Help save our local riverside car park

The WLARC car park, with the River Thames in the background

The Environment Agency (EA) proposes to replace some much used local riverside parking with a hot food and drink concession, right next to the Weybridge Ladies Amateur Rowing Club (WLARC) at the end of Thames Street, Weybridge. The EA has applied to Elmbridge for planning consent for this change of use of part of the car park, EBC 2025/0385.

The deadline for comments to Elmbridge is 27 April 2025.

Most residents and visitors we have spoken with think the proposed change would be a very bad idea.
Here are some reasons why:

This popular small car park, in riverside Green Belt, is often fully parked, so removing some spaces would disadvantage riverside visitors
The EA plans are inaccurate on number of spaces: the area shown for change of use would in practice remove much more than two parking spaces
The EA plans fail to show the Thames Path and National Cycle Route 4, which both pass through the middle of the car park
Any queue for food, or standing by the vendor site, would dangerously obstruct the footpath and cycle path
There is nowhere to sit and eat, so food would be eaten on the hoof, resulting inevitably in litter along the riverside
The EA has a history of failing to maintain this car park, so there is good reason to believe they would fail to manage daily clearing of litter
A hot food vending concession here would be out of keeping with the many healthy riverside activities for which people visit this location
There are already two excellent food-serving pubs and two riverside cafes within 200 metres, each with ample seating for their customers
The application site is Class 3 Floodplain, directly adjacent to the river, and part of the car park was flooded in 2003 and 2014.

Help save our car park by objecting by 27 April to Elmbridge Planning Application 2025/0385 at
https://www.elmbridge.gov.uk/planning/find-or-comment-planning-application.
You can use the QR code below for direct access to the application details:
https://qr-code.click/i/680a17b88e317

EBC Planning Application 2025/0385 – Car Park South West of Weybridge Ladies Rowing Club Walton Lane Weybridge KT13 8LU – change of use from car park spaces to hot food and drink concession.

Update

We note that a different part of the Environment Agency has objected to this Environment Agency planning application, on the grounds that it is in Class 3 floodplain, and the application has no Flood Risk Assessment yet.

We also recall that a corner of this car park was flooded in 2003 and again in 2014.

It is still very important to object for all the other applicable reasons, to prevent an amended application with a favourable Flood Risk Assessment simply getting around that objection.

Some background

The history of this car park is one of serious neglect by the EA

Elmbridge Borough Council believed it owned this land for many decades. EBC tended it, collected waste from three EBC-owned bins in the car park, and by 2008 had allocated capital for improvements. Then in 2009 the EA registered ownership, as part of its major riverside land registration for the Lower Thames Flood Risk Management Strategy.

When Elmbridge then withdrew its bins on losing ownership, the EA refused to arrange for waste collection from the site, telling Elmbridge, ‘we are not in the business of managing car parks’. Which left some of us wondering why the EA had registered ownership. Subsequently an agreement was made for EBC to provide and empty three bins and provide a weekly clean up.

Elmbridge also used to maintain the adjacent stretch of riverbank, and kept it immaculately, but the the EA registered ownership, and has rather neglected its upkeep. See before and after pictures of the riverside.

Improvement funding

Some years later, local Weybridge residents worked closely with Thames Landscape Strategy and Elmbridge BC in framing a well-conceived and practical improvement plan, to resurface the dangerously uneven and neglected car park, and create a viewing platform on the sloping land overlooking the river, and remove self-seeded saplings and scrub, opening up the view towards Shepperton weir.

This excellent landscaping project was awarded a grant of circa £72,000 capital funding from the Elmbridge Community Infrastructure Levy.

However the project foundered, we understand because of lack of agreement from the EA about paying for future maintenance of the car park, and the funding has lapsed.

Overall this is a sad tale of neglect by the EA. And now the added insult and injury of a ‘hot food and drink concession’ diminishing the parking facility for visitors, and changing the character of this length of riverside, to the dismay of many.

History suggests that the EA will do nothing effective to manage the daily use of the concession and ensure that all the resulting litter it creates along the riverside is cleared up.

Residents and visitors alike hope to enjoy our beautiful and largely unspoilt lengths of local riverside. This application takes no account of their needs and expectations

Houses to replace garages in Grenside Road?

Residents have mixed views about a planning application to build four terraced houses on the site of 22 lock up garages in Grenside Road (EBC 2020/3495). While new homes would be welcome, and would look much smarter than the current garages, the resulting loss of parking spaces for local residents is a serious worry.

