Tenterden Town Council has been researching the potential availability of new, free, parking spaces as part of its post-pandemic planning.
Discussions are continuing with Ashford Borough Council (ABC) over the current arrangements providing free parking at the Leisure Centre, the Station Road car park and bays in the High Street.
However, in anticipation that parking charges will be resumed by ABC at some stage in the future, the Town Council has evaluated what other free parking would be available, in particular to benefit the town’s shop workers, who have previously had to pay for all-day parking.
A survey carried out by Tenterden and Ashford Borough Councillor Callum Knowles and Deputy Town Clerk Claire Gilbert identified more than 140 free, and available, parking bays at the Church View and Three Fields housing developments, sometimes referred to as Tent 1a.
Both developments are officially designated Restricted Parking Zones, banning on-street parking, but it was explicit in the agreement with the developers that the bays marked with a ‘P’ would be available for anyone to use.
“At present, these bays are under-utilised”, says Cllr Knowles “and if they were to be more widely used, it would take the pressure off parking in the streets off the town centre, such as Turner’s Avenue and Pittlesden.”
View a map of the area here: Church View and Three Fields.