Julie Mabberley: You can help us solve residential parking problems

YOU may have seen the article in the Herald last week which reported that a survey launched by the Wantage and Grove Campaign Group aims to solve the parking problems in Wantage. I wish it were that simple.

There are two different types of parking problems in the area and they need to be tackled and solved in different ways.

Town centre parking is a problem and is getting worse: public car parks and supermarket car parks are already full at some times and three quarters full most of the time. Many cars are parked on roads illegally and little is done to stop this. Work places in Wantage and Grove centres have little parking and bus services are limited.

More town centre parking is required and there aren’t many places that can be found to put extra cars. The only solution may be out of town parking with a shuttle service but this would have to be funded somehow. Perhaps some solution may be included in the Neighbourhood Plan.

The second parking problem is residential parking. Old houses were built before cars existed or when cars were scarce and one car families were the norm.

Now with the lack of public transport, most families need at least two cars to enable them to get to work and ferry children to and from school. New developments have to comply with county council parking policy which sets out the parking space provision for new residential areas throughout Oxfordshire.

It states the maximum number of parking spaces to be provided on any new development.

This is one space for a one bedroom home and two spaces for any larger property with an additional one unallocated space for every two homes with more than three bedrooms.

In a written statement to Parliament in March 2015 the Government stated: "This government is keen to ensure that there is adequate parking provision both in new residential developments and around our town centres and high streets.

"The imposition of maximum parking standards under the last administration lead to blocked and congested streets and pavement parking. Arbitrarily restricting new off-street parking spaces does not reduce car use, it just leads to parking misery.

"It is for this reason that the government abolished national maximum parking standards in 2011. The market is best placed to decide if additional parking spaces should be provided."

About the same time, Government introduced a right to challenge parking policies and the Wantage and Grove Campaign Group want to use that right to challenge the county council policy.

We have created a survey which asks questions about the parking spaces near each home and the number of cars parked there both during the day and overnight. Please help us to ensure more parking with any new homes.

Five thousand copies of the survey have been printed and volunteers are required to deliver these forms to homes in the area.

The survey is also online at wantageandgrove.org/parkingsurvey