Illegal parking in Wimborne Square is on the rise

2:00pm Friday 3rd August 2012 in North Dorset By Harriet Marsh

REVAMP: Crowds fill the Square as Town Crier Chris Brown leads the opening day proceedings REVAMP: Crowds fill the Square as Town Crier Chris Brown leads the opening day proceedings

DRIVERS parking illegally and flouting traffic regulations is on the rise in Wimborne Square, a councillor says.

Since the revamped Square opened in June with 11 fewer parking spaces, drivers are double parking, mounting the paved area and treating surrounding roads as rat runs.

Wimborne Town Councillor Ann Roberts presented the planning committee with a report calling for better enforcement of traffic rules.

Issues include loading bays being used for parking, drivers entering the Square from West Street and turning into Cook Row from High Street.

And if two buses are in the Square, the second can overhang the Square pavement by around eight feet, it says.

Cllr Roberts said: “It’s a nightmare at the moment.

“People are even going through no entry signs into the Square.

“It’s just people flagrantly disobeying the law.”

High Street, West Borough, East Borough and Priors Walk are also being blocked by illegally parked cars.

Drivers are even mounting the Square’s new performance area to hop out and use the cash point, Cllr Roberts said. Some shops have reported a fall in customers since the number of parking bays fell, she added.

The town council has passed the list on to East Dorset District Council and Dorset County Council for consideration. Councillors want to see the system revised.

They’re also calling for 20mph speed limit markings in King Street and West Street to be re-painted.

Cllr Roberts added: “Whilst work was in progress, 'toast rack' parking worked well in the High Street and the Police felt it was a good option.

“I feel the Town Council must press for a sustained period of intense enforcement and a campaign of publicity to try to address this situation before it worsens.”

Comments(29)

de minimis says...
2:09pm Fri 3 Aug 12

Was it ever considered that people wish to park there and so suitable arrangements should have been made for parking?

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spooki says...
2:17pm Fri 3 Aug 12

No! Come on now, why would they use their common sense?
What are they whining about? They have eleven spaces less and they're still complaining about parking.
They obviously don't want people to visit their little town. Even on buses which must have grown 8 feet overnight to suddenly overhang pavements.

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Far Corfe says...
2:51pm Fri 3 Aug 12

I watched as two buses brought the whole place to a standstill earlier in the week whilst a third bus attempetd to pass but could not.
I think whoever planned and passed this scheme - that would be the council - should look first at why they spent a fortune doing this. They should concentrate on cutting the 28 inch high grass verge in resedential roads not wasting money on an unnecessary lump of pavement which is hardly used for 15hrs every day.
Why should this area be treated any differently when cars park on the pavement, this is ignored by police and enforcement officers just about everywhere.

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penhale says...
3:02pm Fri 3 Aug 12

High streets are becoming ghost towns, traders are complaining that business is dwindling, councils are consistently moaning that nobody is visiting their town centers, is it any wonder.
Councils up a down the country are urging people to use their high streets and visit their towns, and when they do these same councils plaster tickets all over their cars, I think the only motivation by councils to encourage visitors is to prop up their revenues by fining said visitors.
The first council to offer affordable parking and relax all these stupid restrictions will be the first council to realize an increase in the number of visitors to their area.

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talkischeap says...
3:14pm Fri 3 Aug 12

Equivelent to a murder enquiry in Wimborne that is. Should be renamed Timewarp . Ive heard some say that there are people in Wimborne who are hundreds of years old and that anyone under eighty is considered to be a teenager and a roughian and all genuine Wimborne residents are in fact 65 years old when they are born and are issued with bus passes instead of birth certificates
The police do drugs raids for ginseng and cod liver oil tablets otherwise known as 'class A' .and some people have been known to stay up past 6 o'clock and have been caught illegally listening to the Archers on the wireless the punishment for which is to be eased into some incontinence pants and be spanked with a plimsole until their bladder is empty at which point they are sent to their rooms with a mug of Horlicks.
Most people in Wimborne are expected to never actually reach the real world. Ohhhh .tis a dark place ,is Wimborne

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saynomore says...
4:36pm Fri 3 Aug 12

There is a perfectly good car park behind the Allendale centre and one opposite the model village (not expensive),so as I usually hate using four letter words but why dont you moaners WALK you are not all disabled are you? Just lazy like the majority of motorists.

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publisher1 says...
5:55pm Fri 3 Aug 12

I have had many days when as a delivery driver to shops in the Square I have been unable to park in the loading bays because normal cars are using them - please park in the car parks so I can do my job without blocking the road. Disabled drivers are just as bad as they assume they can use loading bays as car parks and they cannot. There got that off my chest.

