Richmond Park Summary Of Findings Sent To Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Wandsworth Council calls on the Government to abandon controversial plans to introduce car parking charges

The Royal Parks have submitted a report on the findings from the public consultation they held on possible changes to park regulations which included the possibility of charging for parking in Richmond Park.

You can find the summary is available in PDF format at http://www.royalparks.org.uk.

The results of the recent public consultation carried out by the Royal Parks Agency (RPA) show that a massive 84 per cent of people are opposed to the idea of charges.

Councillor Lister has now urged Parks  Minister Barbara Follett, who will make the final decision later this year, to jettison the idea. He said:

"It is utterly inconceivable that the minister could now give these charges the green light. If she were to ignore the results of this consultation it would show breathtaking arrogance on her part. The public have given these plans a huge and unmistakable thumbs-down. The minister would be well advised to heed that message."

A spokesman for the RPA told PutneySW15.com
" The report has been sent to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for the Minister Barbara Follett to consider and advise how we are to proceed.  We expect a decision by the end of the year."

Stuart King, the Putney candidate for the Labour Pary said:
"This is a great result for those of us who took the time to set out why the RPA's proposal was wrong. I hope that the Agency now goes away and takes up the suggestion I and others made of working with Transport for London to improve bus services around the outside of the park.

That includes a bus that serves Roehampton Gate and Priory Lane. Enabling those who can't drive to Richmond Park to benefit from the wonderful resources it offers is the right way to address the issues that underlie the whole consultation in the first place - and the biggest single reason why people said no to the parking charges."

Among the individual comments submitted to the RPA were: 

"The park is a beautiful facility for young children and I feel that making access more expensive would disproportionately discourage this group."

 "The Royal Parks should be encouraging, not discouraging, people to make use of the park - it is a marvelous resource that should be free to all."

 “I, and others like me, will simply stop going [to the park] as public transport is difficult and paying for parking irksome."

 "In the view of poor public transport links…I think that imposing parking charges would reduce the ability to visit the park regularly by many sectors of the community."

 "With three children under the age of eight, I cannot envisage getting a bus with scooters, balls and picnic paraphernalia etc and the children."

 "As a resident who lives very close to an entrance to the park, I am extremely concerned about the number of extra cars that will inevitably be parked."