Debate contribution: On-street Parking Charges in Lisburn
Debate contribution by Mr Cathal Boylan on .
- MLA
- Mr Cathal Boylan
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 11 November 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Adjournment
- Heading
- On-street Parking Charges in Lisburn
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5349812
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate, and I realise that the Minister, who is my constituency colleague, is well familiar with Newry. It does not surprise me that Mr Honeyford stayed for one hour and six minutes and got a fine. I speak today as my party's spokesperson on transport and as a constituency MLA who fully recognises the issues that the debate sponsor has raised. It is clear to us all that our town centres and high streets are very different places from what they were when the original restrictions on parking were developed. With greater consumer use of online shopping, our high streets face challenges in attracting people to retail units and shops. It is therefore welcome that we are having this Adjournment debate today to put a focus on exploring ways in which to encourage people to visit our towns and high streets, not deter them from doing so. Having spoken to the Minister about the topic, and knowing how aware she is of the issues facing constituencies such as Lagan Valley and her own, I am certain that she is keen to play her part to create a busier shopping culture for businesses not just in Lisburn but in Newry and right across the North. A certain degree of flexibility on parking restrictions is needed around the time that people can spend parked in the one spot to help attract them to nearby businesses. We must ensure, however, that any future flexibility is not at the detriment of those same businesses, given that long-stay parking, quite possibly for a full day, as many other Members mentioned, also creates challenges for our town centres and high streets. I welcome the opportunity to speak today on this important topic. I hope that the Minister can, in the future, work to ensure that her Department supports our town centres and high streets to flourish.
318 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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