Park-and-ride plan ‘poor value’ claims report to be presented to councillors

COUNCILLORS have been asked to revisit proposals for a park and ride in Beverley to decide whether it would offer value for money.

A 500-space facility is proposed for a site off Minster Way, to the south of the town. However, a report to East Riding Council’s ruling cabinet warns that the site is likely to run at a loss due to the level of demand and cheaper alternative parking options closer to the town centre.

The report suggests that the facility would represent poor value for money at a time when the authority is trying to reign in spending amid financial challenges. Detailed plans for the facility were lodged in 2021, after the concept was first proposed almost 20 years ago.

Councillors serving Beverley wards have supported the plans and the report states that they would not support any proposal to scrap it. In 2021, Coun Denis Healy (Lib Dem, St Mary’s ward) said a park-and-ride was long overdue and would bring immeasurable benefits.

Originally, the proposals were put forward to help ease demand for limited parking spaces in the centre of Beverley. Developers of a nearby housing estate would foot the bill for building the park-and-ride, estimated to be £2.5m in 2021, with the council running the facility.

According to a legal agreement between the council and the developer, no more than 234 homes on a nearby housing estate can be occupied until the 500-space park-andride is in place and available to the public. The only works completed to date are for an access road, which leads to the site where the car park would be built.

The council would pay for three buses costing of at least £180,000 each. According to the report, the park-and-ride would cost around £350,000 to £450,000 to run each year, with money raised from the facility unlikely to cover the outlay. Subsidies would have to come from borrowing or by cutting spending on other projects.

Drivers travelling to the park and ride would increase local traffic, the report says. Demand from council staff has decreased since Covid because of the rise in people working from home.