Council to consider alternative sites for Yarm car park

STOCKTON Borough Council is to explore alternative sites for new car parks in Yarm town centre following public consultation during the summer.

The Council outlined a range of possible measures during the consultation, including providing a new long-stay car park, charging for short-stay parking, a permit scheme for residents' parking and extending disc parking from two to three hours.

Three sites were put forward as initial ideas for a new long-stay car park - land behind Yarm Health Centre, Worsall Road allotments and land east of the access road to Yarm Cemetery.  The consultation also invited views on other suitable sites.

Local residents, businesses and shoppers took part in the four-week consultation, which included doorstep leaflet drops, web pages, exhibitions and face-to-face meetings with community groups.  888 responses were received.

Councillor Bob Cook, Stockton Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Transport, said:  "The consultation achieved its aims by stimulating debate and bringing new ideas, with a range of opinions both for and against the suggestions put forward.

"In particular, I am very pleased that several people came forward with alternative suggestions for car park sites, which we will now investigate.

"There was clear and widespread support for an additional long-stay car park somewhere in Yarm, with 62 per cent in flavour of this.  However, the consultation made it clear that provision of a new car park and a residents' permit parking scheme would depend on funding from charging for short-stay parking in the High Street.  Although only 31 per cent overall supported the idea of charges, nearly half the town centre residents who responded were in favour.

"In the short term, at least, we have no intention of introducing charging.

"Many people liked the idea of a residents' permit parking scheme, particularly those who live in the town centre and who are directly affected by on-street commuter parking.

"But the consultation suggested little desire to extend the current disc parking form 2 hours to 3 hours maximum, with only around a third supporting this."

Of the sites identified in the consultation, the land behind the Medical Centre was the most favoured.  However, the Council is keen to pursue all options available, particularly other potential sites in central Yarm.

Stockton Borough Council will now evaluate these, including the possibility that more than one site could offer 200 long-stay spaces between them.

Councillor Cook continued:  "We'll need to consider matters such as access arrangements, layout and proximity to local amenities - not to mention whether the sites are available - as we work through the details.

"Although we are not currently proposing to charge for existing parking in Yarm, if we can identify suitable car park sites, we may need to introduce charges to fund them."

http://www.stockton.gov.uk/

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