Unfortunately, the application seems misleading about parking – it claims there are ZERO spaces at present (where even the application’s own photos show parked cars) and that it would be creating four additional parking spaces: ‘Existing spaces 0, Proposed spaces 4’. In reality, it would be taking away spaces used by current residents, and giving some of them to the new homes.

The application’s Transport Technical Note explains that ‘the garage site is within private ownership therefore cannot be relied upon for off-street car parking’. It does not mention the currently used parking spaces on the access road, where the ‘new’ spaces are proposed. Strangely, it even gets the site location wrong – it shows the development site covering part of the Broadwater Path and a large patch of St George’s Junior School land.

What is needed is some coordinated action to ensure Grenside Road residents have somewhere to park – for example, on-street in Grenside Road, where currently places are taken by heavy school-related parking during termtime. If suitable controls can be brought in, then residents may even welcome the addition of smart new homes.

The challenge is that while planning consent is given by Elmbridge Borough Council, on-street parking controls are decided by Surrey County Council. Yet Surrey have repeatedly refused to acknowledge that the parking issues (and traffic issues) in Grenside Road are serious enough to require effective action – despite evidence like the photos accompanying this article.

PPDRA strongly supports residents’ attempts to get the parking issues looked at again, in the light of this planning application.

Wey Road parking restrictions proposed

A controlled parking zone (CPZ) is proposed in Wey Road and Round Oak Road, “to increase space for short stay visitors to Weybridge by discouraging all day parking by non-residents in these roads”. Surrey is inviting comments on the proposals by 2 October 2020.

Surrey County Council has put forward these proposals as a late addition to the previously drafted Weybridge parking review, in what we understand is an exceptional move in response to a request from residents in these roads.

We have heard very diverging comments on the proposals from local residents, and will make a summary of these available online.

Details of the Wey Road and Round Oak Road CPZ proposals are available on the Surrey County Council website, with the statement of reasons being the primary document, and the weybridge parking review drawings showing what is described in the statement of reasons.

If you would like to object, support, or comment on the proposals, you must do so by 2 October 2020, by either:

filling in Surrey’s online survey, or
writing, quoting ‘Elmbridge parking review’ to: Parking Team, Hazel House, Merrow Depot, Merrow Lane, Guildford, GU4 7BQ.

UPDATE – SCC Elmbridge Parking Review January 2021 findings and decisions

Wey Road, Round Oak Road

Overview:

Objections: 140
Other comments: 6
Support: 24
Final decision: do not proceed.

Analysis summary

11 objections (58%) and 8 comments in support (42%) from Round Oak Road residents
29 objections (66%), 12 comments in support (27%) and 3 other comments (7%) from Wey Road residents
76 out of 79 responses (96%) from outside of the two proposals roads were objections

Conclusion

Given that the analysis shows residents to be against the scheme and would be even if considerable amendments were made to it, and that non-residents were vehemently against the proposals, we have decided not to proceed with any changes to parking in Wey Road and Round Oak Road at the current time.

Beales Lane plans cause concern for residents

Plans for a three storey block of 17 flats and 11 houses in Beales Lane, with 53 bedrooms, are being considered by Elmbridge Borough Council (application 2019/0386). Over 100 objections have been registered with Elmbridge. Read our PPDRA letter here.

Bigger, higher, denser, closer to road

The new block would replace the existing St Catherine’s buildings (lacking merit but inconspicuous, total 27 bedrooms) with a significantly taller block, of more than twice the mass, with its bulk much closer to the road.

See the photo and plans above to get a feel for the proposed scale. It is 55% higher from ground to rooftop compared with present, towards the Thames St end.

The plans propose parking spaces for 28 cars behind the block, accessed via a height-limited entrance mid-building.
The style of the proposed building is quite unlike other properties in north Weybridge. Some residents feel strongly that it is wrong for the location.

Many are concerned about the excessive bulk, and negative impact of the proposed development on the streetscene, traffic and parking – that it would transform the character of Beales Lane, and not in a good way.

Open, light, green and small scale

Residents are worried that the character of Beales Lane will be lost. Beales Lane is green and open towards its Thames Street end. The St Catherine’s buildings are low and mostly set well back. Their layout is staggered so it doesn’t impose.

The houses opposite are a traditionally styled 1998 development, in keeping with the character of Weybridge.

It is currently a pleasant suburban lane, leading to the historic small cottages of Church Walk.

The new building would present a much larger and more dominating profile along its length, and project closer to Thames Street. It would be a massive difference.

