Village Councillors are to revisit the possibility of charging for parking in their Church Street Car Park following an approach from our Co-op.
Whilst parking there is currently free and unlimited, the foodstore’s proposal – suggesting two possible options – is on the agenda for Tuesday night’s Ruddington Parish Council Meeting (12th October).
It comes after the retailer noticed that the turnover of cars in the 39 marked car park bays is very low, with some vehicles appearing to remain there all day. Although all the spaces in front of its shop and Ruddington Medical Centre are already restricted to two hours, the Co-op is keen to increase the turnover in the Church Street car park as well. It says this is to encourage shoppers to visit Ruddington rather than travelling to larger supermarkets elsewhere because they consistently cannot find a parking space here.
To enforce these new restrictions, it proposes that Ruddington Parish Council should use Horizon Parking Limited, which manages the car parking at other, Co-op owned sites. In turn, Terry Chaney, Horizon’s Business Development Manager has recommended two, possible alternatives:
- Option 1: 2 hours maximum stay – and no returns within one hour. He says this would act as a deterrent for anyone who wished to park their longer than is necessary to visit local retailers.
- Option 2: Pay and Display parking 8am to 6pm – with the first two hours FREE, then 50p for up to three hours, £1 for up to four hours and £8 for up to 10 hours. Again, this would discourage all-day parking – and certainly put off anyone who wanted to park for more than four hours.
Mr Chaney says: “The old adage ‘If things don’t change they’ll stay as they are’ is quite apt for the situation in Ruddington. With more vehicles on the road each year, and the lack of public transport adequately serving the village, plus the impact of COVID-19 encouraging people to travel alone by car, the parking constraints in Ruddington will only increase.”
No official recommendation is being made to Parish Councillors on how they should vote – simply that they should consider the proposals from the Co-op and decide whether to progress either option. However, it’s already known that many local business people are against these plans. Last time the idea of charging for their car park was discussed, in January 2018, it was rejected unanimously by Parish Councillors.
Mike Ader, Chair of Ruddington Village Centre Partnership, which aims to represent local traders’ interests, says: “It is an ongoing challenge to satisfy parking needs of residents, traders and visitors to the village, and I trust that the Parish Council will listen to all parties to arrive at a suitable and equitable solution.”
He adds: “This proposal again highlights the need for additional parking provision within the village centre, and I hope that the Parish Council plans for the land occupied by the derelict community centre will go some way to address this, both in the immediate short term with a temporary parking area, and in the long term as part of its redevelopment.”
Members of the public and local traders are also being invited to have their say at this month’s Parish Council Meeting – which takes place at St Peter’s Rooms this Tuesday, 12th October 2021, starting at 7.30pm. You can find the full agenda >>HERE<<.
