Apologies for the late posting of this letter. ( a downloadable version can be found at the bottom of this article.
c/o Epping Hall, St John’s Road, Epping, CM16 5JU
16 January 2025
Car parking in Epping
This is an Open Letter from the committee of the Epping Society to all relevant Councillors at Epping Town Council and Epping Forest District Council; the ETC Town Clerk and the CEO of EFDC and also the North East Parking Partnership in Colchester. It will appear on our website and newsletters, and be shared with social media.
Dear All
The Epping Society notes the intent for EFDC to acquire Epping’s multistorey carpark from Qualis; we consider this would be a most ideal opportunity to carry out a thoughtful review of parking provision throughout the town.
There is ample evidence that shops in our High Street are struggling, with an unusually large number of closures. As we talk to shop-keepers they all give us the difficulty and cost of car parking as one of the main causes of their drop in footfall and challenging finances.
1. The multistorey car park still has a range of issues and problems which we had been discussing with Qualis; we have several times published lists of design, build, operating and behaviour problems. To say that the “new” car park is unpopular would be a huge understatement. Also there are a range of groups of residents who have raised similar issues with Councillors and in the media. We hope these discussions will continue; we think there are some possible “easy gains”.
2. There is discontent about the pricing structure in that new car park. At an early planning application stage, the public was assured that parking costs would be “similar to those in the pre-existing car parks” - this has not happened. It would be worth comparing parking prices in Epping with those in other towns in the District. Further, the imposition of evening / night charging (which prior was free) has had a demonstrable negative impact on activities in the town.
Efforts must be made to make use of the car park much more attractive to residents and visitors.
3. There is also concern about the management/pricing / timing structure of charging for on-street parking. A few examples serve – Hartland Road and Kendal Avenue are both quite wide roads, enough for parking where not obstructing residents. They are in a reasonably short walking distance to the shops. Since the imposition of permits / charging, these places are usually seen to be empty. What was not a problem has been spoiled in an effort to bring in revenue, unsuccessfully. Our view is that restrictions should only be used to resolve problems, not simply to raise cash.
In contrast, allowing parking at the South end of Hemnall street near it’s junction with the main road, creates a one-lane street and the queues to pass that bottleneck often tail back into both roads.
Another poorly managed example of parking is Stonards Hill at its junction with Palmers Hill, with regular traffic queues typically starting around 6am, and lasting until the early evening. Vehicles approaching the junction from Stonards Hill are required to navigate around approximately ten cars parked along the south kerb, effectively narrowing the road to a single lane. As a result, drivers entering the road frequently mount the pavement, a safety concern.
In many cases we are told by some residents that the consultation process was not thorough.
4. Pressure on parking, and perhaps a few people’s behaviour has resulted in inappropriate parking in certain places – the green verges on both sides of the High Street South of the mini-roundabouts his causing damage to grass, trees, creating unsightly mud swathes; also opposite St John’s Road where delivery drivers wait with their cars half on the pavement and half on a yellow line or white zigzags. Many other vehicles flaunt laws by double-parking in the High Street or by leaving their engines idling for periods of time. We would like to see the Parking Partnership staff being much more effective in these sort of situations.
Finally it should be unnecessary to add that the ongoing development of housing sites and the new sports centre, around the town and beyond will further increase the pressure on parking. We consider the future of the town as a vibrant and pleasant place to live is at risk, unless we can get these parking problems under control. One cannot pour more and more water into the same pot, without an overflow; unless you can remodel the pot!
Roger Lowry, Vice chair, committee, Epping Society
Comments