The current St Catherine’s building as seen from Thames Street

The proposed building would be 55% higher, far wider and project much closer to Thames Street

Below we list some objections to the development plans, raised by local residents.

How to give Elmbridge your views

Comments to Elmbridge Borough Council are invited by 29 March, but will be accepted after that. The application will be decided by the South Area Planning Sub-committee. To register your comments, search for 2019/0386 at www.elmbridge.gov.uk/planning

It is helpful if objections are on grounds that relate to relevant planning legislation / relevant sections of EBC Local Plan. Below are relevant issues of worry to local residents. We list things that Elmbridge Borough Council must consider in deciding planning application 2019/0386:

Oppressive bulk and mass
- The proposed development is EXCESSIVELY MASSIVE compared with neighbouring properties
- It is taller, with its bulk closer to the pavement, and would dominate a road that is currently open and spacious
- Its bulk and mass would be excessive for this suburban site.
- Beales Lane leads to the historic riverside small scale cottages of Church Walk, the contrast is stark
Lack of fit with local streetscene
- The proposed is quite unlike other buildings in the area, in appearance and style as well as scale
- North Weybridge is characterised by Victorian/Edwardian dwellings with traditional roofs and lots of gables
- The proposed vertical and rectangular lines might look fine as worker accommodation in Rotterdam, but don’t fit well here
- It would have a very negative visual impact, transforming Beales Lane
  - from a light, open, airy road with chimneys the highest points & St Catherine’s largely set well back
  - to a visually narrower street dominated by a high, massive, alien building along its south edge
Excessive density
(not a likely winner, given current pressure for increasing density, but worth arguing)
- This is a much higher density than neighbouring dwellings
- It squeezes a large volume of habitable space (11 new houses and 17 new flats, 53 bedrooms) onto the site
- The floor area and number of bedrooms doubles
Loss of privacy
- Neighbouring residents are concerned about loss of privacy, especially in their back gardens
Loss of light
- Neighbouring residents are concerned that the proposed high building will block their light. Some question the measurements supplied in the application, for the height of windows opposite.

Visitor parking being used by school parents for child collection; note narrow roadway

Impact on safe traffic flow, safe delivery access, and safe manoeuvring, given lack of turning space
This is a Surrey matter (so it is worth also writing to our SCC councillor, tim.oliver@surreycc.gov.uk, on this aspect). We are surprised that Surrey Highways has no objection
to the prospect of large vehicles having to reverse out of Beales Lane into Thames Street (a road which Surrey’s own figures show carries around 5700 vehicles a day) right next to a school crossing:
- Beales Lane is directly opposite the entrance to St George’s Junior School, so there are special safety factors
- As sheltered elderly housing (27 bedrooms), there were previously very few residents’ vehicles associated with St Catherine’s
- Beales Lane/Church Walk is a cul-de-sec with no turning circle
- It gives resident and delivery access to circa 43 homes (apart from St Catherine’s)
- Delivery and traffic flow would be greatly increased by 17 new flats and 11 new houses (53 bedrooms)
- Currently the St Catherine’s visitor parking space is used for turning by delivery vehicles and visitors
- It is heavily used at school drop-off/pick-up times (scores of vehicles using it to turn)
- The proposed design would remove current turning facilities, and mean large vehicles having to reverse into Thames Street, which carries high traffic flows and has a school crossing adjacent to St Catherine’s; reversing vehicles would risk the safety of pedestrians including school children and obstruct traffic flow
- The design does not allow headroom for vehicles higher than approx 2.5 metres to access the rear parking, so big delivery and removals vans would have to park up obstructing narrow Beales Lane
Impact on parking
- 28 parking spaces are proposed to serve 28 dwellings (9 x 1 bed; 13 x 2 bed; 6 x 3 bed)
- 40.5 spaces would be required to meet Elmbridge Parking Standards:
  - Development Management Plan – Appendix 3: Elmbridge Parking Standards (DM21 – Access and Parking)
    1 bed residential unit : 1 space per unit
    2 bed residential unit : 1.5 spaces per unit
    3 bed residential unit : 2 spaces per unit

Learn more and register your comments

The number of people who comment is crucial to the future of Beales Lane and Church Walk.

Search for 2019/0386 at www.elmbridge.gov.uk/planning.

Comments to Elmbridge BC are invited by 29 March, but will be accepted after that. Use the comment form on the EBC website or email tplan@elmbridge.gov.uk.

