It is back to the drawing board for Marlow's parking solution after the county council admitted £80,000 earmarked to alleviate the issue has been spent unsuccessfully.

In 2013 a town wide parking review funded by the West Street Sainsbury's development scheme was promised to Marlovians.

However after several attempts at smaller scale reviews, Bucks County Council has this week admitted plans will have to go ‘back to the drawing board’ after it failed to find an answer.

Marlow Town Council is now pleading with residents and authorities for help to come up with a holistic solution having previously rejected a residents parking permit scheme proposed by BCC.

Cabinet chief for transport, Cllr Mark Shaw, apologised for the lack of clarity on the problem but said Marlow needs a general consensus before plans can move forward.

He said: “I understand people's frustration. Although the money hasn’t been spent willy nilly we are very sorry and we want to move plans forward if we can.

“We did set up to have a consultation in Marlow because we recognised that parking was a huge issue.

“The trouble was because it became such an emotive issue and the parking issues in the town are so diverse there is no one answer that fits all.

“We have a really close relationship with the district council. We work very closely with them and if we can find a way forward we will do. We are prepared to work with anyone to get this sorted.

“The key groups need to come up with one voice. If people don’t speak with one voice we can’t get people to come in and implement the plan. We want the answer to meet the needs of the people.”

The town council reiterated that there is ‘no easy answer’ due to the lack of space in the town with Cllr Neil Marshall saying going over or underground is a viable solution.

Deputy mayor, Cllr Jocelyn Towns said: “Nobody has come up with a town wide solution. If people have got ideas then please come to us.

“People need to understand that to look at what can be done we need to look at the town as a whole rather than just residential streets.

“We are not placing blame on anyone – this is a national problem that affects people across the country - but we need ideas rather than people complaining about it.”