DEMOLITION of part of Carlton Court shopping precinct to make way for flats would result in further parking problems in Westbury village, opponents believe.
Churchill Homes has applied to Bristol City Council to build a three and half storey block of 31 retirement flats and 18 parking spaces.
Many residents have objected to the potential loss of the shops and the likely rise in on-street parking, which has already increased since part of the centre car park was closed off last year.
The council’s transport officer recommended a parking survey but so far Churchill has not carried one out – so Westbury on Trym Society members decided to do it themselves.
The society counted parked vehicles at Carlton Court, the Westbury Hill car park and about 20 streets on a market day and on a Saturday, both in July.
It compared the results with numbers estimated from the Google Earth air photo coverage exactly 2 years ago.
Society chair Andy Renshaw said: “What the survey found was that on-street parking had increased by 13% over the two years. The survey was also able to demonstrate that the claim that there would be no change to parking impact due to the development was incorrect. The survey found that more than double the number of cars were parked at Carlton Court than the 18 spaces which would be available after the development. Parking in the adjacent Westbury Court Road exceeded its capacity to accommodate legally parked vehicles.”
The plans can be found on the council planning website with the reference P25/15474/F