Unless the closing date is further extended (which we believe it should – see below), residents only have until Monday 26 January to respond to the Council’s consultation on its proposed revisions to parking arrangements in the Borough.

These revisions involve a wide range of changes to the ways that parking is managed and charged. Of particular interest to those in Lower Sunbury are proposals related to the village’s car parks. The most significant of these relates to the current initial free period of one hour’s parking before charges become applicable; as of July 2026 this free period will be reduced to 30 minutes, with charging after that time.

Of rather more concern are different proposals for two car parks, those at the Old Bathing Station in Fordbridge Road and in Green Street, within Sunbury Park. Unfortunately, just what these proposals are depends on which document one reads. A notice that has been displayed in the Green Street car park for several weeks, titled ‘NOTICE OF PROPOSALS’, states that from 16 July 2026 the parking charges for the periods ‘Up to 1 hour’, ‘Up to 2 hours’ and ‘Over 2 hours’ will become free. On the face of it this is excellent news for those who use it to go to the nearby pub, church and shops or to visit Sunbury Park for dog walking or enjoying the café and gallery in the Walled Garden.

However, it appears that this notice is hugely misleading and that the actual proposal is very different indeed. If one takes the trouble to go on to the Council’s website and access a different document, titled ‘THE SPELTHORNE BOROUGH COUNCIL (OFF-STREET PARKING PLACES ORDER - AMENDMENT NO.3) ORDER 2026’, one discovers amongst the long list of proposals the following paragraph:

‘Removal of Abbey Drive, Dumsey Meadow, Old Bathing Station and Green Street from Schedule 1 chargeable tariffs, and addition of the same car parks to Schedule 3 Free parking places with 30 minutes maximum stay.’

So what is actually being proposed is that the Old Bathing Station and Green Street car parks are indeed being made completely free – but one will only be able to park there for 30 minutes, after which, presumably, one will become liable for a significant fine! Given that 30 minutes is an unrealistically short time in which to achieve almost any of the activities noted above, this would seem to be a change that will simply result in drivers seeking to use free on-street parking spaces that are already in short supply for residents.

We believe that the misleading ‘Notice of Proposals’ displayed in the Green Street car park should be removed, corrected and re-displayed, with the consultation period further extended to allow residents to respond to what is really being proposed. In the meantime we urge everyone with views on the proposals to submit a response (to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) ahead of the current 26 January deadline.