Bridgnorth
A cabinet meeting of Shropshire Council last year discussed measures to alleviate the city’s parking problems as city councils considered a number of possible improvements to parking in the city.
Proposals have been made to develop plans for a multi-story car park on Innage Lane using a portion of the £ 288,194 awarded to the agency under the National Welcome Back Fund to help downtown businesses recover from coronavirus support pandemic.
It was hoped a parking lot would bring shoppers into town and give dealers a decisive boost after a challenging year.
Bridgnorth representatives on Shropshire Council supported the proposal, although the Bridgnorth Chamber of Commerce said other plans should be considered.
In a letter to the Chamber of Commerce, Shropshire Council director Mark Barrow confirmed that the restoration funding would not go towards the original idea of a multi-story building.
He said, “I can confirm that none of the Covid-related grants issued to date will be used to fund our investment proposals for Bridgnorth.
“The government grant will be used to support businesses and places to survive and respond to the pandemic.”
He added that all proposals for investments in the city would be discussed and possible consultations with key stakeholders would be initiated.
Council Chairman Peter Nutting added that the amount of funding each area across the county can receive to create a fairer share of prosperity has been limited.
It comes after new fears were raised about the future of Old Smithfield Car Park after it was purchased by developers earlier this year.
Ziran Land bought the parking lot in February for £ 1.2 million after its 2017 plans to build retail stores on the property failed.
Vandalism is another problem that has plagued the city’s parking lots for the past few weeks.
Residents woke up Thursday to find white paint had been poured over the card readers and keyboards of all the ticket machines in the Listley Street North car park.
Vandals had also put wood shavings into the coin slots, leaving those without a capable cellphone with no currency.
