Westbury Hill Car Park
(Page Updated January 24th 2026)
In September 2024, the Council returned to the issue of introducing charges to their car parks.
Our previous councillors, Geoff Gollop, Steven Smith and Sharon Scott had always supported the view that such charges would have a very detrimental effect on the life of the village and the had invited residents to join an email list to be kept informed of impending decisions. This, together with mailing lists held by the Society and the Westbury Forum, meant that, despite being given only a week's notice of the Council meeting, over 50 written responses were made - and only one in favour... The Society's response can be viewed HERE, and was quoted by Caroline Gooch at the meeting. A detailed analysis of all the responses is given HERE...
In the event, the proposal was voted down by five votes to four, but the issue seemed likely to return in the future...
The respite was brief indeed, as the revised proposals were presented to the Committee in December!
The full proposals can be viewed HERE but, in summary, one-hour parking would be free with subsequent hours costing £1.50 All transactions, including the first hour, were to be done by phone.
The Society again made a detailed response, which can be viewed HERE, reiterating previous concerns and also pointing out the discriminatory impact or requiring people to "book" their parking by phone
At the meeting, an amendment was proposed by Councillor Nicholas Coombes, that the one hour free tickets should be available from the machine without the need to contact the parking provider, removing the need for a phone. This was agreed and the amended proposals were voted through 7-2. This despite over 140 statements of objection. An analysis of those responses can be seen HERE.
The next step was an application for a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO), which requires a period of public consultation. We decided to publish a briefing note which people may find useful when formulating their response to the eventual final consultation. The note can be seen HERE.
The TRO was finally published in November 2025 and the Society was able to contact its mailing lists to inform members and non-members with an interest in the matter. Our response to the Order can be found HERE. We still await the outcome.
In March 2026 we were advised, in response to a question to the Transport Committee, that ‘Officers are finalising the decision report which is scheduled for full consideration in early April. All comments and objections submitted during the consultation have been included in the report to ensure they are fully considered when assessing whether to proceed with the proposals. No decision will be made until the report is complete and local ward members have had the opportunity to provide their comments within it’.
Our previous councillors, Geoff Gollop, Steven Smith and Sharon Scott had always supported the view that such charges would have a very detrimental effect on the life of the village and the had invited residents to join an email list to be kept informed of impending decisions. This, together with mailing lists held by the Society and the Westbury Forum, meant that, despite being given only a week's notice of the Council meeting, over 50 written responses were made - and only one in favour... The Society's response can be viewed HERE, and was quoted by Caroline Gooch at the meeting. A detailed analysis of all the responses is given HERE...
In the event, the proposal was voted down by five votes to four, but the issue seemed likely to return in the future...
The respite was brief indeed, as the revised proposals were presented to the Committee in December!
The full proposals can be viewed HERE but, in summary, one-hour parking would be free with subsequent hours costing £1.50 All transactions, including the first hour, were to be done by phone.
The Society again made a detailed response, which can be viewed HERE, reiterating previous concerns and also pointing out the discriminatory impact or requiring people to "book" their parking by phone
At the meeting, an amendment was proposed by Councillor Nicholas Coombes, that the one hour free tickets should be available from the machine without the need to contact the parking provider, removing the need for a phone. This was agreed and the amended proposals were voted through 7-2. This despite over 140 statements of objection. An analysis of those responses can be seen HERE.
The next step was an application for a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO), which requires a period of public consultation. We decided to publish a briefing note which people may find useful when formulating their response to the eventual final consultation. The note can be seen HERE.
The TRO was finally published in November 2025 and the Society was able to contact its mailing lists to inform members and non-members with an interest in the matter. Our response to the Order can be found HERE. We still await the outcome.
In March 2026 we were advised, in response to a question to the Transport Committee, that ‘Officers are finalising the decision report which is scheduled for full consideration in early April. All comments and objections submitted during the consultation have been included in the report to ensure they are fully considered when assessing whether to proceed with the proposals. No decision will be made until the report is complete and local ward members have had the opportunity to provide their comments within it’.
Subsequently we have been advised that ‘Officers have been reviewing the responses to the consultation and writing responses, which took longer than expected due to resource constraints. This work is almost complete, and officers are currently preparing a summary report for consideration by senior leaders. Once a decision has been made, it will be communicated to all the consultation responders’.
