Council secures more Parking and Riding
Somerset West & Taunton Council is to make a further contribution to keep the Taunton Park and Ride service running.
The Council’s Executive will be asked to approve a one-off provision of £115,000. This will enable the service to continue until March 2020.
Perhaps more important is a request for an additional £20,000 to explore measures to secure its long term sustainability.
Happily the total budget of £135,000 can be sourced from New Homes Bonus reserves and Garden Town grant funding.
Last year Somerset County Council announced plans to close the two Park & Ride sites.
The former Taunton Deane Borough Council then stepped in with a contribution of £170,000 to ensure the Park and Ride service stayed up and running until September this year.
The real question now is why does SCC not pass over an asset it has no intention of running, to an organisation that actually has plans and funds to run it?