Wiltshire Council has consulted on charges for car parks across the county, including the car park at Southwick Country Park. The proposed rate at Southwick is: £0.80 for an hour, £1.30 for two and £2.70 for three.
Anybody who walks in the park for a couple of hours, twice a week, will pay over the course of a year more than £130. People who walk their dogs or train there daily are looking at double that. To levy a charge on otherwise free exercise seems perverse from a Council that reviewed and updated its Active Health web page just last month.
The huge expense involved in surfacing and marking out the car park, installing a ticket machine, lighting and security will surely outweigh any revenue from the proposed charges for years to come.
David Bird, walking his spaniel Moss, in the park, said, “My first thoughts are that people just won’t come here and those that do will park on the road.”
“What! For this car park?” said Jade Perry walking with her friend and their toddlers, “I wouldn’t come.”
The public consultation (Amendments to the Wiltshire Local Transport Plan 2011- 2026; Car Parking Strategy) ended on 23rd November but the cabinet meeting at which at the decisions will finally be made is on January 18th.
Here are the contact details for the relevant Council department:
tel: 01249 706131; email: parking@wiltshire.gov.uk
Comments have been enabled for this post.
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 
If parking fees go ahead then the car park needs.. 1. Making bigger and 2. Resurfacing
Also the pathways around the country need widening, resurfacing and shrubs cutting back.
If all those changes took place I’d happily pay to use the facilities, if not I wouldn’t use at all!!
I’ve just sent a message to parking@wilts.gov.uk but it bounced back.
Sorry; they may have closed the email address now that the consultation period is over. I have a postal address and I will use it to replace the email address immediately. You’ll have to send a postcard; remember those? Thank you keeping me informed.
My apologies: I had copied the email address wrongly. I have corrected it.
With mental health rife costing billions to our NHS, exercise and time outdoors exercising and socializing is a natural way to alleviate some of the difficulties people have, WCC stop thinking it could be more cash in your pocket and help Wiltshire’s residents to maintain their physical and mental health by enjoying some of our natural areas. It belongs and was paid for untimately by Wiltshires residents in the first place?back off!