Concern raised as country park charges approved

Parking charges will be introduced at a country park in Nottinghamshire despite concerns from local residents.

It is currently free to park at Gedling Country Park, but a daily charge of £2 was approved by Gedling Borough Council's cabinet on Thursday and will come into effect in the spring.

Some members of the weekly parkrun event fear it could discourage participants and volunteers, while others are worried parking could spill over into nearby roads.

The council said the £2 charge, which would apply between 08:00 and 18:00, was "very reasonable" and would go towards the park's maintenance.

Parkrun volunteer Richard Smith said he and others could be put off.

"We give up our free time to volunteer here. I'd be aggrieved to volunteer here and pay when I could go to another parkrun and not have to pay," he said.

"If we lose the volunteers, we can't safely put a parkrun on."

Fellow volunteer Tracy Hill said she agreed with parking fees for most visitors but felt charging those who helped with parkrun was "short-sighted".

"If you ever go on a Saturday morning at 10 o'clock when parkrun's finished, the cafe is probably at its busiest because it's full of parkrunners and spectators and volunteers all spending money," she said.

The council said a review of other Nottinghamshire parkrun events found 40% had parking charges, with fees varying between £1.50 and £2.

A public consultation received 75 responses, 68 of which raised concerns or objected to the charges.

The report states the majority of feedback was from people who use the park up to twice a day and so could be faced with paying £730 a year for parking.

The council said it was looking into a permit system for regular users to pay for parking for a set price which was yet to be determined.

Local resident Charlotte McMullen said she was worried the charges would cause visitors to park on surrounding streets.

"I think you're probably not going to get as many families at the weekend using the park, or they'll park on the main road," she said.

The council said there were double yellow lines on the majority of adjoining streets but it would be "monitoring this situation closely".

The council said maintaining the park costed about £180,000 per year.

The report discussed by the authority's cabinet on Thursday acknowledges vehicle usage is likely to drop, but the income from the charges could be up to £200,000 a year assuming a 50% reduction.

Council leader John Clarke said all of the money raised would be reinvested in the park, which was approaching its 10-year anniversary.

"We're a victim of our own success. There are so many people using the park, it runs into the hundreds of thousands a year," he said.

"We've got to look at the maintenance, we've got to look at the wear and tear, and we do want to expand it still."

He said voluntary donation boxes installed at the car park only raised about £4,000 a year.

Two new pay and display machines are expected to cost £12,000.

Friends of Gedling Country Park volunteers will continue to receive free parking.

The authority expects the charges for other visitors to begin in the spring but a specific date has not yet been given.

The council said there would be a "grace period" for about a month after the charges started.

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