Fears of street parking grow as Wepre Park charges approved

Councillors have approved plans to charge visitors using the main car park at Wepre Park – despite concerns that visitors will park on the streets or smaller free car parks to avoid paying.

Flintshire County Council’s Environment and Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee supported plans to introduce car park charges to the main parking area near the skate park.

Officers estimate the new charges will bring in around £28,000 in additional revenue per year, which they say will help maintain the car park amid wear and tear caused by increased visitor numbers.

But concerns were raised that people may simply use the smaller lay-by car park on the B5125 near Ewloe Castle – which remains free – or park on the surrounding residential streets.

“There is a smaller car parking area on the other side of the park near the castle,” said Buckley Bistre West councillor Dan Rose.

“It is on a sharp bend with several crashes so what would be the impact there?”

Connah’s Quay-Golftyn councillor Dave Richardson asked what plans were on place to mitigate the threat of visitors overwhelming residential streets to avoid parking fees.

“I fully support this,” he said. “But obviously it says the introduction of traffic management on the residential streets in the vicinity of the park entrance will address the issue of people who do not want to pay to use the car park.

“Can the officers please tell me what are the traffic management plans?”

Chief Officer for Streetscene and Transportation Katie Wilby responded to say the traffic management plans had not yet been drafted.

“We will be consulting with local members on that and it will also require a statutory consultation process,” she said.

“That will need to take place following approval by cabinet.”

Tom Woodall, Flintshire’s Access and Natural Environment Manager said that broadly user groups were supportive of the plans to end free parking at Wepre Park.

“We have a stakeholder group of regular users which has been broadly supportive,” he said. “The organisers of Parkrun, who advocate free access, have expressed concerns as have anglers.

“I think what we’ve seen since Covid is a massive increase in visitors and that is having an impact on the park in terms of our ability to maintain and keep orderly the public and their cars.

“There is an expectation form the public that at our honeypot sites like Wepre Park, Loggerheads, Alyn Waters, that car parks are chargeable. With the authority’s current financial position I think it would be a good scheme.”

The committee approved the scheme with the amendment that traffic management be applied to the areas around all entrances of Wepre Park, to protect the areas around both the main car park and the B5125 from drivers avoiding the charges.

The plans will now be considered by Flintshire County Council’s full Cabinet.

By Alec Doyle – Local Democracy Reporter