Navan traders make plea for free off-street parking

Navan Traders are calling on the local town council to introduce free off-street parking between 11am and 3pm in the run-up to Christmas. The traders have also called for the opening up of additional car parks in the town to make it more attractive to shoppers. Traders" spokesman, Francis Deane, pointed out that free parking arrangements have already been put in place in Drogheda and Trim. He said that cancelling the charge between 11am and 3pm would prevent people parking in the town all day. He also suggested the charge remain on the main streets as this could lead to all-day parking. 'We will be putting pressure on the councillors to eliminate the parking charges in a bid to improve business before Christmas. Councillors know that business is down. 'With the VAT differential between here and the North, we need to encourage shoppers,' he said. Mr Deane said it was important to provide more parking facilities in Navan. He said that there was parking space for up to 200 cars at the rear of the fire station at Abbey Road that could be freed up for shoppers on Saturdays and Sundays. Meanwhile, local election candidate David Browne slammed the lack of imagination, both locally and nationally, in encouraging shoppers to stay local. 'As Meath consumers flood across the border for savings, the best the Government can come up with is that these people are unpatriotic! 'Nothing is being done to encourage people to stay local in Navan. Traffic and parking arrangements are a mess. It is taking cars the guts of 30 minutes to drive from the centre of town to the outskirts,' he said. 'People are avoiding the town for the sake of their sanity and pockets. This has nothing to do with not being patriotic,' said Mr Browne.