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Residents outraged at plans for Bushy Park car charge
Ellen Widdup10 Feb 2009
Visitors to all of London's royal parks could soon be forced to pay for parking.
Richmond Park and Bushy Park, Teddington, are the only two royal spaces which do not charge to use their car parks.
Plans to charge up to £3 at Richmond prompted a backlash against the Royal Parks Agency last month and now it is revealed that Bushy is also earmarked for the fees.
The scheme, which is subject to public consultation, has outraged residents, who claim they were led to believe Bushy would be the one park to escape the charges.
Jacqueline Mitchell, 68, who drives to the park every day to walk her dog, said residents had no idea what the agency was considering until Richmond Park consultation documents came out on 30 January. She said: "It felt like they sneaked Bushy Park in there and hoped people would be so busy getting worked up about Richmond, Bushy would get overlooked.
"There is no need to charge people to park. They are simply doing it to add a few pennies to their coffers. They forget that for people like me, living on my paltry pension, every penny counts." Pieter Morpurgo, chairman of the Friends of Bushy and Home Parks, said the park had been awarded lottery money to encourage people to use the facilities. He said: "If you slap on parking charges you are deterring people from using the park."
Colin Buttery, of the Royal Parks, said no decision would be made until the consultation process ends on 1 May.
Reader views (7)
I drive to the park when my children want to go on a safe bike ride.We load the bikes in the car & then park up for a few hours while we enjoy the beautiful, safe surroundings.
My little girl doesnt have the energy to ride her bike to the park & then start her safe ride.It is also not very safe on the roads for any cyclist, never mind a 5 year old as we don't have good cycle lanes due to the narrow roads/cars parked all along the roadside.
It is quite obviously a way for Richmond Council to make some extra money from people who already pay a premium for living in this area. Local residents should definitely not have to pay to use their local parks.
- Jules Winstanley, Teddington, 04/06/2009 10:17
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I'm surprised that your 68-year-old living on a "paltry pension" can afford to run a car, and the notion of driving somewhere in order to walk a dog just sounds daft, especially given the free bus passes handed out to the old like confetti.
- Andrew, London
We drive to get our dog to bushy park simply because it's an hours walk away and a 10minute drive away. I mean ur dog would much rather run in a field than walk on a pavement, wouldn't it? My nan has a car and she's on a pension, in fact most pensioners do. + She might not like the bus and @ Jay The dog or person might not like buses.
- Jack226, greater london, 20/04/2009 16:02
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Why's it so daft? I mean she could be 10 miles away and might want to walk her dog to bushy/richmond park, we do it and are dog loves it. + My nan runs a car. She's on a pension!
- Jack226, Greater London, 20/04/2009 15:57
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I live too far away to walk or get a bus but I frequently take my children to Bushy Park for day trips in the school holidays. They have great fun and get plenty of fresh air and exercise. However, I would have to reconsider if parking charges were introduced as currently this is one of the few things that you can do for free (excluding petrol and picnic). What happened to trying to encourage people to get more fresh air and excercise, not charge them for it!
- Mrs Saffren Edmiston, Great Bookham, 22/02/2009 13:32
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Andrew of London sounds very miffed that older people should receive bus passes. I thought the issue here was parking charges in the Royal Parks not how a pensioner decides how to use what money she has. Or how she lives her life.
- Mary, Reading UK, 11/02/2009 00:26
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I'm sure the dog would like a bus journey every day instead. Get out of your car.
- Jay, London, 10/02/2009 11:49
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I'm surprised that your 68-year-old living on a "paltry pension" can afford to run a car, and the notion of driving somewhere in order to walk a dog just sounds daft, especially given the free bus passes handed out to the old like confetti.
- Andrew, London, 10/02/2009 10:33
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