The town council has decided to continue offering one hour of free parking for another year at the High Street, Warminster Road and Westfield House car parks.
Councillors approved the proposal at a full council meeting on Monday 2nd September, at a cost of £31,333. However, there was significant debate about whether the council should continue to provide this benefit, with some councillors arguing that it supports local shops, while others questioned whether it aligns with the council’s environmental priorities.
The public car parks in Westbury are owned by Wiltshire Council, which is responsible for levying and collecting parking fees. Westbury Town Council currently pays an annual subsidy to Wiltshire Council, allowing both residents and visitors to park for free for one hour.
Councillor Mike Sutton voiced some concerns, stating, “I checked last week – [there were] 24 4x4s, costing over £30,000 – and not a car in the car park under four years old. We are subsidising people who can well afford to buy a ticket.
“I’m starting to think the £31,000 could be better spent,” he said. “We have a climate change policy discouraging car travel, and yet this council continually encourages car travel. I think as a council we need to have a much longer discussion about whether the £31,000 is the [best] use of tax and taxpayer’s money as I can think of 100 places in the town that need it more. I would ask you to think about it over the next 12 months.”
Cllr Hamilton-Sheen agreed, saying, “I agree wholeheartedly. I don’t think it’s right that we ask every council-tax payer to subsidise people who can afford cars.”
Other councillors were keen to support local businesses. Cllr Bailey said, “There is another way of looking at this I think, which is that we’re not necessarily subsidising people who have expensive cars, but we are supporting the local high street. We have a high street that is dwindling. I feel that this is a vote of support for those shopkeepers.”
Mayor Jane Russ acknowledged the environmental concerns but also emphasised the need to support the town centre. She said, “In regard to the environmental side, we would be looking to try and not have so many cars doing short journeys. But until we are in a situation where we can offer a frequently short-run bus service for this, for instance, it’s a difficult thing to say I’m not going to do this because we do need people to come into the town centre, we do still need people to support our shops, as Cllr Bailey says, particularly with the opening of the new post office.”
Councillors expressed a desire for more time to discuss the matter, noting that they were already a month into this year’s scheme. They agreed to extend the scheme until 30th July 2025 but were keen to revisit the discussion in the future.
