LETTER: Whalley Arms car park is not free!

I AM writing in response to yet another letter regarding the famous Whalley Car Park, which for some reason everybody thinks its free.

Once again we have people complaining they have been sent a fine for parking on the Whalley Arms Car Park. This system has been up and running in Whalley all year and surely with the coverage it has been given, everybody must know by now that they must pay. Obviously, these people are not regular visitors to the village centre. For those who think they don’t have to pay, can I recommend the two opticians in the village for an eye test as the signs around the car park are quite bright and colourful and cannot be missed. I am sure that if they had to drive into any other village, town or city that when parking their cars, they look for signs and pay points in case they have to pay. For some reason, Whalley seems to be classed as a free parking area. For those who don’t know it, there is a car park at the back of The Swan Hotel. Unfortunately, this is also pay and display, however you can actually redeem your ticket behind the bar against food and drink purchased on the premises.

Secondly, some of the local high street businesses also complain about lack of parking within the village and the very same car park driving people away. If you sat on the high street first thing in the morning and watched people turn up for work, most of the cars on the high street are from employees of the very same businesses. It is not rocket science to see that if people arrive in the village and see no available spaces, they might, and probably do, continue to the next town. Surely it’s common sense to tell your staff to park slightly out of the centre (maybe up Accrington Road, but guaranteed a letter will be sent in regarding that proposal) and walk those few metres to work rather than causing congestion within the village every day. It probably is ironic that most people who work in the centre of Whalley don’t actually live in the village and travel by car.

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The only way car parking can be made easier is by limiting parking on the main streets in the village centre to a maximum of one or two hours and not being able to return within a minimum period. I am sure anybody could visit Whalley centre and do whatever needs to be done easily within that period.

Whalley is a fantastic thriving community so let’s not keep putting it down by those who for some reason or other think they own the place and can park anywhere they want for nothing with total disregard for signage.

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