Car Park Plans

We expect United Utilities to formally apply to Chorley Council for planning permission for their new car park and traffic management at some time during December or early January. We must make sure that the application for objections doesn’t get lost in the Christmas holiday rush.

So I invited United Utilities to publish their proposals on this site to make sure that they had the chance to present their proposals properly. I haven’t heard back from them, so here’s the notes I made immediately after their public consultation back in August:

United Utilities propose:

• to create a new pay and display car park in a field adjacent to the Lower Barn on land that is legally not part of Lever Park.
• to make the all the current car parks in Rivington pay and display
• to charge between 50p and £1 for parking (probably 50p for a couple of hours and a pound for all day parking, with a season ticket option for £60-£70 pa)
• to close the car parks at 5.00pm
• to introduce a one way system forcing up along the road to the top barn, then down an existing bridleway back to the main road
• to improve the road surfaces on the new one way system

The open day was well attended. The United Utilities staff who attended are very professional and obviously very dedicated to the upkeep of Rivington. However, most people I spoke to were sceptical. Here were some of the criticisms voiced by myself and others:

• The land was given to the people of Bolton and Chorley by Lord Leverhulme for free access. This right is enshrined in the relevant by-laws, so United Utilities cannot charge for car parking on any of the current car parks.
• At peak times, more people will park on the public highway (i.e. the main road to Rivington and street off Lever Park Avenue and Sheephouse Lane) rather than pay for parking.
• The only peak times are between 11.00am and 4.00pm on Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays. Extra car parks will be redundant at all other times and days.
• Will the money raised by car parks be spent on the Lever Park area? If so, how much money do they expect to raise.
• Will the money be publicly accountable?
• What is the environmental impact of converting a field into a car park. What wildlife is in the field currently? What is the visual impact of field of tarmac or gravel?
• If the changes make Lever Park more popular, the number of car journeys into the park will increase at a time when Greater Manchester is considering wide-ranging strategies to reduce car journeys. So why no public transport options within the plans? No improvements to the cycle paths? A bus service used to run at weekends from Horwich.
• Horwich, Bolton and Chorley have a large number of people without access to a car. For the less able-bodied, Rivington is currently out of reach (there being no public transport into the area) – why are these people not being addressed by these plans?
• Alternatively, car park charges could make Lever Park less popular. Car park charges in nearby Bolton town centre have proved contentious. If fewer people visited the park, clearly this would run against Lord Leverhulme’s original vision.
• The proposed one-way system forces cars to return to the main road at a dangerous spot.
• There is currently a lack of clarity of the way in which money raised from the car parking charges would be re-invested. United Utilities need to be very clear about what the money will be spent on.
• Concerns were also expressed that the planning process for the recently approved ‘Go Ape’ centre didn’t give enough people chance to make their feelings known.

The public consultation was back in August. Many of the people who attended completed the feedback forms and made the suggestions above, but so far we have no indication that United Utilities have made any changes to their original plans.

All the plans are on display at the Great House Information Centre (if it’s open, and if you can get up the stairs). Its a shame that United Utilities hasn’t put the plans on-line where more people can see them.

United Utilities need to tell us:

1. When will the plans go before the full planning committee (no delegated decisions please!)
2. Have UU taken any account of the views expressed by members of the public?
3. What changes have UU made to the original plans? Or was this just another example of meaningless, sham ‘consultation’?

What do you think about the car park? Vote in our new on-line poll:

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• to create a new pay and display car park in a field adjacent to the Lower Barn on land that is legally not part of Lever Park.
• to make the current car parks in Rivington pay and display
• to charge between 50p and £1 for parking (probably 50p for a couple of hours and a pound for all day parking, with a season ticket option for £60-£70 pa)
• to introduce a one way system forcing up along the road to the top barn, then down an existing bridleway back to the main road
• to improve the road surfaces on the new one way system

Here are some of the criticisms voiced by myself and others:

• The land was given to the people of Bolton and Chorley by Lord Leverhulme for free access. This right is enshrined in the relevant by-laws, so United Utilities cannot charge for car parking on any of the current car parks.
• At peak times, more people will park on the public highway (i.e. the main road to Rivington and street off Lever Park Avenue and Sheephouse Lane) rather than pay for parking.
• The only peak times are between 11.00am and 4.00pm on Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays. Extra car parks will be redundant at all other times and days.
• Will the money raised by car parks be spent on the Lever Park area? If so, how much money do they expect to raise.
• Will the money be publicly accountable?
• What is the environmental impact of converting a field into a car park. What wildlife is in the field currently? What is the visual impact of field of tarmac or gravel?
• If the changes make Lever Park more popular, the number of car journeys into the park will increase at a time when Greater Manchester is considering wide-ranging strategies to reduce car journeys. So why no public transport options within the plans? No improvements to the cycle paths? A bus service used to run at weekends from Horwich.
• Horwich, Bolton and Chorley have a large number of people without access to a car. For the less able-bodied, Rivington is currently out of reach (there being no public transport into the area) – why are these people not being addressed by these plans?
• Alternatively, car park charges could make Lever Park less popular. Car park charges in nearby Bolton town centre have proved contentious. If fewer people visited the park, clearly this would run against Lord Leverhulme’s original vision.
• The proposed one-way system forces cars to return to the main road at a dangerous spot.
• There is currently a lack of clarity of the way in which money raised from the car parking charges would be re-invested. United Utilities need to be very clear about what the money will be spent on.
• Concerns were also expressed that the planning process for the recently approved ‘Go Ape’ centre didn’t give enough people chance to make their feelings known.

It’s early stages, the plans are just proposals and will are subject to planning permission and more involvement from the Highways experts. United Utilities will consult with other local groups including parish councils and local councillors.

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