Market town car park to double in size

Plans to almost double the size of a market town car park have been approved.

Stroud District Council has endorsed the expansion of the Marybrook Street car park in Berkeley.

Currently there are 24 spaces offered free of charge for a maximum stay of 23 hours. The new plans will extend the site by another 23 spaces.

It comes after civic chiefs said they were worried the town may be losing out on vital trade from passing tourists who struggle to park.

Local councillor for Berkeley, Lindsey Green, said: “We’ve got so much on offer but the problem Berkeley has is that people go to those places and then because they can’t park when they come up into the town, they carry on.

"That is what this will help to prevent.”

The cost of the project is estimated to be in the range of £145,000, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

District Council leader Catherine Braun said: “The town council has previously highlighted a lack of parking as being an issue for their town and see the project as a good solution.”

She explained the work would involve demolishing a garage on the site and said that there would be a consideration for more disabled parking spaces.

Councillor Chloe Turner said she felt there was a conflict between the district council’s economic regeneration objectives and their environmental ones.

She said she would vote for the scheme but would love to see ecological improvements as well as secure cycle parking.

The scheme was approved on 14 December with 33 votes in support and three abstentions.