Parking spaces in town could be lost to developer

Developers hope to rent up to 210 spaces in Camberley's Main Square car park

Hundreds of town centre parking spaces could be lost to a developer as part of plans to revamp a railway station.

The redevelopment of the station in Camberley, Surrey, will include a new concourse as well as housing and commercial space, but a lack of parking provision could potentially hold up the project.

As a result, developers hope to rent up to 210 spaces in the town's Main Square car park – more than a quarter of its 770 capacity.

Kel Finan-Cooke, Surrey Heath Borough Council's portfolio holder for property and economic development, said the move would "deliver much-needed income to the council and may unlock part of the borough's future housing supply".

"It could also facilitate improvements to the station itself," he added.

"Analysis of the demand for car parking spaces in Camberley town centre has shown that, if this scheme went ahead, it would still only be on very rare occasions that drivers who want to use Main Square would have to park in Knoll Road or elsewhere."

If approved, the developer would take up the top two floors over three stages, between 2029 and 2037, in line with any future development of the site, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Jonny Cope, Conservative councillor for St Paul's who chairs the audit, standards and risk committee, said: "It's not a surprise because it's in the local plan but it shows the way things are going in Camberley with the expectation on housing provision under this Labour government.

"Leasing car parking spaces to a developer is mildly concerning to what is coming in the town.

"The council is in a difficult position because we are in a climate where places like Surrey Heath are expected to provide a lot more housing than they were two years ago."

A decision on the car park's future will be made at Surrey Heath's executive committee meeting on 19 August.