Saracen’s Head carpark in Southwell was free for two hours, but now parking company Britannia charging up to £6
Anger has greeted a decision to introduce charges at a previously free carpark in a town centre.
The carpark behind the Saracen’s Head Hotel offered free carparking for two hours under an agreement between Southwell Town Council, the Methodist church and Greene King, which owns the hotel.
It is not known who owns the land, but parking company Britannia has put up signs charging £1 for an hour, £2 for two hours, £3 for three hours, £4 for four hours and then £6 for 24 hours.
A spokesman for Greene King said income from the charges will be used towards the upkeep of the carpark.
But Newark and Sherwood District Council’s ward member for Southwell, Peter Harris, said: “This won’t just affect hotel customers, but also the church as they had spaces in the carpark for its workers and visitors.”
“There will also be an impact on the shopping centre, the town is tying to provide parking facilities for people coming into the town, and people aren’t happy about this.”
The news of the parking charges was shared on Facebook, and drew many annoyed comments from residents.
Briony Clarke said: “We were promised that free parking would remain. We were promised that the Saracens Head car park would remain, as it has always been, a shared facility.”
Natalie Sharman said: “It’s just another negative effect on the high street and small businesses of a small shopping town.
“Keep making parking awkward for would-be shoppers, and it won’t take much before they decide it’s easier not to bother and shop out of town at retail parks where you can park outside the door for free.”
Town council chairman Lyn Harris said that the council was looking into who owned the land.
She said: “Several years ago, when Greene King took over the Saracen’s Head, they wanted to charge for the parking.
“But then there was a meeting between the town council, Greene King and the Methodist church, and I believe the upshot was that Greene King allowed people to park for free for the first two hours, and that people could park for free all day on a Sunday.
“We’re now trying to find that agreement because its just awful what’s happened.
“We have got parents trying to take their children to the toddler group and having to pay to drop children off at the Lowes Wong school as well.
“Some residents have said they have seen a parking warden walking around as well, it is quite an aggressive way to do it.”
A spokesman for the Saracen’s Head said that they had contributed thousands of pounds to pay for repairs to pot holes in the car park over the years, an expense they can’t continue, but that the pub does not receive any money from the machines.
A Greene King spokesman said: “Any customers or guests visiting the Saracen’s Head can use the car park free of charge and just need to make the hotel reception aware so they can register the vehicle.
“This also helps ensure there are enough spaces for hotel guests to park when they arrive.
“Our proposal is that any income we receive from the parking machine is invested in the maintenance and upkeep of the carpark.”
