Haughmond Hill parking charges introduced
Users of Haughmond Hill's Car Park will now have to pay to park after Pay and Display machines were introduced last week.
Parking charges of £1 per day have now been enforced at the local beauty spot seven days a week, including Bank Holidays, with fines of £50 for those not displaying a valid ticket or parking in the correct bays.
The popular beauty spot, is visited by around 250,000 people each year and the Forestry Commission say the charges are nesseacry for the upkeep of the land
Georgina Sharp, Forestry Commission Recreation Ranger, said: “We want to provide our visitors with the best possible facilities. However, maintaining our sites to a good standard, which includes grass cutting, litter picking, trail and car park maintenance, signage and information, need to be paid for.
All revenue raised from the new parking charges will go directly in to the ongoing maintenance and improvements at Haughmond Hill.”
Reaction to the parking charges has angered many users including Shrewsbury and Atcham MP, Daniel Kawczynski who commented during the consultation last year of his disappointment.
Mr Kawczynski’s letter, addressed to the Chair of the Forestry Commission, said the charges would prevent local people from using the hill on a regular basis, and that the hill has been used by generations of families – for free.
The original consultation asked hill users if they would be prepared to pay charges of £3 or more.
Concerns have been raised about people trying to avoid the parking charges by parking on the grass verges. The forestry commission response was:
“As yet we have not found visitors parking on the roads and we will continue to work with our neighbours and the police should this become the case.”
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