The application will be considered by councillors on Elmbridge Borough Council South Area Planning Sub-committee.

If you feel it is important that they are all aware of your comments, you can email them directly:

Cllr Barry Cheyne (Chair) Oatlands and Burwood Park
Cllr Mrs Dorothy Mitchell (Vice Chair) Cobham and Downside
Cllr James Browne Cobham and Downside
Cllr Andrew Burley Oxshott and Stoke D’Abernon
Cllr Oliver Chappell Oxshott and Stoke D’Abernon
Cllr Andrew Davis Weybridge Riverside
Cllr Michael Freeman Weybridge Riverside
Cllr Peter Harman Weybridge St George’s Hill
Cllr David Lewis Oxshott and Stoke D’Abernon
Cllr Mrs Charu Sood Weybridge St George’s Hill

bcheyne@elmbridge.gov.uk; dmitchell@elmbridge.gov.uk; jbrowne@elmbridge.gov.uk; aburley@elmbridge.gov.uk; ochappell@elmbridge.gov.uk; adavis@elmbridge.gov.uk; mfreeman@elmbridge.gov.uk; pharman@elmbridge.gov.uk; dlewis@elmbridge.gov.uk; csood@elmbridge.gov.uk;

Traffic and parking issues are the responsibility of Surrey County Council, who will prepare a consultation report in relation to planning application EBC 2019/0386.

The Surrey County Councillor for Weybridge is Tim Oliver
tim.oliver@surreycc.gov.uk

You can download a pdf copy of our March 2019 newsletter about application 2019/0386 here

Flats or Flats & Houses?

Some residents are puzzled by the reference to 17 flats and 11 houses in the planning application, when the drawings appear to show a single large block of flats, arranged over three floors.

Below is an extract from the 2019/0386 Application Form

Concern at plans for Bridge House in Weybridge High St

Bridge House viewed from Monument Green Conservation Area

Proposals to replace Bridge House (opposite Waitrose) with a much taller and more massive building are facing strong objections. Planning Application EBC 2018/2989 – Bridge House, 41-45 High Street, seeks to replace the current three storey building with a far bigger five storey rectangular building, housing three retail units and 28 flats.

The site is next to the Monument Green Conservation Area, and the new building would dominate the streetscene in a very different style.

Onsite parking would be reduced to 20, and the 28 flats would have to share 17 spaces, risking severe loss of nearby on-street parking amenity in an area already under great parking stress. The three retail units would each have one space.

Conservation Area

Central Weybridge has attractive conservation areas, with some lovely buildings at either end of the High Street, separated by a mix of traditional gabled buildings and the results of some poor quality post-modern planning of the 1970s.

Bridge House is one of those 1970s buildings. It sits next to Monument Green Conservation Area, and is visibly out of keeping. Thankfully it is low enough not to dominate entirely, but it has little else to commend it, and some people think it is an eyesore because of its vertical and angular style.

Many residents hope that any redevelopment of the 1970s mistakes would be more in sympathy with the character of our historic Weybridge townscape. There is a real opportunity with any redevelopment in Weybridge High Street to create new buildings which are in harmony with the traditional setting.

This application fails to take that opportunity. Instead it tries to cram the largest mass of building it can seek to justify, into a constrained site, regardless of the negative impact.

Dominating height and mass

The current application would dominate and detract from the charm of the Conservation Area, and be detrimental to the streetscene. The proposed new five storey building would be over 50% taller than the current three storey Bridge House (reaching up to the label in our picture above), and would stand out far more prominently next to the Conservation Area.

The streetscene plan shows it alongside its neighbours, and the contrast in bulk, mass and height.

The proposed new building for the Bridge House site (no, it’s not a multi-storey car park) would dwarf its neighbours

To find out more about the plans and make comments: search for 2018/2989 at www.elmbridge.gov.uk/planning

Comments to Elmbridge Borough Council are invited by 14 Dec, but will be accepted at tplan@elmbridge.gov.uk after that. The application will be considered by the planning sub-committee at some date in the new year.

PPDRA Objection

PPDRA has submitted the following objection to Elmbridge Borough Council Planning Services:

Re: Application 2018/2989 – Bridge House, 41-45 High Street, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 8BB

I am writing on behalf of the committee of Portmore Park & District Residents Association to object to the proposed construction of a five storey building comprising 3 retail units and 28 flats.

