It is undeniable that Cirencester has a parking problem, just ask anyone who has tried to get parked after 9am on a week day morning.

But the conclusion that it therefore needs a Multi-Storey Car Park (MSCP) is the wrong one.

Looking at the problem in more detail; the council car parks are generally all full by about 8:30 mid-week.

However, on a weekend you can find a space without too much trouble.

St. James’s Place and the district council both open their car parks to the public for free parking on the weekend and neither ever receives more than handful of cars.

So, Cirencester's parking problem can in fact be narrowed down to commuters arriving for work mid-week.

We can also see that the first car park in town to fill up is always the ‘Station Road’ car park (this morning it was full by 8:10) and the last one is ‘Beeches Road’.

It is no coincidence that they are respectively the closest and furthest away from the St. James’s Place building.

It is also worth noting that St. James’s Place has a policy of reimbursing their staff their car parking charge if they park in any council carpark in town.

I think St. James’s Place has a tremendously positive impact on Cirencester, supporting the local economy and local businesses, and also sponsoring many local charities and events, but it is undeniably also impacting the parking situation.

The solution to Cirencester’s parking problem should therefore address the underlying cause.

This could be done by assisting St. James’s Place to create suitable parking outside of the town centre.

Or perhaps encouraging them to drop their policy of paying staff car parking charges in council car parks.

And finally encouraging them to implement a policy of lift sharing, or alternative forms of commuting.

If necessary, an out of town car park (park and ride or shuttle) could then be considered.

Any long term parking solution should have the clear objective of “making it easier to find a car parking space (mid-week) for visitors, business owners, residents and people working in town”.

However, it should also be balanced against the costs of the project - financial, environmental and social - as well as the impact on the town and the people who live here.

My concern is that the parking committee’s current proposal of a large multi-storey car park does not provide this balance.

Firstly, I don’t think a multi-story car park is the right parking solution for people who just want to ‘pop into town’.

Cirencester is a small town with only a few shops, people often come for an hour or two rather than half a day.

Hardly worth the hassle of queuing up, waiting at the barriers to collect a ticket, navigating the tight windy ramps etc.. especially as the parking committees stated long term goal is to de-commission the other car parks once the multi-storey car park is build.

Forcing people to drive around town to the only car park.

Secondly, and most important to me, is that Cirencester has global appeal as a ‘quaint market town’.

It attracts visitors from all over the world because of this.

I think it is our greatest asset and we should do everything in our power to preserve that.

Any new building (or large scale developments) need to take that into account.

Cirencester Chamber of Commerce would do well to consider the long term impact of an unsightly concrete multi-storey carpark on visitor's impressions of Cirencester, no matter what you wrap the building in.

The social cost of the loss of our reputation as a quaint and idyllic English town could be far higher than any of us are prepared to pay.

Finally, it should be value for money.

Initial estimates indicate at least £14m and no one would be surprised if it ends up costing double that.

All that, for only an additional 300 spaces.

That’s £47,000 per space!

Even if the council is able to borrow the money cheaply, the repayments over-time are likely to add up to double the amount initially borrowed.

This money will (eventually) have to come from increased council taxes paid by us or our children.

It has been suggested that with the advent of autonomous vehicles, capable of taking themselves back out of town, additional parking needs will in the future reduce rather than increase.

Even if this technology is still not mature enough to be relied upon yet, one area in which it can be used, is the use of autonomous shuttle vehicles.

Examples of which can be found in New York and the O2 Arena in London.

Meaning an out of town carpark is not just feasible – it would probably end up drawing in more visitors through its use of up-to-date technology.

A complete contrast to the current proposal of a concrete multi-story car park, something that was last in vogue in the 1980’s.

Cirencester Parking Committee are about to submit a planning application for an incredibly large (5 storey – half the height of the church tower) multi-story car park.

If you have any views on this, then it is imperative that you write to your local councillor now and to the parking committee.

Contact Joe.harris@cotswold.gov.uk (Head of CDC) and Mark.Harris@cotswold.gov.uk (chair of the parking committee).

Joe Barrowclough,

Cirencester