SOME of Reading’s car parks are short stay, some are long stay and for drivers parked in Palmer Park, well, let’s just say they’re in it for the long haul.
With work on the new swimming pool and fitness centre at the Wokingham Road venue continuing, space at the car park has been vastly reduced.
Last week, a new wooden border was erected in the car park as the next phase of works got under way.
Despite notices being placed on the windows of some of the cars, and restrictions being changed to prevent parking overnight, a number of vehicles won’t be leaving anytime soon – they’ve been boxed in by a fence erected to protect residents from the work taking place.
Reading Borough Council said that three weeks notice was given, meaning none of the vehicles should have been left. This included placing notes on the windows of the cars that were hanging around.
The cars can’t drive away as there is a metal fence preventing them from going along the footpath.
And the distance between wooden fence and metal fence has meant some wags on social media have compared the motorists predicament to that of a scene from an Austin Powers movie.
Reading Borough Council’s leisure centres are run by GLL.
Paul Shearman, GLL’s Partnership Manager, said that it would be “easy” to get the vehicles out.
“The hoarding in the car park at Palmer Park is part of the major work on the construction of the new community swimming pool at this location, which is now well underway,” he said.
“All car park users were given over three weeks’ notice of this work beginning.
“We are now entering the fourth week of attempting to contact the owners of these vehicles, which have been left on this site for the duration. We have put notices on the cars and enlisted the support of the Police and the DVLA to confirm all the cars are fully taxed and not abandoned.”
He continued: “We are calling for the owners to come forward as soon as possible. We can easily provide access to the vehicles to allow them to leave once the owner comes forward. At present they will not face a penalty. The owners can call the centre on 0118 304 4861 or come to reception where a member of staff can co-ordinate an exit.
“Within the next fortnight we will be entering an important phase in the construction of the new facilities and access to this area will be critical. If the car owners do not come forward we will need to work with our partners in the Police and at Reading Council on the most appropriate course of action to clear this area.
“With the new overflow carpark now open, visitors should note new parking charges for those staying more than three hours began this week to help manage capacity at the parking area.
“There will be no parking permitted between midnight to 6am. Signage has been in place at the car park detailing these changes for the last four weeks.
“We hope this new charging system will prevent issues like this in future, where people leave vehicles for long periods of time in the car park.”
