POOR parking in Chester is costing retailers a fortune, according to a damning national survey.
According to the latest Gerald Eve Survey, Chester continues to score poorly as a retail destination because of poor access and motorists are opting for easy-access retail parks instead.
An alarming 48% of survey respondents rate Chester's parking as 'very negative' and 31% 'negative' in the latest Prime Retail study.
While Chester has moved up one position in the overall league table to 21st position out of the 32 towns and cities surveyed, trade continues to decline in the city.
Competition is intense for retailers in Chester as Cheshire Oaks remains the single most significant competitor, but the Trafford centre and Liverpool and Manchester city centres are growing as competing centres.
Steven Grindley, partner at Gerald Eve's Liverpool office, said: 'With a huge 45% of retail trade in the city centre attributable to tourists and visitors, car parking facilities are a major issue.
'Only York and the West End of London have a higher dependency on tourists than Chester. It would seem Chester is a city hamstrung by its historical legacy, rendering it poorly functional for shoppers and retailers.
'Trading conditions in the city are difficult with a third of respondents describing trade as 'disappointing'.
'What is more worrying, though, is that trade has declined over the last three years and optimism for the coming three years is muted compared with the rest of the UK.
'Prime rents have not moved but, elsewhere, rental growth has been apparent in the Grosvenor shopping centre and other secondary locations off the prime Eastgate area.'
He added: 'There has also been quite a lot of activity in the property market over the last year. Retailer demand is consistently robust for a city of Chester's size, with some 95 retailers seeking a presence in the city at the present time. As a result, vacancy rates remain modest at just over 6% across the city.'
Key fashion operators Zara and H&M are the latest newcomers to the city with the announcement of House of Fraser's move into Northgate imminent.
Stephen Welch, chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce, said: 'The findings are disappointing news for Chester and given trade has declined over the last three years, we clearly need to get a much stronger message across to visitors and residents that Chester is 'open for business'.
'The fact is that accessibility and parking remain key issues for visitors and residents. Clearly, more needs to be done. We need to see further park-and-ride facilities in Chester as quickly as possible.'
