Yesterday, the Council voted to approve plans to build 77 new parking spaces at the Priory House Council offices in Chicksands. Parking is already a problem and Central Bedfordshire are closing other offices and more people are coming to work there. So we understand the demand for these spaces. But as part of this, the Council have said that their commitment to sustainable travel is adequate. I (Lib Dem Cllr candidate) have been looking into this and believe their commitment is far from adequate.
The Council produced an excellent Transport Plan for travel to Priory House in 2014 with 26 recommendations. In the last 3 years they have implemented just 7 and most of these relate to things like updating the website, rather than investing in giving people viable alternative transport options.
The plan particularly identified how difficult it would be for people to use the existing bus services and recommended making the 200 bus route more regular and altering the 71 & 72 to stop nearer to Priory House. These recommendations were ruled out for lack of resources. Resources were found however to pilot the use of electric cars for staff who’d left their car at home to use for work trips during the day. But as they hadn’t invested in viable alternatives to leaving the car at home in the first place, the pool of people needing these was small and the initiative was abandoned for lack of take-up.
The Council has focused on promoting car sharing. But this needs people to be travelling the same route and at the same time. They also have a policy of promoting flexible working hours and location, which is positive, but it means the scope for car sharing is always going to be limited.
Bus travel allows people to get to work at different times and under their own steam. I call on the Council to make providing a viable bus alternative to commute to Priory House. As a minimum:
- further subsidising the 200 to make it run frequently at the beginning and end of the working day
- putting in a closer stop for the 71 & 72
- providing discounted bus passes to staff.
The Council say they did subsidise a bus service for a while, but that nobody used it. I find this response frustrating. Firstly, for a bus service to work, it has be convenient - ie. regular and for long enough hours; otherwise it only meets a handful of people's needs and is not worth it. Secondly, other government and large organisations who have chosen to build offices away from existing transport have schemes whereby they put in viable bus services and then only issue parking permits to staff who cannot cannot use these services. It might sound draconian, but as long as there is a reliable, regular, inexpensive bus service, it works. The Council acknowledges that even these 77 extra spaces are not going to be enough. So unless they plan to tarmac over adjacent fields or build some sort of multi-story, they will need a get serious about sustainable travel. Central Bedfordshire chose to site its main offices in a location without existing transport options - it’s up to Central Bedfordshire to take the lead and make sure those services are put in place and that their staff, were practical, are made to use them.
And what about people in the area who don’t drive? Should they be denied the many employment opportunities at Priory House? Should residents that don’t have access to a car have to pay for taxis to visit their own council offices? A regular, viable, subsidised public bus service would relieve the Council’s parking problem, be a genuine commitment to sustainable travel, and benefit residents across this part of Central Bedfordshire. If scarce resource is to be spent, let’s make sure it benefits all of us, not just the employees of the Council.
Finally, I want to take issue with a phrase I’ve seen many times in justification for this application - that parking is needed because of Priory House’s remote, rural location. Priory House is only remote because it isn’t served well by public transport. It is right next to a growing town and on the main arterial road through Central Bedfordshire. It is hard to understand why there isn’t a regular bus service along the A507 anyway and is a Council decision and responsibility to sort it out.
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