Car parking charges are to be introduced at museums within the Ironbridge Gorge, it was revealed today. Managers want to install solar-powered ticket machines.They plan to put them in the car parks of Blists Hill Victorian Museum, the Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron and Coalport China Museum.
The Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust hopes the move will encourage people to leave their cars at home and use more sustainable transport, such as buses.
Museums spokesman Richard Aldred said: “Within the next six weeks we will introduce parking charges. It will be a £1 flat fee per day. The tickets will be transferable between car parks.
“The money that we raise will go back into the trust to support our educational facilities and to look at new green initiatives. We are trying to encourage people to look at other ways of getting around the site.”
He said the Gorge Connect shuttle bus service offered free transport on weekends and bank holidays to museum visitors.
The trust is seeking approval from Telford & Wrekin Council to install the ticket machines and new signs in the car parks.
A report by council officers says: “The trust is looking to reduce reliance on private car. . . Through a programme of introducing charges on its car parks, the demand for parking space will be suppressed.”
Officers recommend approval but are asking for financial contributions totalling £14,250 towards highways management.
Objections have been lodged against the plans, airing concerns that motorists could park in nearby side streets. Councillors will discuss the application on April 30.
7 Comments
Watch them moan next year when attendance has fallen.
They’ve already lost business, and sadly staff, due to the floods last year, now they seem determined to add to their own woes.
If people go to Blist’s Hill or the other museums they park their cars, and leave them for several hours, unused - so there’s no environmental benefit.
If I were looking to travel some distance to a tourist attraction, and knew I would be forced to either pay extortionate parking charges, or to park elsewhere, and use unreliable public transport to make the last part of the journey, I think I’d just go somewhere more hospitable.
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What on earth are the managers thinking of introducing parking charges at museums! Words fail me!This scheme is idiotic. Do buses run to these places? Buses are not as convenient as a car on a family day out.Can’t they see that when people have to pay yet another parking charge will leave their cars at home and not bother going to these museums and go somewhere else where there is no parking charge. Visiter numbers will fall is this plan goes ahead.
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What a great idea! The residents of the surounding area are already plagued by inconsderate parking from people visiting Blists Hill, this is only going to make it worse.
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I don’t follow the logic here. If people park their cars for several hours unused then surely there is no environmental penalty either!
If the museum managers want to be so stupid then I will definitely be leaving my car at home and staying home with it. When will these idiots realise that it is impossible for many people like me living in rural areas to reach Blists Hill by bus? Visitor numbers will inevitably fall and, sadly, a great attraction will go bust.
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with oil fast approaching $1.50 a barrell, and petrol going through the £5 a gallon barrier, motorists will soon be thinking is my journey really essential, the last place they will won’t to go is where they have to pay for parking on top of their travel costs, this is always assuming there is petrol or diesel on the forecourts. this short sighted approach will in our present economy of ” can i afford to go to morrisons” is shortsighted in the extreme.
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have they thought of a pedestrian toll of 50p to walk on the ironbridge or am i too late with this cynical suggestion
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They are very clever introducing it at such a low rate, only £1 per day transferable. Within the year it wont be transferable and its going to cost a lot more than £1
They have (probably correctly) realised that people wont turn back and will just pay the parking fee…
But of course they can always say its ‘eco’ or ‘green’ so people will swallow it…
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