Taunton Park & Ride closed again
The irony is acute. Barely a fortnight after we wrote a piece in the March Leveller the Gateway Park & Ride site is closed tomorrow (Monday). As we explained in our article, the Park & Ride is so sparsely used that it is hardly surprising Travellers find space among the multitude of empty parking spaces.
Another group illegally set up camp at the site late on Friday and they are still in situ.
Ollie Woodhams, Strategic Manager at Somerset County Council explains “Buses of Somerset and Somerset County Council made the decision to close the site on safety and security grounds after a number of Travellers accessed the site late on Friday afternoon. The primary concern is for the safety of all users of the site and to mitigate the risk of accidents due a large number of vehicle movements. We have started the legal process to remove the Travellers and we aim to open the Gateway Park & Ride site as soon as possible.”
Gateway buses will continue to operate between the Town Centre and Blackbrook Park as normal on Monday and alternative Park & ride facilities are available at Silk Mills but will be of little value to anyone heading towards Taunton from the east of the town.
There is now a legal process to be gone through before the Travellers can be moved on.