CAMPAIGN group DIRECT is urging West Somerset District Council not to ignore a forum which called for a full car parking study to be carried out in Minehead after on-street restrictions were introduced and before Vulcan Road car park was sold off. The forum included representatives from the police, hoteliers, Faber Maunsell the authors of a recently commissioned council car parking survey, members of the chamber of trade, councillors and local residents. DIRECT chairman Graham Sizer said the forum was united in its decision but said no-one had mentioned the forum's meeting during Monday's special cabinet and council meetings. He said: "Our council is preparing itself for a crucial decision within just four weeks to sell off Vulcan Road to a developer. "At the meeting, no mention was made of the commitment a round table discussion group believed was essential before any sell-off was made. "The forum felt it was essential to have a proper impact study on car parking after, and only after, on-street restrictions to parking were implemented."
He said the Faber Maunsell survey took no account of what would happen to the number of cars using car parks if and when on-street parking restrictions were introduced and said cars using the market site alongside the railway had also not been included in the study. Mr Sizer said: "DIRECT is carrying out is own daily capacity counts in Minehead's car parks and will make these figures available to the council. "Government estimates a four per cent growth per annum in cars needing parking slots. "With our existing spaces, by 2011 DIRECT calculates every car park in Minehead will be full to overflowing in the summer and that's without selling off Clanville or Vulcan Road car parks." He said an invitation to council chief executive Tim Howes to take a "sultry summer stroll" through the town's car parking hotspots - which was made at Monday's meetings - still stood as DIRECT was convinced the council's car parking calculations were wrong.