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BmthNewshound says...
6:07pm Fri 3 Aug 12

The new square is a real asset to the town. If people are too lazy to walk from one of the towns car parks that's their hard luck.
.
You can park for 2 hours at Waitrose (a development also opposed by a vocal minority) for £1 which is refunded if you spend £10 in Waitrose.

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Telscombe Cliffy says...
6:44pm Fri 3 Aug 12

Wimborne's a bit like Trumpton meets The Stepford Wives meets Cocoon meets The Paralympics meets some sort of Church Mafia.

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talkischeap says...
7:41pm Fri 3 Aug 12

Its the actual gods waiting room and some of then are illegal overstayers

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snake hips says...
10:48pm Fri 3 Aug 12

webbed hands and feet galore in wimborne..

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ben12341979 says...
10:58pm Fri 3 Aug 12

I feel sorry for the reporter having to publish this! What a joke!!

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wimborne lady says...
12:24am Sat 4 Aug 12

I have lived in Wimborne for 45 years and I now go to Ferndown or Broadstone to do my banking as lack of time means i don't have the luxury of having the time to park and then walk to the banks!!
Before it was so easy to nip in to one of the spaces in the Square - but now you can't.
Plus the pavement in front of the Kings Head needs barriers as soon a driver will go round the corner too fast and mount the 'ice rink' and hurt someone. And before you say it - yes i know it's only 20mph but people do speed around there!

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BIGTONE says...
6:35am Sat 4 Aug 12

Do they have cars in Wimborne?

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Peggy Babcock says...
6:45am Sat 4 Aug 12

I wish Wimborne had a drive thru KFC

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BIGTONE says...
7:36am Sat 4 Aug 12

Peggy Babcock wrote:
I wish Wimborne had a drive thru KFC
Keep
Fining
Cars.

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tricky1007 says...
8:11am Sat 4 Aug 12

wimborne lady wrote:
I have lived in Wimborne for 45 years and I now go to Ferndown or Broadstone to do my banking as lack of time means i don't have the luxury of having the time to park and then walk to the banks!!
Before it was so easy to nip in to one of the spaces in the Square - but now you can't.
Plus the pavement in front of the Kings Head needs barriers as soon a driver will go round the corner too fast and mount the 'ice rink' and hurt someone. And before you say it - yes i know it's only 20mph but people do speed around there!
was not aware Ferndown had much parking by there banks, no more than Wimborne! And by the time you drive there, you could have parked in one of the car parks and walked to the bank, Plenty of parking in Wimborne

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winton50 says...
8:46am Sat 4 Aug 12

wimborne lady wrote:
I have lived in Wimborne for 45 years and I now go to Ferndown or Broadstone to do my banking as lack of time means i don't have the luxury of having the time to park and then walk to the banks!!
Before it was so easy to nip in to one of the spaces in the Square - but now you can't.
Plus the pavement in front of the Kings Head needs barriers as soon a driver will go round the corner too fast and mount the 'ice rink' and hurt someone. And before you say it - yes i know it's only 20mph but people do speed around there!
No seriously though - it takes you less time to walk to Ferndown, park and go to the bank than it does to park in Wimborne and walk 100 yards to the bank?

You either walk very slowly, drive very fast or are slightly exaggerating the issue.

I know which one my money's on!

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wimborne lady says...
1:44pm Sat 4 Aug 12

tricky1007 wrote:
wimborne lady wrote: I have lived in Wimborne for 45 years and I now go to Ferndown or Broadstone to do my banking as lack of time means i don't have the luxury of having the time to park and then walk to the banks!! Before it was so easy to nip in to one of the spaces in the Square - but now you can't. Plus the pavement in front of the Kings Head needs barriers as soon a driver will go round the corner too fast and mount the 'ice rink' and hurt someone. And before you say it - yes i know it's only 20mph but people do speed around there!
was not aware Ferndown had much parking by there banks, no more than Wimborne! And by the time you drive there, you could have parked in one of the car parks and walked to the bank, Plenty of parking in Wimborne
Broadstone has loads of parking and Ferndown has the free car park by Tesco - so much easier than Wimborne - it's a shame as the shoppers will go else where.

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rba says...
5:01pm Sat 4 Aug 12

As the council is use to wasting money why don't you consider changing the pedestrian area into a car park. This way you can waste more money but the local shops will benefit more from the extra business that the car park will create!

