Plan to introduce charges to replace free evening and Sunday parking in Bishop's Stortford
Shoppers and town centre staff are being urged to respond to a proposed car parking shake-up that will ramp up costs in Bishop’s Stortford town centre.
East Herts Council is proposing a raft of changes that will remove free 30-minute parking sessions and introduce new charges on Sundays, evenings and bank holidays at 1,729 spaces.
Residents have until August 5 to register their views. Bishop’s Stortford BID (Business Improvement District), which represents shops and services in the town centre, is calling on all those affected to comment.
The council has already caused controversy with closure of the Causeway car park and spaces at Charringtons, following the opening of its 573-bay multi-storey at Northgate End on June 13.
The site is set for redevelopment as part of East Herts’ vision to create a cultural quarter called Old River Lane, and the authority has yet to find an interim use for the land.
In the meantime, motorists at the new five-storey facility have criticised its layout and design, claiming it is difficult to navigate in larger vehicles.
BID manager Gina Thomas said: “We'd like to ask everyone who uses the Bishop's Stortford car parks to take part in this consultation. It's important East Herts know how these proposed changes will impact your use of the town centre and in turn how businesses will be affected. Please comment directly to East Herts in writing as they require – they won’t take into account comments on social media.”
East Herts wants to remove free parking for the first 30 minutes at 86 spaces in Apton Road, 71 bays in Basbow Lane and 64 at Crown Terrace.
Free parking on Sundays and bank holidays would also cease at those three sites and at Grange Paddocks car park A’s 80 spaces and 47 spaces at Elm Road.
There is currently a £1 charge on Sundays at Link Road, where there are 100 short-stay bays, and at Northgate End. The proposal is to replace that flat daily rate with hourly tariffs too.
Across the town, the revisions will bring Apton Road, Basbow Lane, Crown Terrace car parks A and B and Elm Road into line with Northgate End and Link Road by extending charging hours from 6.30pm to 8pm every day of the week. Tickets must be bought from 7.30am at all except Crown Terrace B, which starts charging at 8.30am.
Charging would also be extended at Grange Paddocks A, with payment required from 9am to 8pm. Car park B, which currently offers a mix of free parking for 2.5 hours and £2.20 for five hours, will continue to charge until 5pm. Parking will remain free in Grange Paddocks C every day between 9am and 5pm for leisure centre users.
Objections to the proposals, stating grounds, must be emailed to dominique.kingsbury@eastherts.gov.uk. Alternatively, write to Dominique Kingsbury, East Herts Council, Parking Services, Wallfields, Pegs Lane, Hertford SG13 8EQ.
