Westbury Hill Car Park
(Page Updated October 28th)
In September, the Council returned to the issue of introducing charges to their car parks.
Our previous councillors, Geoff Gollop, Steven Smith and Sharon Scott had always supported the view that such charges would have a very detrimental effect on the life of the village and the had invited residents to join an email list to be kept informed of impending decisions. This, together with mailing lists held by the Society and the Westbury Forum, meant that, despite being given only a week's notice of the Council meeting, over 50 written responses were made - and only one in favour... The Society's response can be viewed here, and was quoted by Caroline Gooch at the meeting. A detailed analysis of all the responses is given here... In the event, the proposal was voted down by five votes to four, but the issue seemed likely to return in the future...
In the event, the respite was brief indeed, as the revised proposals were presented to the Committee in December!
The full proposals can be viewed here but, in summary, one-hour parking would be free with subsequent hours costing £1.50
All transactions, including the first hour, were to be done by phone.
The Society again made a detailed response, reiterating previous concerns and also pointing out the discriminatory impact or requiring people to "book" their parking by phone
At the meeting, an amendment was proposed by Councillor Nicholas Coombes, that the one hour free tickets should be available from the machine without the need to contact the parking provider, removing the need for a phone. This was agreed and the amended proposals were voted through 7-2.
The next step will be an application for a Traffic Regulation Order, which requires a period of public consultation.
Our previous councillors, Geoff Gollop, Steven Smith and Sharon Scott had always supported the view that such charges would have a very detrimental effect on the life of the village and the had invited residents to join an email list to be kept informed of impending decisions. This, together with mailing lists held by the Society and the Westbury Forum, meant that, despite being given only a week's notice of the Council meeting, over 50 written responses were made - and only one in favour... The Society's response can be viewed here, and was quoted by Caroline Gooch at the meeting. A detailed analysis of all the responses is given here... In the event, the proposal was voted down by five votes to four, but the issue seemed likely to return in the future...
In the event, the respite was brief indeed, as the revised proposals were presented to the Committee in December!
The full proposals can be viewed here but, in summary, one-hour parking would be free with subsequent hours costing £1.50
All transactions, including the first hour, were to be done by phone.
The Society again made a detailed response, reiterating previous concerns and also pointing out the discriminatory impact or requiring people to "book" their parking by phone
At the meeting, an amendment was proposed by Councillor Nicholas Coombes, that the one hour free tickets should be available from the machine without the need to contact the parking provider, removing the need for a phone. This was agreed and the amended proposals were voted through 7-2.
The next step will be an application for a Traffic Regulation Order, which requires a period of public consultation.
