Residents and visitors could soon have to pay to park in Marlow’s High Street and surrounding roads.

Buckinghamshire County Council has approved plans to introduce parking charges where there are currently “limited waiting bays”, where people can park for free for one hour between 8am and 6.30pm with no return within an hour, in a bid to tackle “parking and traffic problems” in the area.

The council employed independent consultants to carry out a review of the streets, looking at how long people were parking in the limited waiting bays – in High Street, The Causeway, West Street, Institute Road, Station Road and St Peter Street – during the week and at weekends.

BCC said the surveys showed that the existing limited waiting bays were heavily used throughout the day, but that overstay of vehicles was also a “significant” factor, which they said reduces the overall capacity through a reduction in the turnover of parking spaces.

According to the survey, overstaying vehicles resulted in people being unable to park 209 times on a Saturday and 196 times on a Thursday, which is when they carried out the weekday survey.

Officer Alistair Turk said in the report that assuming an average of two people occupy a vehicle, it represents a potential loss of footfall of around 2,800 people per week.

The council wants to charge people £1 per hour or 20p per 12 minutes in a bid to encourage more people to use off-street car parks to reduce congestion and improve air quality.

But the plans have been met with resistance, with both Marlow Town Council and the Marlow Chamber of Trade and Commerce against the proposals.

Marlow mayor Cllr Jocelyn Towns said: “Marlow Town Council is totally opposed to the introduction of paid-for parking in the High Street and adjacent roads.

“We believe it would seriously impact the vibrancy of our town and does not heed residents’ parking concerns. 

“We are working closely with the Chamber of Commerce and the Marlow Society on the implications on the town of this initiative, and are carrying out a detailed review of the documents issued by Bucks County Council (BCC).

“It is disappointing that these were produced without reference to the suggestions made by the Town Council in 2015 and 2016, which would have significantly increased available parking spaces in the town.”

BCC is expected to carry out a public consultation on the plans, dates for which have not been made public yet.

To view the proposals, visit https://democracy.buckscc.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=6866.