Car park sale could kill off town centre (From Gazette Series)

Car park sale could kill off town centre

THE death of Dursley could be the result of selling off the town's busiest car park, one of the town's longest established traders claimed this week.

Peter Broomhall, of Broomhall's butchers, Parsonage Street, claims that the loss of the Castle Street car park is already killing off businesses in the town.

The car park is currently being used to house the town's temporary library and it now looks unlikely to return to its former use.

In a letter to Dursley Town Council, Gloucestershire County Council executive director of resources Stephen Wood explained that the land would be put up for sale in accordance with their disposals policy.

Mr Broomhall, who has been trading in the town since 1966, said the current situation could not continue for much longer.

"I would estimate that the loss of that car park is taking approximately £30,000 per week from the town as a whole," he said.

"There are a number of businesses that are just hanging in there at the moment - they need the car park to be re-opened.

"If it is not, it will be mean the disappearance of Dursley as we know it in 2005."

Mr Broomhall describes the threat to the town as undeniable and points to the recent closures of Parsonage Street businesses Better For Organics and Kanuka to support his argument.

He also argues that getting rid of the car park, which has around 30 spaces, would fly in the face of the most recent traffic census carried out there.

"Three years ago, it was described as one of the busiest small car parks that the officers had surveyed," added Mr Broomhall.

Dursley town councillor Geoff Wheeler has already started to circulate a petition around the town's shops in a bid to retain the car park.

He said: "This is public land and it should be used to benefit the people of Dursley.

"The town council and local traders have worked for years to produce a plan for the overall development of the town centre.

"The county council should be working in partnership with us, they should not be putting forward proposals for piecemeal development."

The letter from GCC to Dursley Town Council does not say that the car park will definitely be lost but describes the land as surplus to requirements.

Mr Wood explained: "The county council is obliged to obtain the best consideration for its land in order to maximise the use of its surplus assets.

"In accordance with our disposals policy, the site will eventually be put up for sale on the open market."

The town council could bid for the land but they are unlikely to be able to compete financially with any interested developer.

Dursley Town Mayor Cllr Jane Ball was keen to emphasise that nothing had been decided yet and called for the car park to be incorporated in the rethink over the whole of the town centre regeneration.

She said: "The traders have made it quite clear that they need the car park and the town council will support that."