There is great concern among local residents about its negative impact on our town, in terms of:

excessive bulk and mass resulting in the building dominating the streetscene
excessive height making it dominate views from the Monument Green Conservation Area
the façade clashing with the traditional buildings in the High Street and Conservation Area
inadequate parking provision (17 spaces for the proposed 28 flats), increasing an already high level of local on-street parking stress, to the detriment of local amenities

Impact of height, bulk and appearance

The proposed building is massive. At five storeys, it would dwarf its neighbours and tower above the Monument Green Conservation Area.

The building’s appearance would be entirely at odds with the traditional buildings in the High Street and conservation area. It offers no architectural nod to the predominant traditional local architectural styles. People are asking if it was inspired by a multi-storey car park. Surely a new building in this prominent site should take the opportunity of complementing its surroundings?

The strong horizontal and vertical elements of the proposed development would overwhelm its neighbours’ historic brick, slate and gables. It would loom over the southern part of the conservation area, and would dominate the view from the north.

Impact of inadequate parking provision

How does the parking provision comply with Elmbridge Parking Standards? We understood these to specify 1.5 spaces per two bedroom unit:

Elmbridge Parking Standards for Residential Parking (DMP Appendix 1)
Locational Characteristics Town Centre/ Edge of Centre

1 bed residential unit : 1 space per unit
2 bed residential unit : 1.5 space per unit

This suggests that with 9 two bed and 19 one bed flats there should be 33 spaces (9 x 1.5 + 19) for the residential units, rather than the 17 proposed.

Elmbridge Development Management Plan Policy DM7 states:

“The proposed parking provision should be appropriate to the development and not result in an increase in on-street parking stress that would be detrimental to the amenities of local residents.”

Yet this application proposes reducing total number of parking spaces on the site from 28 to 20, while greatly increasing the number of residential units.

The roads adjacent to Weybridge High Street face what some residents describe as a worsening parking crisis, as successive new infill developments and changes to residential use have been permitted by Elmbridge with limited or no parking provision.

These roads include a lot of Victorian/Edwardian homes, with relatively narrow frontages and with limited or no off-street parking. Hence many residents have to rely on being able to find somewhere to park on the street. That has become increasingly difficult.

Surely Elmbridge Borough Council, as our town planning authority, should be working to improve the amenities of local residents, rather than adding to problems?

We sincerely hope that after considering Application 2018/2989, Elmbridge Borough Council will refuse this application, because with its excessive height, bulk and mass the building would dominate the street scene, with negative impact on views from and towards the Conservation Area, and because its adequate parking provision would cause additional on-street parking stress detrimental to the amenities of residents, failing to comply with acceptable standards.

Beales Lane development consultation Nov 2018

November 2018 proposals for Beales Lane

Weybridge residents viewed plans to develop St Catherine’s House in Beales Lane, at a community consultation on 15 November. We saw plans for 30 flats, comprising 1, 2 and 3 bed dwellings, with a total of 59 bedrooms, and parking spaces for 28 cars behind the block, accessed via an entrance mid-building.

The architects were seeking local reactions, willing to listen and seemingly willing to consider adjusting designs.

What stood out immediately was the size and style of the proposed building, which is uncompromisingly rectangular, vertical, and flat roofed — no gables, no eaves — unlike other buildings in the area. Its central section would be four storeys tall, stepping down to two storeys where it adjoins existing Beales Lane houses.

St Catherine’s House, Beales Lane, viewed from Thames Street

The bulk of the proposed building would be much closer to the road in Beales Lane than is the case with St Catherine’s House, although the section nearest Thames Street would be set back to accommodate the existing tree.

The consultation and exhibition were organised by Harper Planning, on behalf of PA Housing. The design team spoke with interested members of the local community, answered questions and discussed concerns.

PA Housing, owners of the site, intend to apply for planning consent to construct a mix of one, two and three bedroom apartments, following demolition of the current buildings. There would be a mix of private ownership, shared ownership and social housing.

Initial reactions from residents have included:

surprise at the proposed density and appearance
concern at excessive height and mass
worry about impact on parking for local residents

We have heard strongly expressed views that the design does not fit with the local street scene and is oppressively massive. It would loom over Beales Lane. Most local buildings are brick built two storey dwellings with traditional pitched roofs, many with relatively low eaves. Beales Lane leads into historic and diminutive Church Walk.

Parking will be a very sensitive issue in an area with extremely limited on-street parking. More flats and private/shared ownership mean many additional residents are likely to have cars. Some residents in neighbouring Church Walk, Jessamy Road and Thames Street, where parking space is at a premium, have to resort to finding a parking space in Beales Lane when needed.