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wimborne lady says...
5:55pm Sat 4 Aug 12

rba wrote:
As the council is use to wasting money why don't you consider changing the pedestrian area into a car park. This way you can waste more money but the local shops will benefit more from the extra business that the car park will create!
Good idea!!

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raccoon69 says...
6:40pm Sat 4 Aug 12

I've just moved to Wimborne and really feel that having to pay to park my car whilst I use the ATM or do something else that would take less than 10 minutes is rather extreme. Why should I have to keep paying? The council has obviously removed the free parking spaces so that everyone has to pay to park thus increasing their car park revenue. I appreciate that from where I live if I have the time I can and often do walk but if I'm on my way out/back and need to quickly withdraw some cash or buy a pint of milk I should not be forced to pay for over an hours parking for a space that I will spend less than 5 minutes in.

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The Cerne Giant says...
6:52pm Sat 4 Aug 12

Bleedy Heck

Wimborne Minster is a little GEM

There is ample Jam-Jar car parking just a stones throw from the magnificent revampted Square

Try not to be selfish "whatsits" and park your bloody Jam-
Jars with consideration

THANK YOU

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WimborneSweety says...
6:58pm Sat 4 Aug 12

OK, This was just one project that I couldn't understand spending money on. Just my opinion, but the lost parking was not a fair trade off just to have a massive expanse of concrete in the middle of town. I must have missed the original story on this but what is the purpose of this supposed to be? I used to enjoy people watching with a dear friend while sitting on a bench near a bus stop. I was amazed at how many people would use the "reserved for police" parking space. Ahhhh, the good old days! If those people alone would have been caught Wimborne might have made a nice little piece of change on those fines. OK, so maybe not the ideal place for people watching...the bus fumes call kill you. I'll just have to see for myself when I return for a visit. I see in the picture that the bench is still there.

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jeebuscripes says...
7:30pm Sat 4 Aug 12

Wimborne Model Village is actually another town that is just very far away.

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High Treason says...
8:45pm Sat 4 Aug 12

talkischeap wrote:
Equivelent to a murder enquiry in Wimborne that is. Should be renamed Timewarp . Ive heard some say that there are people in Wimborne who are hundreds of years old and that anyone under eighty is considered to be a teenager and a roughian and all genuine Wimborne residents are in fact 65 years old when they are born and are issued with bus passes instead of birth certificates
The police do drugs raids for ginseng and cod liver oil tablets otherwise known as 'class A' .and some people have been known to stay up past 6 o'clock and have been caught illegally listening to the Archers on the wireless the punishment for which is to be eased into some incontinence pants and be spanked with a plimsole until their bladder is empty at which point they are sent to their rooms with a mug of Horlicks.
Most people in Wimborne are expected to never actually reach the real world. Ohhhh .tis a dark place ,is Wimborne
" the punishment for which is to be eased into some incontinence pants and be spanked with a plimsole until their bladder is empty"

Hmmm. Must be a client of Miss Whiplash. The mind boggles but each to their own.

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Kyoto says...
2:05pm Sun 5 Aug 12

What a surprise, towns have to be used and instead Wimborne has the famous square which is just a concrete plinth at vast expense, hardly an inspiring and useful feature to the town. Such a lot of fuss over its opening, its just a flat area. Does anyone bother to go to Wimborne any more, a town in its final dying days and a council wasting money on this venture which is now becoming a car park, no surprise at all.

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Dog friendly 1 says...
11:55pm Sun 5 Aug 12

Kyoto wrote:
What a surprise, towns have to be used and instead Wimborne has the famous square which is just a concrete plinth at vast expense, hardly an inspiring and useful feature to the town. Such a lot of fuss over its opening, its just a flat area. Does anyone bother to go to Wimborne any more, a town in its final dying days and a council wasting money on this venture which is now becoming a car park, no surprise at all.
yes lots do - tho if you feel like that - please dont....we dont like moaners.....

As for the concrete plinth ....is there nothing else you could moan about thats a bit more interesting ?

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Kyoto says...
1:46pm Mon 6 Aug 12

Dog friendly 1 wrote:
Kyoto wrote:
What a surprise, towns have to be used and instead Wimborne has the famous square which is just a concrete plinth at vast expense, hardly an inspiring and useful feature to the town. Such a lot of fuss over its opening, its just a flat area. Does anyone bother to go to Wimborne any more, a town in its final dying days and a council wasting money on this venture which is now becoming a car park, no surprise at all.
yes lots do - tho if you feel like that - please dont....we dont like moaners.....

As for the concrete plinth ....is there nothing else you could moan about thats a bit more interesting ?
Point taken, will stay away.

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