Hotel bosses on Shropshire border seek to stop car park 'short cut'
Bosses at a hotel on the Shropshire border say they have had to close off their car park to through traffic because of the high number of vehicles using it as a short cut.
The car park at the Hand Hotel in Chirk has been used by motorists for many years as a short cut to reach the town's main car park.
But bosses say the building of the town's new medical centre nearby has created traffic congestion as contractors and builders arrive at the site.
They say from now on they are asking motorists not to come through their car park and are reminding people the site should only be used by hotel guests.
Town councillors said at a meeting on Wednesday they disapproved of the move.
Councillor Terry Evans said the people of Chirk had used the car park as a convenient through road for decades.
But Paul Rogers, a joint director at the hotel, stressed today pedestrians would still be able to walk through the hotel car park.
He said: "There has always been a pedestrian route through the site and that will always continue. What we are saying is that we don't want vehicles coming through. When the medical centre opens the main town car park it is going to get really busy because the centre is so big and doing so much.
"Patients will be coming through our car park more and more and with human nature some will park in our car park. We want to nip the problem in the bud before it gets worse."
