# Parking in Wells, Somerset



## 95897 (Jul 30, 2005)

My wife and I have just completed a tour of Devon and Somerset and on our travels tried to visit Wells Cathedral. We obtained the Tourists Information leaflet on car parking and toured all the car parks trying to find somewhere to park our Autocruise Stargazer for a few hours. There were no height restrictions but all the car parks were subjected to a 1400kg weight restriction. The coach and HGV park had 'No Motorhomes' signs displayed. In desperation I stopped on a yellow line whilst my wife ran into the Tourist Information Office for guidance as to where we could park. She quickly returned and informed me that the man behind the desk had told her that motorhomes were not welcome in Wells but we could chance our luck at the Lidl supermarket's car park. Not wishing to purchase anything at Lidl we declined to 'try it on'. In disgust we left Wells and carried on to a CL at Cheddar. This summer we completed 4000 miles touring Europe and not once did we experience such discrimination- in fact the opposite was the norm! I have sent a letter of complaint to the Wells Local Authority and I await a reply. :evil:


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Wells*

Hi

Glad the coach part was sort of there - even though not available to you.

Last time I went there in a coach we had to park at Tescos. Pathetic really for a tourist city.

Rapide561


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Aaronsdad said:


> The coach and HGV park had 'No Motorhomes' signs displayed. In desperation I stopped on a yellow line whilst my wife ran into the Tourist Information Office for guidance as to where we could park. She quickly returned and informed me that the man behind the desk had told her that motorhomes were not welcome in WellsLocal Authority quote]
> 
> That is a disgrace. I've bookmarked this thread and will be interested to see what Wells can come up with by way of excuse. How difficult is it to provide 6 or so places in a car park long and wide enough for motorhomes ? Such a shame as it is a lovely little city and well worth a visit.
> 
> G


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

A good place to avoid, I'll spend my money elsewhere. Good on you to write and complain, so many have a moan but do nothing about it.

peedee


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## navman (May 10, 2005)

I have pinged an email to the Wells City Council with a link to this thread.. Such a shame I have spent many weekends there in the past, caving, lovely city....


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## 95897 (Jul 30, 2005)

I have e.mailed the Mayor of Wells and await a reply:-

"Dear Mayor,

What a wonderful thing this internet is? I have found your e.mail address from the your local authority's web site. I wish to make a complaint concerning a recent visit my wife and I made to Wells last week. We tour in an Autocruise motorhome which is 6metres long and weighs 3750kg. We spend some of our retirement touring the UK from our house based on the Isle of Wight. My wife particularly wanted to visit Wells Cathedral so we obtained a tourist information leaflet and went to all the car parks looking for somewhere to park. After visiting 5 car parks and being met with 1450kg weight restrictions and a coach/LGV park not allowing other vehicles to park we decided to enquire at the Tourist Information Office as to where we could legally park our motorhome, The chap behind the desk was quite friendly but informed us that motorhomes were not welcome in Wells but perhaps we could 'chance our luck' at the Lidl car park. Not wishing to take advantage of his suggestion as it was unfair to Lidl we decided to leave Wells and carry on down to Devon. To say that I was annoyed is an understatement. This summer we completed over 4000 miles touring Europe and not once did we meet any such discrimination towards motorhomers. Infact the exact opposite was the norm. For your information motorhomes are becoming much more popular and are often driven by members of the community who are fortunate to be in receipt of a larger than average disposable income which they are keen to dispose of at local amenities i.e. shops, cafes, restaurants, local attractions etc. This is recognised by local authorities in Europe where parking and over-night facilities are provided, at a token fee, in an effort to attract motorhomes into the towns and villages. It seems a shame that your local authority is so narrow minded in its approach towards motorhomers and regards us all as 'New Age travellers' . I look forward to your reply and should you wish to reply by snail mail my details are:-......"

Aaronsdad


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## Guest (Sep 15, 2006)

As some of you will know I am currently engaged in contacting all local authorities with responsibility for parking to create my web site www.motorhomeparking.co.uk.

One thing I didn't fully realise when I started was the range of responsibilities for car parks between councils of different types. In the case of Wells it is Mendip District Council which has responsibility rather than Wells City Council.

