Park and ride in long-term plan
A park-and-ride for Bingham is one of the transport schemes set to be safeguarded by Nottinghamshire County Council.
The estimated £5m scheme is set to be included in the council’s next Local Transport Plan after it was reviewed in light of its value for money, affordability, public acceptability and strategic priorities.
Out of 63 schemes, the council is proposing to safeguard a fifth of them.
Around half are set to be axed, including a new River Trent crossing for Rushcliffe and a one-way-system for Newark, and the rest require further investigation.
Bingham’s county councillor, Mr Martin Suthers, said: “The park-and-ride is something the council would very much like to see happen.
“So far as I am aware the safeguarded scheme is that for a park-and-ride site at the weighbridge off Saxondale roundabout.
“This will certainly not happen before the dualling of the A46 is completed and may also be contingent on progress with the proposed extension of the Robin Hood Line to Bingham, which is certainly a good few years away.”
A park-and-ride scheme has been discussed for years and in February last year, Bingham Town Council put it forward as one of their ideas for Bingham 2020: Shaping Our Future plan, believing it could cut the number of people parking in Bingham who then travelled by bus.
The Mayor of Bingham, Mrs Maureen Stockwood, said Bingham had expanded tremendously over the years and, even if the Crown Estate’s proposals for a large-scale development north of the town were not approved, the park-and-ride scheme would still be needed.
“I have always supported the idea, just as most councillors have,” she said.
Bingham action group Community Concern said a park-and-ride was the only way to solve parking problems and would alleviate congestion in the town centre.
A spokesman, Mr Dennis Briggs, said: “We are pleased that the county council has safeguarded the funds for a park-and-ride scheme at Saxondale, which we proposed in our 2009 parking campaign, but are disappointed to learn that this project is unlikely to begin until the A46 dualling has been completed.”
The council will consider the transport plan, to run until 2026, at a meeting today. If agreed, it will come into force from April.
The plan sets out a programme of measures the council will focus on over the short, medium and long term to improve transport in Nottinghamshire.
Mr Richard Jackson, the council’s cabinet member for transport and highways, said: “We have endeavoured to include in the plan only schemes that are realistically achievable with the cash allocated to us, but there are no guarantees funding will be available for them all.
“The reduction in next year’s funding gives us no choice but to not pursue certain other proposals.”
