Southwark Council's Cabinet has noted a petition concerning parking issues in Dulwich Village, which called for more free parking, the removal of road restrictions, and the reversal of parking charges in Dulwich Park. The petition, titled Save our High Street - Support Dulwich Village Businesses
, was prompted by concerns that much-loved businesses like Romeo Jones, Jigsaw, and Biff have closed their doors
and that shops that remain are seeing sharp declines in footfall, reviewing opening hours, and even reducing staffing.
The petitioners attribute these issues to traffic and parking policies
and are calling for more free parking spaces near the shops for residents, business and visitors,
scrapping road restrictions that are hurting our local businesses,
and reversing the 24/7 parking charges in Dulwich Park.
Councillor John Batteson, Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency, Jobs and Transport, addressed the petition, reaffirming his commitment to collaborate with local businesses, the Dulwich Estate, ward councillors, residents, and the trader's association. He stated that the council has no plans to remove
the existing timed-access restriction along Dulwich Village, which was introduced in 2022 as part of the Dulwich Streetspace and School Streets programme.
The restriction, which applies only to northbound traffic from 8-9am and 3-4:30pm on weekdays during term time, has a primary purpose of road safety, and serves to protect pupils walking, wheeling, or cycling to school, and improving safety at the Dulwich Village / Calton Avenue junction for everyone.
The petition argues that these policies are a major cause of the problem
and make the village more confusing, less accessible, and less welcoming.
The council's response indicates that the scheme plays an important role in keeping children safe while minimising wider disruption.
The petition report can be found here.
