Nature Discovery Centre's new £100,000 car park is "unusable", claims councillor
Keith Woodhams (Lib Dem, Thatcham West), who championed the scheme to get the Muddy Lane car park re-surfaced by successfully obtaining a members bid for £10,000 to carry out the work, has described the work as “complete disaster.”
He said: "It's just like walking through mud.
"It's had a terrible affect.
"It's a complete disaster - we have waited for this for so many years."
The resurfacing works, costing £106,000, were completed in November.
One of the re-surfaced areas, which was meant to be resistant to vehicle impact all year round, had been laid to provide an additional 65 spaces. It was intended to be used as a car park for the Parsons Down Junior School 'Park and Stride' scheme, allowing children to walk to school while reducing congestion in Lower Way.
However, it has not been used because of the surface problems meaning the area’s traffic woes have continued.
Mr Woodhams said: "It has closed the Park and Stride scheme and we are back to square one with the parents parking on the road.
"We thought the parents would be able to drive into the centre and walk their children to school.
"The parents have not been using the car park because their (the children's) clothes were getting covered."
Mr Woodmas questioned executive member for the environment, Hilary Cole (Con, Chieveley) at a meeting of West Berkshire Council's Executive last week when he asked why the car park could not yet be used for the school Park and Stride and what action was being taken to redress the matter.
Mrs Cole claimed that the surface was "fit for purpose".
She said: "“The surface of the car park is a self-binding gravel. The surface is covered in dust and because of the unusually dry weather conditions this year the dust has not gone away. We expect this will resolved itself in the next few weeks.
“If any remedial work is to be carried out it will be at no cost to the council.”
Mr Woodhams added: "Are we ever going to get it available for the Park and Stride?
"Maybe they (the district council) needed to be more mindful of the weather.
"I'm a little bit disappointed to say the least."