APPARENTLY St Albans is one of the best cities in the UK for preserving independent retailers.

I know – when I read the above line I burst out laughing too.

Sadly, the reality is no laughing matter.

No doubt the authors of the press release which made the bold claim have never ventured up to the top end of St Peters Street or Catherine Street.

And members of the New Economic Foundation probably did not attend last Wednesday’s meeting where St Albans district councillors discussed how to halt the desperate slide of so many wonderful establishments.

It is clear that shoppers no longer feel the need to wander up to the top of St Peters Street or Catherine Street and, as a result, this particular area of St Albans has been hit hard.

The key word in the sentence above is “wander”.

You see, for all of the council’s waffle about going green and cutting emissions in the city centre, stopping people from parking their cars for free in such streets will send them to out-of-town supermarkets.

City centre parking in St Albans is over-priced and the main car parks are over-subscribed.

Meanwhile private landlords have refused to drop their rates, making the position for a number of treasured retailers untenable.

Unfortunately nothing can be done about that but there must be a way of attracting more shoppers.

If you want to go to St Peters Street or Catherine Street – where would you park? Drovers Way if you are lucky. Or by the Alban Arena, but – as has been clearly highlighted by the drop in footfall in this area – people just cannot be bothered to walk.

Shoppers want easy parking. They can get it at Waitrose, Sainsbury’s or Morrisons and when shopping with children, prams and pushchairs, who can blame them for demanding such a luxury?

Unfortunately the district council seems obsessed with paving slabs, road changes and parking charge hikes and has been labelled a “car-hating” authority by some of our readers. Harsh? Maybe, but when you look at the facts, it is hard not to see their point.

The council is correct to investigate how to cut emissions in areas like Holywell Hill but stopping people from parking in St Peters Street and other similar roads will simply hit the pockets of much-loved and treasured independent retailers.

I am certain that if the district council offered motorists an olive branch and brought back the one-hour free parking system in certain roads, we would all see a marked improvement. And what about bringing back that service road so that people can be dropped off without the driver fearing punishment from the Traffic Gestapo?

My concern is the district council will see a quick tidy up of the area as enough to buck the trend, but re-introducing the service road would do far more.

Traders do not need pot plants or a more aesthetically pleasing street – they need more customers.

And if they will only come in their cars the district council has got a decision to make. The sooner the better…