Council threatens action as drivers continue to use Castle Green as car park

9:20am Thursday 14th February 2013 in News Photograph of the Author By Michael Marsh

Cars are parking on the flagship square every day. Cars are parking on the flagship square every day.

“SELFISH” drivers are using Taunton’s Castle Green as a car park EVERY DAY and putting lives in danger, it was claimed this week.

Photos taken by the County Gazette show drivers constantly use the £3million development as a free-for-all parking area only five months after it was unveiled as an open space by Prince Edward.

But Somerset County Council, responsible for traffic enforcement, cannot take any action as the land is owned by Taunton Deane Council.

The site was once a car park, and many feel those still using it as one are putting people at risk.

Carlos Alfaro, landlord at the Castle Green Inn, said: “It’s a dangerous situation now. Drivers come in and spin around, and those who don’t know the area don’t know what to do when they’ve driven on to the space.

“Some are like rabbits in the headlights and somebody’s going to get hurt. The sooner something’s done the better.”

Taunton Deane Council says motorists should only be using the road through the square to access the Castle Hotel and for deliveries to shops and pubs, but drivers have been spotted spinning around, leaving tyre marks on the paving.

Hotel proprietor Kit Chapman said: “This needs to be nipped in the bud, except the bud has blossomed into a flower.

"It’s a smear on our beautiful open space. It cost millions and by default they’ve gone from one car park to another.”

A Deane Council spokesman said: “Drivers who continue to park at Castle Green are showing a selfish disregard for the vast majority.

“Parking restrictions were not thought necessary but with a minority of people still choosing to park on Castle Green the council will implement more formal and legal measures to protect the area.

“It should be perfectly obvious that the vast majority of the area is for the enjoyment of pedestrians.

"There is no excuse for people to think they can park there. It is not signed or marked out as parking.

"Drivers who do park there are doing the town a disservice.”

What do you think? Have your say by commenting below.

Comments(31)

Slow down! says...
9:50am Thu 14 Feb 13

What a farce! And we allow this people to decide what the future holds for Taunton!!!!!!

Can I suggest some removable metal bollards leading up to the Castle hotel which can be locked in place until the area is needed for another Fun Fair?

It’s not too difficult to cure this problem maybe if the project had people involved who had some common sense then we wouldn't have got to this point in the first place.

Pay peanuts you get monkeys! Oh no wait it cost £3million

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Dr Dave says...
10:09am Thu 14 Feb 13

And I 'd love to know HOW this otherwise considerate parking is "Putting lives in danger" as we are told. A pathetic waste of money, the car park should have been kept. Still, TDBC seem to want to strangle Taunton town centre, they're doing a pretty good job of it.

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Taunton_Auckland says...
10:20am Thu 14 Feb 13

I've just returned to Taunton and recently laid eyes on the car park for the first time. I'm still unsure of its intended use: after all, you only get about 25 days' of good weather a year. I thought they would relocate the Farmer's Market - in an attempt to justify the money spent - but I see that's still being held on the High Street.

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Armchairdetectives?! says...
11:15am Thu 14 Feb 13

There was no rhyme or good reason to have changed it from a car park in the first place. Just one less parking area in Taunton.

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Gem64 says...
11:32am Thu 14 Feb 13

This made me laugh out loud, a lesson to be learnt maybe. Maybe while the council are looking for a way to stop the parking they can also stop the menace that is the skate boarders and BMX bikers that see this as a skate/bike park. They REALLY are a risk to pedestrian safety. Taunton Deane/Somerset County Council you are a laughing stock.

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stephen_devon@hotmail.co.uk says...
11:34am Thu 14 Feb 13

I like the new open square - will give a nice central point for people in the summer with a pint or a picnic (we'll get one eventually). However I think they should keep a small marked parking area (where the cars are parked in the photo) with half allocated for registry office users only (I had to make my elderly mother walk across town to my ceremony last yr) so as not to put people off using the reg office, and the rest pay & display meter 24hrs as a prime spot. Whether people agree with the square or not, it's just ignorant to park and drive all over it. The square is there now so enjoy it - plenty of parking elsewhere in town.

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turdman says...
1:45pm Thu 14 Feb 13

i think people should should use their common sense and see that cus there is no parking bays and meter in the center of the town in a big open space that it is clearly not designed for cars to park and get free parking, if you are one of theose poeple parking their THINK FIRST !!!!, its for people to be safe.

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Mi_Coc says...
2:28pm Thu 14 Feb 13

Some of the people parking there just seem to abandon their cars were ever it suits them.

I am more concerned about the lorry tyres markets that see to from lorries delivering to the pub and hotel. The have made a hell of a mess.

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duckface08 says...
4:07pm Thu 14 Feb 13

the coucil would not listen when people
objected to the loss of a revenue
generating car park--now they know
what we think of their grandiose scheme. wait until the summer when
the drunks and dropouts arrive---
remember goodland gardens.

