Proposed parking changes

Last month, we received notification that Gloucestershire County Council were proposing to make changes to the on-street parking in the vicinity of the theatre, in particular Bath Road, Oriel Road and Wellington Street. There followed a short period of consultation during which many of our members, together with other volunteer colleagues at the nearby Salvation Army citadel, said how damaging these proposals could be for our community work.

We have now received the official proposals following this consultation period and I am afraid to say that almost no concessions have been made in respect of our representations. The main proposal is that the current free on-street parking on these three roads will be subject to pay and display charges from 8am - 8pm, seven days per week. A maximum stay of two hours will be permitted, with the exception of Sunday mornings when a three hour maximum is permitted. The charges will be £1.60 for one hour, £2.80 for two hours and £3.80 for three hours. Some of Wellington Street will have residents permit parking and much of the current single yellow line in the general area will be removed.

Aside from the huge financial implications to our many volunteers that these changes would bring, of particular concern to the theatre is the removal of the single yellow line along Oriel Road. This is currently used on Sunday mornings for the loading and unloading of furniture, props, sets, lighting and sound equipment as one production leaves and another arrives. If this area becomes, as proposed, no waiting at any time, the general operation of the theatre becomes extremely difficult. The actual parking charges will affect all of our amateur casts, front of house volunteers and parents dropping off and collecting children from the assorted classes held after school and on Saturdays. These charges will also impact on the Salvation Army mothers and toddlers sessions, pensioners' lunch club etc, which are also heavily dependant on volunteers and frequented by the elderly and people on very limited incomes.

The trustees of the registered charity are meeting on Tuesday evening to formulate their official response and I myself met with the chairman this afternoon. We will be asking our supporters to lend us their help in the coming weeks ahead of the official deadline for objections (Monday 7 December), not just for ourselves but for all voluntary organisations in this area that will find their work, none of which is done for profit, severely impeded or potentially forced to stop. Please keep an eye on this blog for updates.