There is just over a week left for Marlovians to have their say on controversial parking meters for the town centre.

A Bucks County Council consultation, asking residents’ views on introducing paid-for parking in the High Street and surrounding areas, is set to close next Saturday (March 10).

Town mayor Jocelyn Towns stressed it was important to say why people either want or do not want the plans to be implemented, rather than just saying yes or no, adding that “flawed” data was being used as a basis for the consultation.

She said: “We’ve pointed this out on many occasions to BCC, and urged them to re-think the consultation.

“In an independent review of BCC’s report on parking carried out last year for Marlow Town Council, TPA, a transport planning consultancy, said: ‘…in our opinion, the parking surveys that were undertaken by Project Centre (on behalf of Transport for Buckinghamshire) are fundamentally flawed yet I note that the author seeks to represent that data as ‘an overall reflection of a ‘typical’ parking day’ – it is not.

“Firstly, the scope and extent of those surveys was particularly limited – only four roads were surveyed; and secondly those surveys were undertaken on Saturday, August 12, and Thursday, August 17, 2017.

“BCC itself commissioned a report with a methodology that stated that surveys must not be undertaken on certain days – including Thursday and Saturday – and at all costs school holidays avoided. 

“Not only is the data flawed, but the questions in the consultation are deliberately confusing.

“Currently the consultation muddles decisions on double yellow lines, which were agreed back in 2015.”

Under the new plans, BCC wants to charge people £1 per hour to park in the High Street and some of the surrounding areas in a bid to encourage more people to use off-street car parks, which are cheaper, to reduce congestion and improve air quality.

But the proposals were met with anger, with residents and businesses fearing it would drive people away from Marlow and “destroy” the shopping in the town and a petition launched by the town council gathered more than £7,500 signatures opposing the measures.

Martin Blunkell, chairman of the Marlow Society, which is also against the plans, said the county council had “handled the whole thing very badly”.

He said: “We as a society have encouraged all our members to express their opinions.

“We don’t believe that the county council has justified its position and we think that the whole process has been handled very badly.

“The information we have been given is insufficient. The issue with the double yellow lines has caused considerable confusion and there was no reason for it.”

Dave Roberts, network congestion manager at Transport for Bucks, said: “There are two parts to this consultation – one is to gauge support for safety schemes around the town which will reinforce where people should be parking according to the highway code, before they are advertised formally.

“The other element seeks to improve parking management in and around the town centre with potential pay and display machines as one element to help do this.

“The parking survey undertaken by TfB last year was not intended to be definitive.

“It provided a snapshot of some of the issues affecting key town centre roads in Marlow.

“The generic guidance regarding when parking surveys should be undertaken is not always appropriate. For example, a Saturday was specifically chosen because Marlow is a town that has a lot of visitors and activity at the weekend.

“Similarly, town centre activity is also often busier during holidays in Marlow, so we would not necessarily avoid a school holiday.

“Regardless of the survey, we want to hear the public’s views and would encourage everyone with a view to respond before the consultation ends.”

To have your say, visit democracy.buckscc.gov.uk/mgConsultationDisplay.aspx?ID=5348.