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Thurza says...
8:33pm Thu 14 Feb 13

Dr Dave wrote:
And I 'd love to know HOW this otherwise considerate parking is "Putting lives in danger" as we are told. A pathetic waste of money, the car park should have been kept. Still, TDBC seem to want to strangle Taunton town centre, they're doing a pretty good job of it.
Having watched a car drive along the pavement between the bus shelter and a bus I am afraid it does put pedestrians in danger but nowadays the car seems more important than people. I try to avoid the town centre as I am sick of Chuggers on every corner.

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skips says...
12:53pm Fri 15 Feb 13

A Deane Council spokesman said: ...
“Parking restrictions were not thought necessary but with a minority of people still choosing to park on Castle Green the council will implement more formal and legal measures to protect the area.
“It should be perfectly obvious that the vast majority of the area is for the enjoyment of pedestrians.

Clearly TDBC got it very wrong. Admit it and put it right. People will park their cars where ever they can get away with it.

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localmcnocal says...
2:26pm Fri 15 Feb 13

This space looks nice, but its a shame this area isnt in a more prominant position, such as the high street. The High Street would have benifited far more from this type of work.

However its done, its there, and it is a nice space.

Why people think its a car park I will never know, perhaps people are just sheep, and just copy each other. The fact that people do think its a parking area, and cant see how they are endangering pedestians does not suprise me, given the lack of interlect in the driving population

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localmcnocal says...
2:29pm Fri 15 Feb 13

I actually think the main problem in Taunton is people and the council here have a strong dislike of change. The reason of my first thoughts of this site looking out of place in Taunton, is the fact that its a nice, clean, open MODERN space, in a tired, scruffy, frumpy, dated town, that is too scared to update itself.

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Slow down! says...
3:45pm Fri 15 Feb 13

If parking there is a danger to pedestrians then what is going on in Exeter!
I see people nearly run over by buses every time I go there as people can't hear them coming as the engine is in the rear, so don't let the Council Brainwash you into thinking that a few parked cars are dangerous as they are trying to detract from their mistake.

The biggest danger in Castle Green is being hit by a skateboarder, a back injury lifting a wheelchair or Childs buggy onto the seating area due to no ramp access (nice one Council) or some rich person on their way to the Castle hotel.

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steve olive says...
5:22pm Fri 15 Feb 13

It's almost as if the people behind this **** up are a bunch of incom
petent and self-serving buffoons who couldn't hold down a real job if their life depended on it.

I'm parked there right now and I ran over almost nobody in the process.

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steve olive says...
9:16pm Fri 15 Feb 13

In fact, I'm going to park there all day tomorrow too. Not that I need to go shopping, far from it, but I'd be a fool not to make use of this excellent facility.

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hudson 1 says...
12:32pm Sat 16 Feb 13

as duckface08 has said, this space will end up a junkie and drunks hang out point, and may i also add, who stupid idea was it to put that glass walk way in from goodlands gardens to the green area, 3 times now we have walked over it and 3 times either myself or someone walking towards me has gone flying, its bloody dangerous, i now avoid the area like a cold. The whole idea is pathetic, the councils in and around somerset need to shape up and listen to the people who may i add pay their wages, between you all you have killed taunton, we use to be a county town to be proud of, busy and one of the main stopping points for people on their way down into the west country, now they dont bother and stop in exeter, which has far more to offer, better parking, pavements that are suitable for walking on and clean, and does not look like a second hand storage space, which is what tauntons high street looks like most of the time. SO OUR MESSAGE IS CLEAR, The clock is ticking for you, get your acts together and stop wasting tax payers money, the people are sick of it now. oh and if you dont, thats fine we will find people who are willing to do the jobs for you and vote you out, and then those people will weed out and hold those people who work for the council departments who dont do their jobs properly aswell accountable by sacking them. Message received good, because thats how most people feel.

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steve olive says...
1:18pm Sat 16 Feb 13

Has anyone ever made the connection between all of the boarded up shops on Taunton High Street, and the punitive car parking charges?

Thought not.

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Mi_Coc says...
1:25pm Sat 16 Feb 13

I think it partly that the average intelligence of a public servant is pretty dam low and they want to be like exeter and get people using the park and rides they have wasted millions on and now we have to avoid 50 pot holes to get to to find they are next to empty.

The feeling is that taunton is congested and couple of park and rides will solve that but its a small town and why would I drive 4-5 miles out of town to use a park and ride?!?!? Have done it once to entertain the kids. I think the desire for the grant was such that they were hell bent on wasting time and money bidding on it. As with any public sector decision the future revenue of the carpark was not considered. Why would any doing away with a profitable carpark in a double dip recession when their budgets are being cut.

Next they will be moaning there is no money for their pensions and will be on strike!" They are their own worse enemy.

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Monument says...
2:39pm Sat 16 Feb 13

The changes to Castle Green will only ever be of any real value when Corporation Street, North Street, Fore Street and East Reach are pedestrianised in an integrated revitalisation of the whole of the centre of Taunton.

