Changes in how you pay to use country parks in Warwickshire

VISITORS who use four of Warwickshire’s country parks will soon have a new way to pay to park.

As of August 10, people will no longer have to book in advance to use Hartshill Hayes, Kingsbury, Ryton Pools and Pooley Country Parks.

Instead they will have to use new, cashless pay and display machines.

Hartshill Hayes already has its new cashless machine in use and it replaces the now redundant cash-one based nearby.

It means visitors will no longer have to rummage for change to pay to park something that has caused particular issues at Kingsbury Water Park as cash was needed to get through the barrier.

Warwickshire County County said the changes at the four country parks are part of a two phased move towards more modern, customer friendly operations across all sites.

Councillor Heather Timms, cabinet member for environment and heritage and culture at Shire Hall, said: “We are committed to making it easy for our residents to get out and enjoy Warwickshire’s Country Parks by making them as accessible as possible.

“So, we are moving away from the online booking system for entry into four of our parks and installing cashless pay and display machines.

“This means that visitors can now simply turn up and buy a ticket without having to book online first.”

Regular visitors will still be able to buy parking permits.

All of the county council’s country park car parks were closed during lockdown and they were only re-opened in May.

The pay before you go system did cause some issues, most notably around Hartshill Hayes as visitors in cars started to park on nearby residential streets, causing traffic problems.