Lola McEvoy on plans to support Darlington town centre

Ms McEvoy was speaking after the former MP Peter Gibson held an emergency trader meeting on Wednesday evening, where businesses pointed to the lack of free parking in the town as a significant factor to the declining footfall.

The MP said she applauds the “hard-work and courage of the Darlington small business community” and would “would love to see footfall increase”.

Writing for The Northern Echo, Ms McEvoy said: “As a proud market town, our town centre has and always will bear out the health of our local economy. We have a brilliant and growing independent retail café, bar and restaurant scene, but I appreciate the challenges that are facing our entrepreneurs.

“I have taken action to support them. One of the first things I did once I was elected was to clamp down on the private parking companies issuing unfair fines in the town and, at the end of last year, I launched a campaign for stronger police powers to ban balaclavas as we’ve all noticed the anti-social behaviour in the town centre.

“Ultimately, our town centre thrives when people have more cash to spend and, currently, we are not getting the footfall we want into the town. The town centre as we knew it was decimated by the last Government’s reckless approach to our economy, and shopping habits have changed.

“But we have much to be proud of and celebrate. I applaud the hard work and courage of the Darlington small business community and would love to see footfall increase. That’s why the first priority of this Government must be tackling the cost of living, so everyone in Darlington is better off.

“Supporting independent businesses, increasing footfall, and clamping down on anti-social behaviour are the priorities, but by rebuilding our economy, our town will thrive. That starts with tackling the cost of living, so there is more cash in people’s pockets, which they can spend in our fantastic local shops and hospitality businesses.

“We have increased pay, increased funding for Darlington Council, cut energy and childcare costs, inflation is coming down and interest rates have been cut six times. There’s more to do, but I’m determined to make everyone in our town better off.

“The failure and mismanagement of the last Government left us with many issues to tackle to better support our high streets: the increase of anti-social behaviour and shop theft, a rise in counterfeit goods, record inflation, record interest rates, an energy supply crisis and botched Brexit deals that added huge burdens on business and supply chain costs.

“Our town centre still bears these scars. While the world of online retail booms, big chains have moved out of town centres and into retail parks or supermarkets. I think the future of our town centre must be in our hardworking independent shops, pubs, and restaurants.

“That’s why we have announced we will be launching a High Streets Strategy later in the year that will look at what more government can do to support our fantastic town centre. As a government, we’ve committed to a £4.3bn package to support businesses including to cap overnight business rate bill rises by 15 per cent for most businesses from April and £800 for the smallest.

“We’ve permanently lowered the rate multiplier, and I understand the concerns facing hospitality which is why I made sure this Government listened to them on pub business rates, giving them a 15 per cent discount on new business rate bill, after which bills will then be frozen for a further two years. I recognise that there is more to do to support high streets and so does the Government.

“I know we’ve had to take tough decisions to balance the books nationally and that affects employers. But, by tackling the cost of living and putting money back into customers pockets, our local town centre businesses will benefit. I’ve spoken to many business owners who are worried about their future, as many working families are too.

“It’s my job to ensure Government strikes the right balance to make sure as many people as possible can succeed in our town. If anyone is disproportionately affected by national changes and has individual business concerns, please do get in touch – I’d be happy to take up their case.”