Plans to ease town centre parking problems
Archived press release
Date Published: 27/11/09
Workers, shoppers and visitors to Buckingham are set to benefit from a greater choice of places to park their cars according to new proposals from Aylesbury Vale District Council.
As part of a £300,000 package of improvements which aims to boost the number of parking spaces available in the town, AVDC is planning to provide a new long-stay car park at Buckingham Athletic Football Club.
Initially the council will relay the existing car park at the Stratford Fields ground to provide some 40 additional long-stay spaces from next summer. Depending on the football club’s own ambitious expansion plans, there may be the possibility of a second phase of development to create a further 60 spaces there.
AVDC is also planning to switch 120 bays at the 160-space Cornwalls Meadow car park from long stay to short stay to increase the spaces available for shoppers and visitors to the town. The council is also in discussions with local traders regarding new signage, lighting and planting plans for the car park.
As part of the council’s wider budget setting proposals, it is also proposed to introduce charging for long and short-stay parking in the town.
The proposal for short-stay parking is for the first hour to remain free, then 30p for two hours, 50p for three hours, £1 for four hours and £1.50 for five hours. Charges in long-stay bays (up to 24 hours) would be capped at £2.50 per day.
It is proposed that free parking in the evening and on Sunday will remain, and also that all of these charges are fixed for two years.
The proposed parking charges will be considered by the council as part of its overall budget setting process. There are also plans to increase parking charges in Aylesbury, Wendover and Winslow.
Consultation about improving the provision of parking in Buckingham has been taking place with the local traders association and the town council, who both support the need for increasing the number of parking spaces in the town.
Councillor Kevin McPartland, Cabinet Member for Civic Amenities at AVDC, said: “These proposals go some way towards meeting the great need for improved parking facilities for the town. People park in Buckingham for many reasons – from popping into the town centre shops to workers who want to leave their cars in the town all day. We are aware that many local traders have been concerned about the lack of short-stay spaces at Cornwalls Meadow in particular, so the time is right to think about the type of parking on offer and what can be done to make better use of what we have available.
“We believe that developing a new long-stay car park at Stratford Fields and increasing the provision of short-stay spaces at Cornwalls Meadow are together a good way forward to help support the local economy whilst at the same time assisting Buckingham Athletic Football Club achieve its aim of becoming a broader community facility.”
Councillor McPartland added: “A review of charges across all AVDC-owned car parks in the district has been part of a broader financial exercise to see how we can make £1.1 million of savings across all council budgets. The proposals for introducing modest charges in the Buckingham car parks are officer recommendations at this stage but they are in line with the proposals we have set out for other car parks. Most importantly, they still retain some free time and if agreed would be fixed at those levels for two years.”
Mike Smith, Chairman of Buckingham Town Council's environment and property committee, said: “We welcome the proposals for increasing the parking facilities in Buckingham, and we shall be in discussions with the district council about extending the free parking period.”
Mike Foster, Chairman of the Buckingham Traders' Association (BTA), added: “The BTA members see the additional car spaces at Stratford Fields and the re-assigning of the Cornwalls Meadow spaces as a positive step forward. It was always going to be difficult to balance what was right for Buckingham in terms of the desire to increase visitors and the need to accommodate those who work in town, but we feel this is the right mix. To the BTA it seems pointless to trade and try and attract customers to town when those trading were taking up the spaces our customers could use.
“We must continue to encourage people to come and visit and shop in Buckingham and by making more short to medium spaces available for visitors or shoppers, whilst still providing those who trade or work in town with a place to park, is at this point the right way forward.
“We hope this is just the first step forward in improving the overall car parking needs in Buckingham. It is an issue that we are keen to help with as we envisage that parking will continue be a hot topic as Buckingham continues to grow.”
The council’s cabinet will meet to consider the 2010/11 budget, which includes the proposed changes to parking charges, on Tuesday 1 December. Following the cabinet meeting, the draft budget will then be discussed by each scrutiny committee before cabinet finalise their proposals for consideration by full council in February next year.