I actually contacted Somerset County Council on 20th August and they passed my request onto the districts (including Mendip) on 11th September so I am still awaiting a reply.

However, I've just had a looK at the Mendip web site car parking page - http://www.mendip.gov.uk/CouncilService.asp?id=SX9452-A77F99B5 - and notice the following paragraph which implies that MH drivers can ignore the weight limits:
Caravans and Motor Homes:
There is no specific parking allocations within Mendip for caravans and motor homes. These vehicles may park in all major car parks but payment must be made for the number of spaces occupied. The 1525 kg weight limit primarily applies to commercial vehicles only. Caravans and motor homes may not use coach or bus bays.

I'll see what Mendip have to say when I receive their reply and if they don't make specific mention of this I'll follow it up with them.

Regards,
Graham


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## 95897 (Jul 30, 2005)

Thanks for that GJH - what a pity that there are no signs in the car parks informing motorhomers of this relax in the local by-law or the fact that the man at the local Tourist Information Office was aware either.

Aaronsdad


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## Guest (Sep 15, 2006)

Aaronsdad said:


> what a pity that there are no signs in the car parks informing motorhomers of this relax in the local by-law or the fact that the man at the local Tourist Information Office was aware either.


Agreed.

Many councils - understandable to an extent - have said that their car parks are designed for everyday cars and, especially in smaller places, state/imply that design is around the needs of residents rather than visitors.

One council even said "Motorhomes/caravans are prohibited from parking overnight at Victoria Square, Stirling. This ban was introduced following complaints from residents that the users of the aforementioned vehicles were leaving litter behind and using the central grassed area as an open air toilet and drying green.".

I'm sure it's partly a funding issue but to a large extent I think it's also an attitude of mind - easier to plod along than do a bit of lateral thinking.

Graham


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## storeman (May 16, 2005)

Hi 

I used one of the car parks in Wells about 2 years ago and it did say on the sign that Motorhomes could park there and pay for the number of spaces used.

chris


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## 95897 (Jul 30, 2005)

I have received the following reply from The Mayor. I have thanked him for his prompt reply and await the result of the Public Consultation Meeting.

Aaronsdad


Copy of reply:-


Dear Mr Fletcher



Thankyou for your eMail.



I note with great interest your comments regarding the parking of your motor home. Not owning (or knowing anyone who does own) a motor home, I was unaware of the issues surrounding parking.



In general we in Wells have a parking problem – there isn’t enough of it! Now it appears that we don’t even have the right type of parking! Wells is a very small place, so we have to be very careful how we use our space. However, we as a Council and indeed the whole City are very keen to increase those people who wish to visit.



As it happens, on Saturday 15th September 2006, the City Council is hosting a public consultation day. This will allow residents, visitors and traders etc to put their views forward on how they wish to see the city develop over time. 



All I can do is assure you that I will forward your concerns and add them into the process.



I’m truly sorry you were not able to visit our wonderful, vibrant and historic City and that your wife was not able to spend time visiting our Cathedral. Please come back and visit us again sometime – although I can’t guarantee that the issue will be sorted, however it will be noted.



For your information, Wells is surrounded by wonderful sites for motor homes. Especially the Cheddar Mendip Heights site, which I opened in July (nr Priddy).



Regards



Simon Davies

Mayor of Wells


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## nukeadmin (Oct 10, 2003)

I too have received a communique from a member of the Wells Government team (It seems MHF is read in high places)

here is the email content i have received as follows:


```
I have inspected every one of the car parks in the City and at none of them have I been able to find any sign which refers to motor caravans.  Any statement that there are signs saying "No Motorhomes" is completely untrue. 
There are signs which indicate a weight limit but even these make it clear that these refer to Heavy Goods Vehicles and there are also signs saying that overnight camping is not allowed.

I understand that a review of car park regulations is currently being undertaken by Mendip District Council and a recent meeting of the City Council's City Centre Management Committee expressed the hope that any replacement signage resulting from that review might give a positive message welcoming those vehicles which are able to use the City's car parks including motor homes.
```
So does anyone have proof of motorhomes being denied access to car parks ?


