Peter Gibson launches ‘town centre manifesto’ for Darlington

The manifesto has been launched following an emergency trader meeting held by Mr Gibson on Wednesday, February 11.

Independent businesses in Darlington spoke about issues affecting them, such as the lack of free parking, declining footfall and the number of beggars and anti-social behaviour in the town.

A petition was also launched by Darlington Conservatives last week to bring free parking back to the town.

Mr Gibson, who served as Darlington MP from 2019-2024, explained why he has launched the manifesto.

He said: “This manifesto has been launched with the deliberate intent of raising positive ideas for improving the challenging situation that we face in town.

“I trust the members of the council will have seen the sincerity with which it has been produced on behalf of the businesses in the town and it is up to them to take forward plans to respond to and take forward some, or all, of these suggestions for the betterment of this community.”

Former Darlington MP Peter Gibson held an emergency trader summit on February 1 (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

There are 19 points to the manifesto, with some including:

• On street parking on Skinnergate and other town centre streets where space allows.
• Proper enforcement against begging in Darlington.
• Active and visible control of anti-social behaviour.
• Re-introduction of a time-limited free parking offer with active management and policing.
• Steps to generate greater market trader attendance in Darlington.

Writing on Facebook, the former Conservative MP for the town said the purpose of the emergency trader meeting was to “establish a list of policies and ideas that could be looked at locally to address these challenges”.

Mr Gibson said: “I am publishing today these ideas as Darlington Town Centre Manifesto, generated from our business community – the people who are on the front line and doing their best to operate in challenging circumstances.”

Points of the manifesto also include improved reliability of bus services, improved safety of shoppers and greater police visibility in the town.

At the emergency trader summit on February 11, independent businesses were unanimous in wanting to bring free parking back to the town.

One said: “Everything goes back to parking. People do not want to pay it.”

Another added: “People do not want to pay for parking locally when they can drive to other places and park for free.”

Independent traders unanimously backed calls to bring some form of free parking back to the town (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

Darlington Borough Council previously said its car parks “remain well used” and are “consistently fully occupied at peak times even with the reintroduction of charges", adding that data shows town centre footfall has remained “largely unchanged” in recent years.

Traders also noted other issues facing the town centre.

Darren Syddall, owner of Origins Home and Coffee Bar on Grange Road previously said the town could be cleaned more often.

He said: “There is chewing gum all over the street and I have only seen the paths cleaned once by the machines in 26 years. We don't feel like a priority.”

While Ann Gent of Lions Club Charity Book Shop said what happens to the House of Fraser building is “critical”.

She said: “What happens to Binns is critical - if that were to be boarded up, that would just look terrible. It needs to be handled carefully.

Darren Sydall, owner of Origins, at the emergency trader meeting (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

“For me, the solution would be to bring somebody like John Lewis into Darlington to take over the Binns building.”

Darlington Borough Council previously said it has a town centre strategy and has done for many years.

It added: “The purpose of this strategy is to deliver real positive change to our town centre, placing it at the heart of our community for years to come.

“This strategy is currently under review to ensure it remains timely and relevant in a constantly changing retail and town centre environment.”

The council did not respond by the time of publication in relation to Mr Gibson's manifesto.