£15,000 project to create new parking spaces on National Trust-owned land in Minchinhampton gets underway

Contractors began work on extending the car park on The Park at the top of Bell Lane to allow for 15 more spaces.

The scheme is the biggest undertaken by the Minchinhampton Parish Council for around 10 years and has been organised in co-operation with landowners The National Trust.

Work started today, March 27, is expected to last about three weeks, and will include archaeological investigations.

Parking is currently disrupted until the works are complete and the council has apologised to motorists for the temporary inconvenience.

It hopes that any short term parking problems experienced, particularly by both the nearby primary school and the church, will be more than compensated for by the long term gain of the additional spaces.

Chairman Cllr Nick Hurst said the project was the largest undertaken by the council for around a decade.

The surface of the lengthened car park will be “egg crates” through which grass will grow and which will be suitable for animals’ feet.

The work was deliberately planned to be finished before the cattle are released to graze the commons in May.

The council included £15,000 in both its current, and its next year’s budgets, to pay for the project.

Parking has for years been a problem on Minchinhampton’s narrow streets and it is hoped the new, potentially long-stay, spaces will assist both residents and visitors.

Minchinhampton Parish Council is also asking Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) for new two hour limited car parking on Minchinhampton High Street.

The possibility will be subject to full public consultation.

Alexis Newport, traffic regulation order project manager at GCC said: “We are looking at whether it would be suitable for a limited waiting parking scheme in Minchinhampton to be introduced following a request from the town council.”