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## Mikemoss (Sep 5, 2005)

We've always been able to park quite happily in Wells, either at the Aldi car park or one of the council's own car parks (not, funnily enough, at the one marked for lorries and coaches). Sorry I can't be more precise, but if you follow all the signs for P in turn, you'll get to the right one - it's near a set of traffic lights leading to the ring road.


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## 95897 (Jul 30, 2005)

I started this post and feel more than a little aggrieved that what I have reported is "untrue". I can only repeat that my attempt to park my motorhome in Wells was hindered by the signs at all the public car parks. As regards to the weight restrictions it was *not *clear that the weights refered to HGVs and my findings were confirmed by the Tourist Information Office. However I am pleased that the City Council's City Centre Management Committee are hopefully going to take steps to encourage motorhomes into the city as it is a very interesting place to visit. By the way I have not received a reply from The Mayor, Councillor Davies, concerning a result of the Public Consultation Day - even though I have e.mailed him for a response.

Aaronsdad


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## 95897 (Jul 30, 2005)

Hi Mikemoss,

This car park you refer to is the first one I tried. It is a large car park with plenty of room for motorhomes. We parked on its perimeter next to the hedge at the far side where the over-hang of the motorhome can extend over a short piece of grass verge (near to a pedestrian exit). However it was n't until I went to pay in the ticket machine that I read the conditions for parking that I noticed the weight restriction. Not wishing to be the recipient of an excess charge I decided to remove my motorhome only to find that all the public car car parks displayed the same conditions at the payment machine. The only public parking area was the HGV/Coaches park which displayed a sign banning all other vehicles.

Aaronsdad


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

It rather looks like a failure of communications here.

The powers-that-be in Wells clearly do not have any idea of the mass of a MH and that it can exceed their signed weight limits -which they think will only apply to a HGV.

The instructions re restricted HGV parking should make it clear that MHs are not included in this restriction. They do not do this currently or Aaronsdad would not have felt the need to move.

Graham...a letter to them perhaps to point out the discrepancies ? 

G


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## 95897 (Jul 30, 2005)

Today I received an E.mail from The Mayor in reply to my initial complaint thus:-

"Dear Mr. Fletcher

Sorry for the delayed reply.
I fed your comments to the event (Public Consultation Day) – which have been put forward. 
All I can do is to fully promise you that we in Wells City Council, consider our residents and visitors with the highest regard. I really do hope that both you and your Wife are able to visit us again. 
Regards

Simon Davies
Mayor of Wells"


I have replied to Councillor Davies and thanked him for his time and effort and informed him that we will make another visit to his vibrant city in the future to see if there is any improvement concerning the parking of motorhomes.

Aaronsdad


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## Mikemoss (Sep 5, 2005)

Hi Aronsdad

I guess we must have just taken a chance - but it's a chance we've taken a few times and always got away with it. I think it would take a real jobsworth of a parking attendant to issue a ticket to a motorhome which has been parked sensibly, and for which the appropriate number of tickets has been bought.


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## nukeadmin (Oct 10, 2003)

it would appear from the email i received that these signs were maybe not clear enough but they were meant to indicate that HGV were not allowed to park but mhs are allowed


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## Guest (Oct 10, 2006)

Grizzly said:


> Graham...a letter to them perhaps to point out the discrepancies ? G


I received the e-mail from the Wells Town Clerk before Nuke did - it appears he misread my post and thought I ran MHF - and I recommended that he send a message for inclusion in this thread.

At the moment I'm still awaiting a reply from Mendip Council which I hope will make things clear. I should have received it by yesterday so they have failed to comply with the Freedom of Information Act. I'll give them a few more days (as I have with other councils) and then complain if I still don't receive a reply.

Graham


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## Guest (Oct 29, 2006)

I've received a reply to my query from Mendip District Council which is very positive. They have a lot of information on their web site covering parking - one of the better councils. See Somerset page on the web site for the link.

Here's a quote from the Car Parks & Transportation page:
"Caravans and Motor Homes:
There is no specific parking allocations within Mendip for caravans and motor homes. These vehicles may park in all major car parks but payment must be made for the number of spaces occupied. The 1525 kg weight limit primarily applies to commercial vehicles only. Caravans and motor homes may not use coach or bus bays."

Nice to see somebody likes us  

Graham


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