Rescued car park scraps fees

21 March 2010

A CAR park which was once threatened with closure will be free for motorists from next year.

Axbridge Town Council has saved the Meadow Street facility by purchasing it from Sedgemoor District Council. It has been renamed Axbridge Town Car Park and from April 1 2011 motorists will no longer have to pay to use it.

It will cost about £5,000 per year to run the car park and the cash will come from the town council's precept and where available, grants.

A council spokesman said: "This is the cheapest option to the electorate and the most simple to achieve.

"There are additional costs involved with charging and then policing the car park which would not be met by income estimates, hence it would be more cost effective to not charge and then only have the cost of maintaining the car park."

The future of the car park was decided at the town's annual assembly. A total of 21 people supported the decision, with two voting against.

The fate of the amenity has been part of an ongoing saga in the town since 2008, when the district council put it out to tender to plug a funding gap of £1.8million.

At the meeting it was also agreed that the district council would continue to manage the car park for an interim period to enable the town council to make the necessary arrangements to take over its management in due course.

It is intended that after 12 months into the trial, there will be a six month period during which the town council will review the situation.