LOCAL MP Rebecca Pow is hoping that council officials will hold off shutting two park and ride facilities in Taunton until all options had properly been explored.

It was revealed earlier this month that Somerset County Council is looking at possibly closing for good the park and ride sites at Silk Mills and Gateway at Ruishton in a bid to save much-needed money.

But Taunton Deane MP Rebecca Pow is urging the authorities not to take the closure decision too quickly before trying to find a “potential solution.”

“The Park and rides in Taunton Deane are an important part of the mix in terms of the versatility they offer motorists and the wider benefits they provide in terms of reducing congestion in urban areas and contributing towards the ethos of our Garden Town status,” she said.

“Clearly an appropriate long term sustainable funding mechanism needs to be assured for the current Park and Rides and proposed future sites.

“No decisions have actually been made yet regarding closures and I shall be working with key stakeholders to consider what might been done to come up with a pragmatic way forward for the good of the community.

“It would in the first instance be helpful to secure more time to come up with a potential solution and I shall be asking both Taunton Deane Borough Council and Somerset County Council to consider this.”