There are also concerns about the loss of the paved space at the front of St Catherine’s which is currently used by many vehicles for turning, as Beales lane is a cul-de-sac without a turning space at the end.

We hope local views will sway the architects (contactable via info@harperplanning.co.uk) and that any planning application will reflect local reaction.

Grenside Road school parking

Parking and turning on private land, obstructing residents

Residents of Grenside Road face school traffic and parking issues which need help from Surrey Highways.
Grenside Road is a cul de sac with no turning space, so things can get fraught when large numbers of parents park up on the pavement and neighbouring land, wait with engines running, then try to turn around and drive out.

The private access to residents’ parking spaces and lock up garages is often obstructed by parents parking and manoeuvring and trying to turn around to depart from Grenside Road.

The school’s use of the Grenside Road gates as a secondary entrance is in line with Surrey’s policy of multiple access points. But the road lacks the parking controls expected around a school entrance. There are still no zigzags or special parking restrictions around this entrance, despite the optimistic comments made by an outgoing councillor, before last year’s Surrey County County local elections, about Surrey making safety improvements in Grenside Road.

St George’s Junior School is trying to make sure parents are considerate, but official parking restrictions from Surrey would allow traffic wardens to enforce better behaviour. PPDRA will continue to draw this to the attention of the new County Councillor, Tim Oliver. Action is needed to improve a situation residents find unacceptable.

Viewpoint: Weybridge Parking Project

INTRODUCTION: We are grateful to PPDRA committee member Pauline O’Sullivan for this informative overview of the Weybridge Parking Project — work in progress by the Weybridge Society and Weybridge Town Business Group, a major undertaking on a significant topic.

It is excellent to see mention that:

any restrictions must not disadvantage residents in roads with limited or no off-street parking, and
parking restrictions must not increase rat run traffic through residential roads.

These are two concerns which local residents frequently express to PPDRA, which were included in our evidence to the project, not apparent in the original Parking Project report.

We welcome the prospect of the Parking Project accommodating these and other wider concerns. PPDRA strongly supports the principle of a strategic plan recognising the diverse parking needs across our local community. We also feel it is important that it covers traffic as well as parking, as the two are so interrelated.

Comments welcome!
…………………………….

Weybridge Parking Solution – Make your views known

Creative thinking is at last taking place to sort out parking and improve our Town. There are many factors involved and your input and ideas are important.

SCC and EBC have failed for years to implement an effective and cohesive parking plan for Weybridge that addresses increasing problems for business, shoppers, residents, schools and visitors. Getting this right is fundamental to the prosperity, look and feel of our Town.

As a result, The Weybridge Society (WS), in conjunction with the Weybridge Town Business Group (WTBG), undertook a voluntary initiative to produce an advisory document to start the necessary detailed quantification of the problem and an outline of the considerations for a potential solution. To view the Weybridge Parking Project Review & Proposal, plus a clarification and update, go to: https://www.weybridgesociety.org.uk/current-activities/weybridge-parking-review-2017-18/

The project involved only: the collection of hard data on the extra commuter parking space needed, the assessment of space available in existing car parks and their potential for expansion, and current charges/revenues. It also looked at current problems and considerations relating to the parking needs of all users and identified further work necessary to assess the wider impacts to be considered before any final solution can be proposed and implemented.

A comprehensive survey of local businesses revealed that a minimum of 725 commuter cars currently park each weekday on the streets around Weybridge High Street and the Queens Road Village. They make parking difficult for shoppers, visitors and residents, especially for those with no off-street parking. The solution being suggested is to provide more off-street parking for use by commuters and the creation of at least two Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) for residents that can be shared with short and medium-term shoppers and other visitors. The precise details of these CPZs are still to be decided and are likely to be shaped more in line with the official town boundary to take better account of the inconvenience suffered by residents in roads close to retail areas. Note these will not be concentric circles as used in the Proposal as indicative of distances from a central point.

In February, the WS and WTBG met with Weybridge and Surrey councillors to launch the Review and Proposal. Agreement was gained for it to be presented for adoption at the next Joint Executive Group of SCC and EBC. Cllr. Andrew Davis agreed to undertake the Feasibility Study into the potential expansion of existing car parks, acknowledging the need for creative ideas and no multi-storey eyesores. This was due to be delivered at end of June, but a lack of progress has meant that it is having to be recommissioned.

