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Car park changes as coach park set to become new long stay
07/06/2022
Bolton Road will become short stay only and greater use will be made of the bus station
A project to convert a Banbury coach park into a long stay car park has taken a step closer. The plan will lead to another car park becoming exclusively short stay and greater use being made of the main Bridge Street bus station.
Councillors at Cherwell District Council decided to move forward with the project during Monday night’s Executive meeting.
At the moment a plot of land off Cherwell Drive by Hillier Garden Centre and the Telephone Exchange is used by coaches. This is set to be transformed into a new 40 space, pay on exit, long stay car park, complete with electric charging points.
The project will also see the existing Bolton Road car park on the site of the town’s original multi-storey car park become short stay only. Councillors were told this would help to increase the turnover of shoppers and footfall in the town centre.
Coach waiting will be offered at the bus station, which currently has significant under used capacity.
A report to Councillors said that the current coach waiting area is only utilised during the school term by a small number of coaches associated with school travel, including those transporting school children to the Sports Centre. The area generates no income for the Council but does incur business rates cost of £5,000 per year.
Stagecoach had objected to the proposals, which initially led to delays in implementing the project. However, the Council believes that the bus operator’s concerns were less to do with the proposal and more a frustration at the access points to the town centre, together with their perception at a lack of support from Cherwell District and Oxfordshire County Councils towards bus services.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam
Les Parker On 07/06/2022 at 3:40 pm
Another nail in the town centre.
Councillors live in a planet of there own. Do you honestly think that making Bolton St car park will encourage more footfall in a town with just coffee shops /barbers/and nail bars because that’s what banbury has got by the bucket load
Andrew Carter On 07/06/2022 at 4:54 pm
What ‘turnover of shoppers’ a) there are no shops worth visiting. And b) it is people going to work who use Bolton rd the most. Another nail in the coffin of our town centre
Hayden Kevin On 07/06/2022 at 6:35 pm
Oh deary me. CDC could have come up with this kind of plan when we had shops. Bolt the stable door CDC, the horse has bolted!
Lizzie Plowman On 10/06/2022 at 10:07 am
In my experience, most people using Bolton Road car park during the week days are attending their place of work – long stay. Using the multi-storey is more expensive for all day parking for work. In addition, the proposed area of the “coach park” is an isolated (and potentially unsafe) area for people returning to their vehicles during the dark winter months. Personal safety of users is something which should be priority over money when making plans such as this – who will be using the car park and what are the risks to them and their property? I would not use the “coach park” area to leave my vehicle.