Consultation starts over parking

A CONSULTATION has opened on controversial changes to a car park owned and operated by the Peak District National Park Authority.

Yorkshire Water’s plans to introduce pay meters and ANPR cameras at Langsett Barn’s car park were given the green light by the Peak District National Park earlier this month.

The A616 Manchester Road, where the car park is located, has been blighted by crashes in recent years – including two deaths in 2019 and a collision last October which left a man with life-changing injuries.

Penistone and Stocksbridge MP Miriam Cates subsequently backed a bid to force Yorkshire Water into performing a U-turn on its plan, as did Penistone West’s councillors – Hannah Kitching and Mandy Lowe-Flello – before Barnsley Council’s highways department also lodged their own. Options put forward include simplifying ticket type selection – for example purchasing a motorcycle ticket in error instead of a car – and increasing parking periods for coaches and horseboxes.

Price ranges for cars would change to £1.75 for a single hour only – up 25p – up to £5.50 for a full day, a 75p increase.

A Peak District National Park Authority spokesperson said: “The proposed changes, which in some cases such as the annual permit will be introduced incrementally over a three-year period, continue to represent very good value in line with other local parking providers and by comparison to National Parks throughout the country.

“Under the proposals, a regular visitor to any of our pay and display locations would still pay less than £1.30 a week to park under an annual permit at its final cost of £66 in three years’ time.

“As the fee analysis was undertaken in 2021, it has protected car park users and visitors from potential sharper increases related to current inflation, despite the authority’s own costs continuing to go up in line with these external factors. Whilst the number of pay and display sites may increase, this reflects the maintenance and other operating costs.”

Comments can be submitted to andrea.mccaskie@peakdistrict.gov.uk.