The PPDRA committee has discussed the findings, the outline of a potential solution, and the further work required as input to a cohesive Plan. The extra work is primarily the responsibility of EBC and SCC, but progress will need close monitoring and consultation with residents:

Feasibility Study into possible car park expansion to ease parking pressure in the two main retail areas and around the station.
Continued discussion on additional parking being provided as part of redeveloping the hospital site.
Traffic Management Review – volumes, flow, pollution levels, safety and potential impact of changes to parking and restrictions in residential roads.
Quantify parking needs around schools at drop-off and pick-up times.
Quantify the impact of evening parking needs on residents.
Investigate new parking opportunities and the further parking potential that could arise from changes being considered to the town layout.
Further Investigate the viability of a Park & Ride scheme from Brooklands.
Quantify the charging, economic viability and use of extended of car parks with the focus on their use by long-term parkers.

Key considerations in creating the new Parking Plan

It must not disadvantage residents in roads with limited or no off-street parking, nor increase rat runs.
Businesses must buy into their staff using carparks and the cost implications.
Residents must buy into paying for parking permits in return for local parking and having controlled parking zones to ensure that long-term parkers use car parks.
The timetable for implementing any new Parking Plan must ensure that adequate off-street space is available prior to introducing any more CPZs.
No further money should be spent on existing carparks until their future has been decided.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? HAS SOMETHING BEEN MISSED? Contribute your thoughts below, and come to the PPDRA AGM on 13 September to share views and hear from councillors. THIS IS IMPORTANT.

P O’S July 2018

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UPDATE 11 Sept 2018

Here is some further helpful clarification from Pauline O’Sullivan on CPZ proposals from the Weybridge Parking Project, which illustrates how the Project is responding to local concerns. Comments invited.

Extending the CPZ in Weybridge

It is generally accepted that Weybridge needs more off-street space for long-term parking so that all residents can park close to their own homes. However, there is also a need to provide an element of short-term parking for shoppers and visitors within walking distance of the High Street and Queens Road trading areas.

Getting this balance right is not going to be easy, with many factors to be considered. The enlargement and changes of restrictions to the existing CPZ in 2015 resulted in more stress in adjoining roads, a reduction in parking for shoppers, and roads in the CPZ being left with lots of space for much of the day. A revised approach is therefore essential.

The Weybridge Society website (weybridgesociety.org.uk) gives full details of its recent Parking Project that quantified both the cause of the congestion (long-term commuter parking) and the needs of residents, shoppers and businesses. The Project concluded that there will have to be more controlled parking on our roads for off-street parking to work.

The current thinking of the Project is to have 2 CPZs, one broadly following the irregular shape of the official Town centre boundary and a similar one for Queens Road, both based on the acceptable average walking distances for commuters as determined by the Weybridge Society’s survey. Differing parking restrictions would need to apply within these CPZs to reflect the proximity to the High Street and Queens Road, and the needs of individual roads and locations, e.g. around schools. It is already recognised that a few roads may opt to be excluded from any restriction for practical and/or safety reasons, so getting the best result for all will be a complex process. Understanding the views of residents is therefore very important.

Make sure you have your say by providing feedback direct to the Weybridge Society as leaders of the initiative at: weysoc@mickey.me.uk and/or to this Association at contactus @ portmore.org.uk

Local concern at Parking Review recommendations

The long awaited Weybridge Parking Review recommendations have received mixed reactions locally, and disappointment at what was not covered. Here we give an overview of the parking issues, and draft reactions from PPDRA to the recommendations.

When the Surrey County Council parking team presented its Weybridge Parking Review report of recommendations, and drawings to the Elmbridge local committee at its meeting of 27 June for initial approval, councillors at the meeting reported a lot of concern from local residents

SCC reports that “As a result of concerns expressed by committee members, we are currently considering comments received in response to the publication of these proposals, before deciding on what schemes should be put forward to formal advertisement. We are still aiming to advertise these proposals in September.”

At a public meeting on 14 July organised by Cllr Andrew Davis, PPDRA Chair Miles Macleod was invited to attempt an impartial non-political introduction.

Here are the notes from that introduction:

Weybridge Parking Review – An Introduction from PPDRA

Parking is an increasingly serious problem for our town. Weybridge needs:

Reliable parking for residents
Convenient parking for shoppers & visitors
Affordable parking for workers

The issue is that demand for parking spaces exceeds supply.

Weybridge has a particular problem in roads where Victorian and Edwardian homes have no off-street parking, so residents have to find spaces on-street, in competition with workers and shoppers unless there is a CPZ in their road.

