FoE upset by park and ride costs

11:29am Thursday 1st May 2008

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GREEN activists say the cost of building Winchester's second park and ride site has soared by 40 per cent to £7.1m.

Hampshire County Council has confirmed the price tag, and admits that it has increased, but says the rise is nearer 20 per cent, and that early estimates were based on a different site.

Winchester Friends of the Earth, which made the claim, said the cash should be spent on public transport.

At present, the county council gives £508,000 annually towards buses in Winchester.

Environmentalists say the £7.1m allocated to the park and ride could cover the subsidy for at least a decade.

They also believe that the proposed park and ride scheme, near junction 11 of the M3, will be counter-productive.

Instead of reducing the vehicles entering Winchester, it believes that numbers will rise.

Its argument is based on commuters using the park and ride scheme, freeing up city centre spaces, and attracting more short-stay visitors.

Chris Gillham, of Winchester FoE, said: "We know that despite assurances, over 25 years, to reduce central car parking in Winchester, no such action has been taken."

He said council chiefs should reduce city centre parking when the 864-space venue at Hockley Link opens, which is due to happen in mid 2010.

He added: "The county council, by giving unqualified approval to the city for yet another traffic-generating car park, has given it carte blanche to carry on business as usual, which means more traffic, more carbon, and more air pollution."

In the past, county council chiefs championed park and ride as a way to make transport greener.

A council spokeswoman added that the initial estimated cost was based on the Badger Farm Road plans.

Since then, building and material costs had risen, and several additions had been made to the scheme.

They included new road signs, extra barriers at the car park, replacing streetlights, and widening and resurfacing Bushfield Camp roundabout nearby.