‘Parking chaos is strangling our town’
RESIDENTS SAY BINGHAM CAN’T COPE WITH TRAFFIC
BINGHAM residents say a lack of parking is “strangling” their town.
Householders are worried that the lack of parking is putting off potential visitors, and that new housing developments mean there are not enough spaces for those living in the town already.
Residents are concerned that the town’s largest car park, on Newgate Street, is being filled up each morning with commuters who park there for free and then get the bus into Nottingham. Some say this means neighbouring streets soon fill up with cars, including The Banks.
A new park-and-ride site could be considered by Rushcliffe Borough Council along the A52 corridor.
Retired couple Eric and Claire Sharp feel something needs to be done about the problem.
Eric, 89, was the town’s mayor for two terms, and campaigned for more parking in the town.
When asked about a potential park-and-ride scheme off the A52, he said: “We want something in Bingham. It’s all houses and new houses going up – we need a parkand-ride.
“We want a park-and-ride in Bingham. They should worry about Bingham rather than Rushcliffe and Nottingham.”
Claire also spent time on the council and feels trying to park in Bingham is “ridiculous”.
The 75-year-old said: “The main car park and all the other car parks in Bingham are absolutely full by 8am.”
Claire explained that while the couple were “fortunate” enough to have a bus service into Nottingham, people parked their cars in the town and then left them there to catch the bus.
And, despite more houses being built, Claire said: “We don’t have any extra parking spaces in Bingham. Shops are closing down and the market is dying. Bingham is now dying because nobody can find anywhere to park.
“It’s easier to drive to Morrisons at Gamston where they can park. It’s never nice to see the town that you love being strangled. It’s very sad.”
Claire feels that concreted land near the old Saxondale roundabout could be a good place for a parkand-ride.
She said: “They could get 300 cars in there and there’s a bus stop by the entrance.
“It’s ready to go. They only need a can of white paint and a brush.”
Many residents agree, and would also like to see more parking facilities in or close to Bingham.
Retired Ken Dodson, 67, said: “It’s just not adequate.
“We haven’t got the facilities in Bingham for the size of the town it is, and that includes parking.”
He explained that the amount of spaces currently was “not near enough” and so people are parking on residential streets.
When asked his thoughts on a possible park-and-ride scheme off the A52, Ken said: “If it doesn’t cover Bingham it’s not effective.”
Retired Mark Denne, 61, said: “If you live here it’s murder for parking locally.”
He has concerns that local infrastructure can’t support all the new homes being built in the town, and that includes parking.
When asked about a potential park-and-ride scheme nearby, Mark said: “I don’t think it would benefit Bingham as I don’t think people would want to come to Bingham for a very long period of time.
“It’s only a benefit to Nottingham and the city.”
However, teacher Sarah Johnson, 51, feels that a park-and-ride could be useful.
She said: “It would be good to have that, because parking is so expensive in town and it saves your car petrol as that’s expensive as well.
“We always end up going to the car park that’s cheaper and it’s always full. I tend not to go to town because of it.”
A Bingham resident who did not wish to be named, said there were “inadequate” parking spaces in the town centre, adding: “It is difficult parking in Bingham.”
When asked if he thought a possible park-and-ride could be good for Bingham, author and poet Tom Hathaway, 63, said: “Not for Bingham as it’s built to service Nottingham – it’s not going to service Bingham.”
Tom feels the town needs a park-and-ride, but closer to it. He added: “There’s plenty of space. Bingham is forever expanding these days and it’s going to need something like that eventually, so why not when the materials are cheaper?” Bottesford resident Charlotte Burrows, 46, said: “It’s obviously an ongoing issue with the new estate being built with the number of people coming into the area. “It’s a small town for a lot more cars. It doesn’t really affect us too much as we are on our motorbikes or know places to park out of the way.”
Steven Lee, 63, grew up in Bingham and said: “I think the chances of just being able to pop in a parking space round here are quite slim – it’s luck of the draw.”
Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “They are parking on the street around the corner because we can’t get into the car parks here, and you can park in there for 12 hours, so they are parking there and then catching the bus.”
When asked her thoughts on a possible park-and-ride scheme, she said: “I would have said something closer.
“If it was close I think a lot of people really just want to park and have easy access to the shops.”
Bingham is now dying because nobody can find anywhere to park
Claire Sharp, 75