Park and chide (From Swindon Advertiser)

Park and chide

9:28am Thursday 25th January 2007 in News By Gareth Bethell

SWINDON Council's mathematicians may say the Wroughton park and ride is not worth keeping but those on the buses disagree.

The 9am bus from Wrough-ton to town is one of the busiest journeys with people from Bristol, Hungerford and Calne relying on it to get them to work.

Yesterday was no exception and while some had already heard about the proposed closure and others were only just realising the impact everyone was united in opposing the idea.

James Soole, 27, a project manage from Hungerford, said: "'I work in the town centre and I have been using it for about a year.

"It's a good service and I rely on it. Parking in Swindon is so expensive for an office day and this is cheap.

"I had no idea they were thinking of this and it will be bad for me. It's a real shame because there is nothing else in Swindon that can offer this."

The council says the service is running at half capacity with 315 people using it a day last year.

Yesterday Coun Peter Greenhalgh the cabinet member for highways, transport and strategic planning, said that the Wroughton site would be mothballed until the Wichelstowe development takes shape.

Richard Stacey, 40, from Bristol, who works at the Wiltshire Law Centre, said: "I absolutely depend on the park and ride.

"I live in Bristol and commute every day and it's an excellent facility. All the staff are very nice and helpful.

"It's monumental stupidity to do it. On environmental grounds it doesn't make any sense.

"Even if it's only running at 50 per cent capacity, which is what the council is saying, that 50 per cent is now going to be parking in the town and adding to the congestion. Let's hope they reconsider."

Simon Gardner, 34, a project manager, said: "I would be stuffed if that's the case. I used to park in the car park on Bristol Street but the town centre is not very accessible.

"This is ideal because I travel in from Calne and now I don't have to park in the town centre.

"Car parks in the town are so expensive. This service is every 12 minutes and it drops me outside the office so it's ideal."

The Wroughton park and ride was opened in April 2002 and cost £2m.

It has 640 parking spaces and benefits people from out of town and closer to home.

Romit Ehatt, 20, a track engineer from Wootton Bassett, said: "I would feel quite bad if I had to stop using it.

"I do rely on it quite heavily, I don't know what I would do without this service. Normal buses are much more unreliable and I once had to wait 45 minutes for one.

"But the park and ride is so much better. I use it every day and it's perfect."

Fiona Morley, 24, an account handler from Wroughton, said: "I use it every day and I'm going to have to really rethink how I get to work.

"I live in Wroughton and my boyfriend and I share a car, so it's easy for him to drop me off at the park and ride.

"I could get a bus straight from Wroughton but they are irregular and this is just an easy service to use.

"I won't be completely stuck but it means my boyfriend taking me into town which is another car in the town centre in the morning."

For others there was also a financial concern. Keith Newman, 46, an IT worker from Broad Town, said: "I've just bought an annual season ticket, which cost £390, so I won't be very happy at all if they do that.

"I use it every day and I am very disappointed to hear that they are thinking of mothballing it. I think it's a good service."

Land will not be sold off vows council

THE Wroughton park and ride is being touted to companies around Swindon as the council looks to cash in on its temporary closure.

Swindon Council revealed this week that the site is to be mothballed after admitting it was operating at half its capacity.

Coun Peter Greenhalgh, the council's cabinet member for highways, transport and strategic planning, said that it was his "gut feeling" that the park and ride would be up and running again in two years' time once the regeneration of the town centre and the Wichelstowe development began to take shape.

He said the Wroughton park and ride was not cost effective, but that the council remained committed to using park and ride to reduce congestion on Swindon's roads.

Last year 115,000 commuters used the scheme generating more than £250,000 in council revenue.

But the Adver can reveal that the council is currently receiving in the region of £80,000 on top of that figure from nearby Nationwide for the lease of approximately 100 car parking spaces.

And on that valuation the council could pocket as much as £500,000 per year if a suitable partner can be found.

Nationwide was recently offered the chance to extend that deal once the park and ride closes down, but have denied that the approach has led to any formal discussions, stating that it does not wish to rent more than 100 spaces.

Yet the council has confirmed it is still hoping to talk to other interested parties about taking over the site in the interim period.

"We have talked to Nationwide and other organisations who may wish to use the car park," confirmed council spokesman Richard Freeman.

The council has also reaffirmed its position that the park and ride will reopen and that the land will not be sold for development.

And Nationwide spokesman Steve Cowdry said the building society had no intention of buying the site to help ease the company's long-running parking problems.

He said: "We are very lucky in that we have a large car park, but that does not quite meet the needs of our employees.

"We lease 100 spaces from the council at the Wroughton park and ride and we pay something in the region of £80,000.

"We are encouraging car sharing and bus use, but we will continue to explore other avenues.

"However we have no intention of buying the park and ride land and we are not looking to increase our current number of spaces."

Meanwhile, Swindon's three Liberal Democrat councillors have hit out at the proposals to close the Wroughton park and ride due to the knock-on effect extra traffic will have on their constituents.

"Closing it will add 40,000 cars to a grossly overcrowded town centre, where will all these extra drivers park?" said Coun Dave Wood (Lib Dem, Eastcott).

"The council has let down Old Town and town centre residents yet again with a plan that goes against Swindon Borough Council's stated transport plan.

"It proves the Tories do not take green issues seriously."