Park and ride 'could solve Wrekin parking woes'

The Wrekin has been plagued with parking problems this year as its popularity soared with residents desperate for somewhere pleasant to partake in their daily exercise. Coronavirus restrictions surrounding sport, gyms and holidays have all contributed to people seeking out the most picturesque green areas to take a break and work out.

However residents and visitors have grown weary of the lack of parking and traffic jams. Telford & Wrekin Council leader Shaun Davies suggested a park and ride system could be an option that might offer a solution to the parking problem, while also benefitting trade in Wellington town centre.

In an online Q&A with residents, he said: "What we've seen is a huge uptake in the Wrekin for walking, cycling and running. It's been so popular over the last few months.

"The council doesn't own any of the parking areas around the Wrekin, so that affects our ability to control parking. We are taking robust action.

"I think there needs to be a better solution. We'd like to have a discussion with the land owners to see what we could come up with. Could we get a park and ride from Wellington? That way we could get people to spend money in Wellington before and after they go up the Wrekin and they could take advantage of the places where we have free parking."

Earlier this year, residents hit out at experimental new traffic restrictions around the beauty spot, with accusations of a "knee-jerk" reaction to parking issues.

The new order follows the introduction of a one-way system earlier in the year.

Paul Goodman, who lives in nearby Little Wenlock and has decades of experience in road designing, said the changes this year have only created new problems including forcing large vehicles travelling to the motorway to navigate the narrow bottom section of Ercall Lane into Wellington.

He said the changes were "a poorly designed system that was done as a knee-jerk reaction to a situation".