawal, chief executive, Islington Chamber of Commerce.