Over the years this has got worse, with:

more cars,
new dwellings without private parking (which Government planning law forces Councils to permit near town centres)
progressively more yellow lines and on-street restrictions which reduce overall capacity

Many residents were pleased when Surrey announced a strategic review, which would try to do something about that.

Those who recalled the last strategic review, some 8 years ago, hoped it would be nothing like that – a plan which caused an outcry because it would have reduced parking capacity dramatically in parts of North Weybridge causing displacement to neighbouring areas.

PPDRA welcomed the new review’s aims. Our view has long been that:

residents in individual roads should be consulted on CPZs, within an overall strategy and consultation with wider community
the Councils — Surrey & Elmbridge — should work together to increase capacity
something major is needed to address the shortage of off-street parking in Weybridge

What was our reaction on seeing the Review recommendations? Well, in some ways very disappointed
– where is the strategic thinking? What about off-street parking? And why were some roads entirely ignored?

But it does have some positive points, in some of the changes proposed.

PPDRA DRAFT reactions to the Weybridge Parking Review 2016 report of recommendations

It has some good points:

Trying to address some important parking issues, and consulting residents of the most immediately affected roads – particularly those close to the High Street, with limited private off-street parking (where residents rely on being able to park on-street)
Proposing CPZ changes/extension based on the responses of residents of those roads
Proposing something to help control early evening on-street parking near the town centre (by extending restrictions to 8pm)
Trying to do something to increase daytime short-stay shopper parking (by allowing it in some sections of CPZ roads)
Addressing known safety issues around various junctions

And bad points:

LONG TERM

Failing to take a strategic view of Weybridge parking needs, and on-street vs off-street capacity
Particularly failing to address the issue of public off-street parking shortage

IMMEDIATE

Ignoring roads east of Thames Street (e.g. Grenside Rd, Grotto Road, West Palace Gardens, Old Palace Road)
Not assessing the impact of displacement parking from CPZs
Not being effective enough in increasing short-stay shopper daytime parking capacity (e.g. Oakdale Road daytime spaces count)
Doing nothing to assist long-stay worker parking

There is a fair overlap between our views and the views from the Weybridge Society, but where we differ is that PPDRA does not think that all changes should be put on hold while the strategic issues are sorted out – there is a parking crisis in some roads near the High Street, which needs urgent action.

Weybridge Parking Review – further local consultation

Residents of some roads in the area between Weybridge High Street and Portmore Park Road have been asked for further views on parking restrictions in their roads. PPDRA is pleased to see that Surrey is consulting residents in these roads, as this is an area of particular parking stress, with very limited private off street parking and a high demand for spaces from shoppers and (where restrictions allow) workers.

PPDRA’s view has long been that Surrey should listen to the needs of residents of particular roads about restrictions in their road. We also believe that Weybridge needs more off-street parking, although this review does not appear to be addressing that strongly (but we await the report).

We understand that an aim of the Surrey County Council Parking Team in this review is to ensure that residents are able to park near their home, while also trying to allow the possibility of some short term parking for shoppers at times of day when spaces are available — overall seeking to reduce unnecessary restrictions so more on-street parking spaces are freed up.

There is an opportunity to give views online via the SCC website until 3 June via the Weybridge Parking Review page, which lists the specific roads they are interested in. The wording does not make it clear how SCC will process the views submitted by people who live in other roads.

The survey asks where you live, and how you find parking in your road. Then it asks about parking in Cedar Road, Elmgrove Road, Holstein Avenue and Oakdale Road, saying
The feedback we’ve had shows that currently, a lot of the roads with existing residents’ bays are not being fully occupied during the day, so we’re thinking of changing some or all of them from the existing ‘Monday – Saturday, 9am – 6pm, permit holders only’. Please let us know what you think about the following options.

It offers various options. The survey subsequently asks for views on introducing residents’ parking in other nearby roads — Dorchester Road, The Crescent, Gascgoine Road, Mount Pleasant, and St Albans Avenue — that do not currently have residents’ parking schemes, and whether you are a resident of one of those roads. It also has a general question about views on parking in our area.

Overall, it seems thoughtfully put together, and focused on specific local needs.

We understand that a report is due to be presented at the 27 June SCC Elmbridge Local Committee meeting. This is scheduled for 4pm on 27 June 2016, in the Council Chamber at Elmbridge Civic Centre, Esher.

An agenda and copies of reports should be available a week before the meeting, on the SCC website Elmbridge Local Committee page