Residents off-street parking scheme for Shrewsbury town centre moves forward

A new residents parking scheme, allowing residents to buy permits to park in Shrewsbury town centre car parks, has gone out for formal consultation.

People who live in Shrewsbury town centre were written to in April 2013 asking if they supported the idea of a new scheme, and 82% of people who responded were in favour of the proposal.

The new scheme will replace the previous temporary arrangement in place for those residents who held a permit from the previous council.

Proposals include:

• Allowing residents to park on Abbey Foregate, St Julian’s Friars or Frankwell Main car parks for a discounted rate (50 per cent of the daily ticket price for 12 months and 40 per cent for six months).

• Up to two permits per household, allowing one vehicle registration on each.

Traffic orders have now been published on the council’s website, and people can view them and make comments by clicking here.

Anyone wishing to make comments must do so by 6 June 2013.

The creation of this scheme follows concerns from many residents about the difficulties of parking near their homes, particularly inside the river loop.

It does not include on-street parking bays, as they are limited in the town centre and principally aimed for short stops by people visiting the town centre.  All on-street bays (apart from designated disabled bays) are unrestricted from 6pm-6.30pm, depending on the exact location, and therefore potentially available for residents at night.

Claire Wild, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport, said:

“The vast majority of people who responded to the initial consultation were in favour of these plans, and it’s important people have a look at the formal traffic orders to make sure they are happy with them.  We appreciate they won’t be perfect for everyone, but these proposals have had a positive reaction so far as they will offer an option for residents to be able to park their car at a reduced price.”

The traffic orders have been published in the Shropshire Star, and are available at shropshire.gov.uk/traffic.

Those who do not have Internet access can collect copies of the information at the council’s Customer Service Centre hub in The Guildhall.

People can email traffic.engineering@shropshire.gov.uk or post their response to Shrewsbury Residents Parking Scheme, Transport Planning, Shropshire Council, Shirehall, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, SY2 6ND.

All comments need to be received by the end of Thursday 6 June 2013 for consideration.

If people support the proposals, the order will come into force by the end of June and permits should be available from 1 July.

Further information

It is proposed that future concessionary permits will only be available for specific off-street locations, and that the maximum number of concessions available in each car park will be:

• Frankwell Main – 110 residents permits
• St Julian’s Friars – 40 residents permits
• Abbey Foregate – 80 residents permits

For a 12-month permit, the charges proposed are for Frankwell Main and St Julian’s Friars £400 per annum, and for Abbey Foregate car park £270 per annum.

For a six-month permit, the charges proposed are for Frankwell Main and St Julian’s Friars £240 per annum, and for Abbey Foregate car park £162 per annum.

Initial consultation responses

1,038 letters were delivered to homes in Shrewsbury town centre in April 2013.  7.51% of people returned responses, with 82% of those agreeing with the scheme, and 18% disagreeing.