Car Park Charges now apply in High Street Car Park
The good news is that the first hour of parking remains free, although motorists must still obtain a ticket, either from the ticket machine or online.
The current charges are:
- First hour: Free (ticket required)
- Up to 4 hours: £1.10
- Over 4 hours: £2.10
Between 6.00 pm and 8.00 am, the first hour is also free, with a flat overnight charge of £1.10 for stays of more than one hour.
It has already become noticeable that the car park is being used less than before. That is understandable while everyone gets used to the new arrangements, but it would be a shame if it resulted in more vehicles being left on nearby streets instead.
On street parking has long been one of Lambourn’s biggest challenges, contributing to traffic congestion and making it more difficult and less safe for pedestrians, particularly where visibility is reduced. A quick look along the High Street this morning found four vehicles parked on double yellow lines.
The High Street Car Park remains a convenient and affordable place to park, particularly for shorter visits, and making use of it helps to keep the village centre safer and more accessible for everyone.
I just accessed the car park payment app (PayByPhone) and the charges are DIFFERENT to what is shown on the car park sign you have included in this post.
I wonder which is correct and WHY can’t West Berks get this right first time. they have long enough!
It is ridiculous charging for the car park. It is only going to mean more congestion for the High Street. We should be encouraging people to shop locally, not penalising them. I do a volunteer telephone role in Lambourn for 2 hours, which means I am going to pay £1.10 for the privilege of helping local people. Also this will affect those using the library. I wonder if anyone has costed this out properly. Probably going to cost more to collect the money than it will make.
It’s irrational to suppose that charging for parking in a village like this will eliminate or alleviate on-street parking. The opposite will happen. More people will park on the street. Additionally, parking for people with disabilities should be completely free.
This move has not helped the village. People are now taking up spaces in back roads of the villages and it’s penalising residents with the least amount of money who haven’t got parking spaces. It’s already caused more congestion in the high street as well. Who was the person responsible for this decision? Or was it a groupthink?
One wonders why the WBC decided to start charging – an easy source of revenue? Or to stop businesses using it for many hours every day (then why weren’t they challenged?) It certainly currently costs the WBC nothing to maintain – the lines have faded away, it is never cleaned (except by volunteers). In fact its virtues seem to outweigh the extra costs that the WBC are bound to incur in monitoring whether people pay or not. The High Street is narrow, frequently congested, frequently abused by drivers ignoring the double yellow lines and the only alternatives, the Square, the Co-Op and surrounding roads are not large enough to accommodate this busy, working village. Who can we make representations to? Good news that the first hour is free? NO! I volunteer in the village for more than an hour at a time and feel aggrieved that i shall now be expected to pay for my parking. Your article seems does not share the reasons for this damaging decision, even though you ultimately seem to support it. It would be good to know why.