Mary Street/High Street Car Park in Taunton.
Following on from my concerns submitted at a previous Somerset Council Executive meeting, I also gave a short speech at the September meeting of the Full Council. Here is the wording, with the video above for your convenience.
“The proposed disposal of the Mary Street/High Street Car Park in Taunton.
This decision was made by the Somerset Council Executive at a meeting held on 5th August 2024.
At that meeting, and on the assumption that the car park is to be replaced, probably with flats, I commented “it will help address lingering issues of antisocial behaviour in this part of the town.” I went on to say “an alternative use for the site is a good idea from that perspective.”
My comments were quoted in local press articles, one using the headline, “Cllr welcomes plan to turn Taunton car park into flats.”
This was understandably taken by several residents to mean that I supported the removal of this very popular car park, which I do not. In fact, I’d rather see the existing car park secured and policed properly, particularly at night.
As you can all imagine, these articles generated a lot of public concern over the loss of this vital facility, and I feel that I must support their calls for the Mary Street/High Street Car Park to be withdrawn from sale.
This car park is used mostly by shoppers and commuters during the day, whilst in the evening, the ground floor is used by the many people taking advantage of the thriving local entertainment facilities, such as the Creative Innovation Centre (CICCIC), The Lawns, and the many restaurants and public houses and restaurants nearby.
It was suggested at the Executive meeting that people could use the multi-story as an alternative. Can you imagine leaving The Lawns or CICCIC after dark and walking into the multi-story is very difficult to access? It is closed in the evening for good reason.
We are trying to attract people to Taunton, if they cannot park, they will not come. Yes, in a perfect world they’d all use the Park and Ride, cycle or walk……. However, in the real world, they want to drive. Losing these 269 conveniently situated spaces, will hugely affect Taunton’s already fragile economy.
It also makes financial sense for the council to retain this vital asset. To support my case, I wanted to share the estimate of this assets value, however this was detailed confidential in the executive report, so I’m unable to do so. What I can point out to my fellow councillors is that this facility is currently generating enough revenue to cover the estimated freehold valuation in short order, thus making the decision to dispose of this car park ill-conceived, in my opinion.
Of course, I realise the council needs to sell assets, however, selling this one will undoubtedly damage our county town’s economy, whilst making no financial sense whatsoever, based on the figures provided to me.
I therefore ask that this car park is removed from the list of proposed disposals.”
Cllr John Hunt
Please excuse any grammatical errors in the above wording, it is written as I speak, rather than as an article.
Here’s the related article in the Somerset County Gazette
