Car park to go cashless in redevelopment plan

A town centre car park in Surrey is set to go cashless after plans to upgrade its ticket machines were approved.

Pay-and-display machines will replace pay meters in the Hook Road multi-storey car park as part of the Epsom and Ewell Borough Council's plans to develop a new town centre.

The car park was built directly on a historic coal and gas manufacturing site, dating back to the 1870s.

It is situated above a “concrete capped former tar pit with a "very high level of contamination", reports said.

Earlier this year, the council announced it had entered an agreement with the developers of the nearby SGN gas works as part of its long-standing ambition to build the new town centre.

The current pay meters are nearing the end of their functioning lifespan and need replacing, requiring users to go cashless, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Those who are unwilling to, or cannot go cashless, have been advised to park elsewhere.

The council’s committee heard that many of the car park users were season ticket holders and would not need the new system.

Ringo has been selected to replace the pay-and-display machine, which will add a 20p "convenience charge" to each transaction.

The committee said it would look at whether to pass the full increase on to motorists at a later date.

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