00:00As the Easter holidays approach, Canterbury is typically packed with tourists and residents.
00:05But this year, local businesses are still feeling the effects of a drop in foot traffic following the recent meningitis
00:11outbreak.
00:12In response, Canterbury City Council has announced reduced parking charges over the Easter period,
00:17in an effort to encourage visitors back into the city and support struggling businesses.
00:23One of the venues at the centre of the outbreak, Club Chemistry, has now reopened its doors.
00:27So, for us really, it's more just about we have lost two young members of our community
00:34and I feel like our job now is just making sure that going forwards, that means something
00:42and that actually that memory is going to be used to protect a generation of people that otherwise are not
00:49going to be protected.
00:50I've been over everything. There is nothing we could have done.
00:53Like many businesses in the area, it experienced a loss of income during the outbreak.
00:57And concerns about trade remains across the community.
01:00The streets are starting to pick up, but not as busy as they used to be.
01:04Local businesses are concerned with their footfall low since the outbreak,
01:08but are hopeful things will start to pick up again.
01:11There has been a dramatic decrease and it's quite shocking,
01:15because normally January and February is quiet and then the build-up starts at the beginning of March
01:21and we've just seen probably a third of the footfall that we would have seen naturally.
01:28Despite these challenges, there are hopes that initiatives like Reduce Parking will help bring people back into Canterbury
01:34and give local businesses a much-needed boost.
01:36I think it's great for tourism, people coming to visit, because the car parks are very expensive.
01:43Yeah, I think obviously if you make something cheaper, more people are going to want to come,
01:46even if it's not necessarily somewhere they're wanting to go,
01:49because if they see, oh, £1 parking, you're going to want to go,
01:53because it feels like you're missing out otherwise.
01:55For me personally, as someone who lives in Dover,
01:57who drives up and uses the park and ride in and out of town every time I do this,
02:01that's fantastic news for me, because my cost of getting here has just been slashed in quarter.
02:06But for the locals, I'd like to hope so.
02:09I'd certainly like to hope so.
02:10The Easter holidays are always quite a nice, busy time anyway.
02:14There's a lot of stuff to see and do in Canterbury,
02:16so you'd hope that perhaps lowering the barrier of entry just might entice more people to go,
02:21oh, actually, it'd normally cost me £4 to park up, it's only going to cost me £1.
02:25With businesses reopening and new measures in place,
02:28Canterbury is hoping for a very busy Easter.
02:30and a steady recovery after a difficult few weeks.
02:34Maisie Walker for KMTV, Canterbury.
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