I do not live in Taunton but used to shop and socialise there very regularly. Now I go to Exeter or if I want even more choice Bristol. I really cannot think of a single good reason to chose Taunton and that is the sad legacy of continued mismanagement and lack of foresight by councillors over the last twenty five plus years.

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prickles says...
2:55pm Sat 16 Feb 13

Maybe kit chapman could as his clients do drive through the pedestrianised area a bit slower. They seem to drive through like they own it. Saw somebody drive through the other day no respect for pedestrians and went straight in the castle hotel.
Can't some removable bollards be put up to prevent cars from parking in that bit.
Something also needs to be done about the skateboarders and bmx bike riders ruining the bench. They r rude and seem to think they own the place. Already pedestrians have been knocked down by them and they don't care less.

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JodieTheyer says...
3:21pm Sat 16 Feb 13

During the day time I could see why this would be a dangerous issue. But after 6pm I honestly don't see any reason why people can't use this area to park.
It's not exactly getting used for anything else?
What about the kids using the bench area for skateboarding and BMXing - is that not also a hazard?

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Dr Dave says...
6:50pm Sat 16 Feb 13

I can well imagine the new open space will be used for spewing and scr*wing after the pubs kick out.

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What is Happening says...
12:20pm Sun 17 Feb 13

Just another example of how SCC and TDBC work. Lets hope that after they have wasted 3Million of our money, that someone is there taking photos of the cars with registration numbers- - that way, once the screw uo has been resolved, and we the tax payers have been charged again, to remove the tyre marks and oil leaks from the area - someone will be able to find these inconsiderate drivers and pass the bill onto them.

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What is Happening says...
12:21pm Sun 17 Feb 13

Just another example of how SCC and TDBC work. Lets hope that after they have wasted 3Million of our money, that someone is there taking photos of the cars with registration numbers- - that way, once the screw uo has been resolved, and we the tax payers have been charged again, to remove the tyre marks and oil leaks from the area - someone will be able to find these inconsiderate drivers and pass the bill onto them.

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heather147 says...
9:24pm Sun 17 Feb 13

I saw the "new" Castle Green for the first time a couple of weeks ago and couldn't believe my eyes. What a complete waste of space. It should revert back to being a car park. At least then it will be useful not a tiled eyesore as it is now. I just think it is horrible. As for skateboarders and BMXing kids, can someone please get rid of them immediately. They are an absolute menace wherever you go. Ban them and fine them or their parents. And when is Taunton going to get its own cinema? It doesn't have one. The nearest one at the moment is down in Bathpool, with limited/no public transport. Disgusting.

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Dr Dave says...
9:58pm Sun 17 Feb 13

Cinema in the town centre?? Never viable these days. With the availability of films in your own home both legally and illegally I don't know why anyone would consider spending £8+ a ticket to go and sit in a cramped seat with countless others making annoying noises/getting up during the film!

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Mi_Coc says...
8:00am Mon 18 Feb 13

Dr Dave wrote:
Cinema in the town centre?? Never viable these days. With the availability of films in your own home both legally and illegally I don't know why anyone would consider spending £8+ a ticket to go and sit in a cramped seat with countless others making annoying noises/getting up during the film!
I couldn't agree more, went to see skyfall at the odeon both my partner and I are pretty young but found the seats incredibly unconformtable and the 40 year people in front were noisy and one started spitting out bit is popcorn in her mouth! I couldn't believe that people of this age would do this but nothing suprises me these days. Ticket are 8.95 upwards and a coke and popcorn £7.00 !

I don't bother I either buyDVD or over half term I download wreck it Ralph for the kids in divx format which was a dvdrip from the us which have all ours films for months. The quality is DVD it's not this shot in cinema handy cam rubbish.

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somerset_kiddd says...
4:52pm Mon 18 Feb 13

Has nobody thought that the people using this area as a carpark are a small group of local business owners using it day in day out?
A clear example is the white focus with the red windows at the back of the picture is owned by Mambos. If you have a sign written vehicle, your going to stand out like a sore thumb when you park illegally.
I bet its the same cars parked there every day...

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madcow says...
11:20pm Mon 18 Feb 13

I work near the said Car Park, and see the same cars every day parked there, im not seen drivers drive like idiots, but there isnt as someone said any markings on the space, nor ticket machines, or even signs to say its a car park. i think it should be for disabled badge holders only, as it is close to the town centre. people will park there until someone says or does something. . i saw 5 traffic wardens all walking along corporation street the other day.as for drivers driving to the castle hotel too fast and dangerously, it would help to have marking to distinguish the difference between road and pavment, cause when walking along there you cant tell. to the person who wanted a cinema in town, when castle green gets icy, will an ice rink be a compromise for cinema?

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Dr Dave says...
6:42am Tue 19 Feb 13

Mi_Coc - funnily enough.......I do the same!! ;) Haven't been to the cinema since The Inbetweeners Movie........never again as you say.

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