Under-used park and ride could serve Eden Project Morecambe, says councillor

A park and ride which is under threat of being scrapped could serve Eden Project Morecambe, a councillor has said.

Lancashire County Council's cabinet has agreed to carry out a consultation on the potential closure of Caton Road in Lancaster, as well as Walton-le Dale near Preston.

The authority said the sites cost about £550,000 a year to operate and their use was "well below capacity" but a final decision was yet to be made.

Green Lancaster Central councillor Gina Dowding said the Caton Road site could be "the transport solution" for the Eden Project visitor attraction, which is due to open in 2028.

She also suggested an alternative model, where people pay for parking with the bus included.

At the moment, people pay for the bus and get the parking for free.

Both park and ride sites were introduced to try and encourage more people to use public transport, help reduce congestion and improve air quality.

Parking at both sites is free with income generated through a £2.50 return bus fare.

The county council said it needed about 550 customers at Walton-le-Dale to covers its current costs of about £1200 a day to operate and about 400 at Caton Road which costs about £780 per day.

The two sites currently have about 600 spaces each and the authority said their use was "well below capacity, with income from fares falling well short of covering the costs for these services".

Speaking in a council meeting on Wednesday, County Councillor Warren Goldsworthy, cabinet member for Highways, stressed that no decision had yet been made.

He added: "We owe it to the residents, passengers, businesses and stakeholders to understand the consequences of any future change before making a decision.

"It will also help us understand travel patterns, identify affected groups and consider any mitigation measures that may be required."

Dowding raised a number of concerns about the wording of the consultation and asked that the cabinet "reconsider this decision as it ignores a very obvious alternative model and that is to charge for parking and include a free bus journey within the parking charge".

She also talked about the potential use of the park and ride in connection with the Eden Project Morecambe.

"The Lancaster-cayton Road park and ride has been in the past and may still be in the future part of the transport solution for that visitor attraction," she said.

A consultation will now be carried out, the findings of which will be looked at before a report is brought back to cabinet for a final decision.

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