FAILURE to carry out improvements at the North Street car park in Wellington has been labelled as “scandalous” by a local councillor.

Cllr Keith Wheatley is growing increasingly frustrated at Somerset Council – which owns and manages car parks in the county - not wanting to spend any money on improving the appearance of the much-used car park.

“The condition of the car park is so frustrating,” he said during Wellington Town Council’s economic development committee meeting on August 12. “The parking bay lines are so faded it’s anarchy down there with people parking where they like.

“I’m so frustrated about this and I submitted a Freedom of Information request to Somerset Council asking how much revenue they made from the car park over the last year.

“I received a ludicrous response – saying they wouldn’t answer my FoI request as it would put their operatives at risk while collecting the money from the ticket machines.

“I reckon they are raising tens of 1,000s of pounds from that car park and not putting anything back into it.

“It is an absolute scandal that Somerset Council has done nothing about the car park. That car park is bringing in north of £100,000 a year and we aren’t seeing anything for its upkeep.”

Cllr Wheatley, who is chairman of the town council’s economic development committee, has long been campaigning for improvements to the North Street car park. “We will not give up on this,” he said.

The discussion came about after councillors were told that a bollard – positioned just inside the main car park after coming down the one-way stretch from Fore Street – had been damaged beyond repair.

Cash-strapped Somerset Council has already notified Wellington Town Council that it will not be replacing the bollard, which was installed to try and stop drivers from cutting off the corner and slowing down.

Somerset Council’s service manager Vicky Lowman said: “The internal post has been bent beyond repair, which means the bollard can no longer be used safely.

“Unfortunately, this is at least the third, and possibly fourth, occasion on which the bollard has been struck by a vehicle and has required repair or replacement.

“Given the repeated damage and the associated costs, we do not feel it would be an appropriate use of our limited budget to replace the bollard again.”

Now town councillors are having to decide whether to replace the bollard themselves at a cost £313 with installation costs still to be provided.

Cllr John Thorne said: “The reason why cars keep hitting that bollard is because they come down from Fore Street and try and cut the corner.

“We should extend the wall along the white line (see photo) as I’m sure that would stop drivers trying to cut the corner. Drivers wouldn’t want to damage their cars by hitting a brick wall.”

Cllr Thorne suggested that the council speaks to Somerset Council about the car park and explore the possibility of extending the wall.