New car park, same problem in Stafford

Commuters are still causing misery by parking in local streets while Stafford's new £8.1 million car park is only half full.

Castletown Residents' Association says a permit scheme needs to be introduced by Staffordshire County Council to counteract the problem.

Residents believe the problem is caused not only by commuters not wanting to pay £8 all-day parking prices at the railway station car park but also by students and town workers parking there.

Tom Harris, aged 36, chairman of Castletown Residents' Association, lives on Doxey Road, which has double yellow lines.

Mr Harris is required to park on nearby roads but often finds it hard to get a space.

He said: "Many people living here are getting very frustrated with the situation.

"Since the station car park opened there have not been fewer cars here and the parking issue remains.

"I should imagine some people think that £8 a day is far too much to pay.

"We had not really anticipated the new station car park to have improved things. If the car park during peak times in the week is £8 all day, it's not likely to change things.

"We would hope to get the parking sorted soon. I can understand why people park here when it's free. At the end of the day it's their legal right."

Mr Harris added: "The main purpose when this residents' association was set up 26 years ago was to get the parking situation sorted out."

Network Rail spokesman Keith Lumley was not concerned about the new car park being only half full.

"Without actually counting the cars, I would say the car park is about half full — but I am not disappointed in that," he said.

"It has only been open just over a week. We have 'future proofed' the car park by building a facility that will cope with anticipated demand for several years to come, so I would not expect to see it full from day one."

County councillor Mark Heenan said: "A residents' parking scheme for Castletown is still very much work in progress and is something we want to get right to get best value for money for everyone.

"We're working closely with colleagues at the borough council to get the scheme up and running as soon as we can.

"We know this hasn't moved as quickly as we would have liked but we'd like to assure residents we are doing all we can to see this scheme introduced."