Uckfield car parking and commuters - we find out what is happening
Car parking is free in Uckfield and that’s how most people like it.
Any hint that Wealden District Council might impose charges has brought a huge wave of protest in the past and future moves [none are planned] would certainly see such an outcry.
Whenever you discuss parking in Uckfield, the “elephant on the lawn” is the question of where commuters using the town’s railway station park their cars.
It is also right to point out that commuter parking at Buxted is a huge issue in the village.
Research carried out by UckfieldNews.com shows commuter cars are scattered around the town within half-a-mile or so of the station.
This diary of a day in the life of Uckfield car parks shows how some of them are being used.
5:05am: Three cars are parked in the Luxford Field (north) car park, nearest Holy Cross Church, with four in Luxford Field (west); nearest the High Street (picture below).
5:08am: Two cars in Uckfield railway station car park (pictured below); although one is unloading and leaves shortly afterwards.
5:10am: There are no cars parked in Bell Lane, at the entrance to the Bellbrook Business Park.
5:30am: The station car park is beginning to fill ahead of the first departure of the day, the 05:45am service to London Bridge. Six cars have parked already.
5:55am: All allocated spaces in the station car park have gone (pictured below), bar those reserved for disabled drivers.
6:30am: Nine cars have parked on the road at the town end of Bell Lane.
6:34am: The second train of the day departs.
6.40am: The Luxford Field (west) car park now has 11 cars parked; the north car park still totals three.
7:00am: 13 cars are now crammed into the station car park, some not in marked spaces. Commuters are streaming on to the platform to board one of the eight coaches that fill the length of the platform.
7:08am: One of the key commuter trains of the morning departs.
7:10am: Fifteen cars are now parked in Bell Lane, nearest the station.
7:15am: Luxford Field (west) now has 26 vehicles while the north car park has just four.
7.34am: Another eight-carriage train departs for London.
8:00am: Another train is about to depart at 8.04am. There are now 47 cars parked in the Luxford Field (west) car park (picture below). Not all these can be attributed to commuters; some will belong to people working in town centre shops and offices.
4:00pm: Thirty-seven of those 47 cars that were parked at 8am in the Luxford Field (west) car park are still there. That clearly indicates these people are not shoppers.
6:00pm: Twenty-four of those cars are still in place. It is right to point out that all those cars were legally parked.
The Luxford Field car park, in total, has 219 long-stay bays and 35 short-stay bays (nearest to the High Street). There are seven bays for disabled drivers but none are allocated to “parent and child”.
Short-stay parkers face being fined if they stay longer than three hours.
The fine, called an excess charge, is £60 but reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days.
In the run-up to peak commuter time in the morning, cars could be seen parked in side roads and other areas including Forge Rise and Mill Drove. It is not possible to know whether these cars belong to commuters or not.
There are a number of other car parks in Uckfield. Regency Close has two – the north one has 17 long-stay spaces while the south car park has 22 short-stay spaces. These are owned by Wealden District Council.
The council also manages (ie: does not own) the car park at the rear of the Co-op. It has 133 short-term (three hours maximum) spaces, six for disabled drivers and four for parent and child.
Management of the car park at Bell Lane is now in private hands. Until last year it was managed by Wealden Council for the owners but this arrangement was terminated. There are about 80+ spaces, all short-term (three hours). Signs indicate over-stayers will face a penalty of £80.
Tesco has its own large car park. Parking is limited to two hours with a £70 “parking charge” for staying longer.
Throughout much of the High Street there is roadside parking available, limited to one hour with no return within two hours.
Commuters were warned by police a few weeks ago that these restrictions were being enforced.
Control of parking on the Bellbrook Business Park roads is the responsibility of East Sussex County Council. In July 2010 the council told Uckfield News that the council was aware of the problems being caused by parking and had “prioritised” the area for double yellow lines. But by December the plan was on hold because of the cash squeeze.This remains the situation.
The issue has been raised with the town’s Chamber of Commerce.
As noted earlier, car parking at Uckfield railway station itself is extremely limited but free.
Commuters using station car parks at nearby stations do not have such a luxury.
Station car parks charge. Parking regimes in the vicinity keep commuters’ cars off many of the roads with local authority-owned long-stay car parks also charging.
Here are some of the charges imposed at station car parks:
Buxted Railway Station 70 spaces £3.80 daily £16 per week £59 per month £149 three-monthly £520 annual £1 Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays.
Crowborough Railway Station 140 spaces Monday to Friday £3.80 daily £16 per week £58 per month £168 three-monthly £540 annual £1 Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays.
Lewes Railway Station 272 spaces £5 daily £21 per week £80 per month £225 three-monthly £670 annual £1 Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays.
East Grinstead Railway Station 236 spaces £5.10 daily £21.40 per week £82 per month £230 three-monthly £860 annual £1 Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays.
Haywards Heath Railway Station 618 spaces £6.70 daily £28.10 per week £107 per month £302 three-monthly £1,000 (£1,190 Prestige) annual £4 Saturdays, £1 Sunday and Bank Holidays.
Such parking fees and the fact that train fares on the Uckfield line are lower than those on the Hastings line and the Brighton line also encourages some “rail heading” by commuters to stations such as Uckfield, Buxted, Crowborough and Eridge.
© This article is the copyright of the authori and www.UckfieldNews.com. Statistics and data about actual parking in Uckfield contained in this article are also copyright and must not be copied or used by any other party without the written permission of the joint copyright holders. The photographs are also copyright of www.UckfieldNews.com.
See also:
Uckfield rail station car park project takes step forward
Results of Uckfield News parking survey
Results of Uckfield News traffic survey
(Added to site Monday, June 27th, 2011)
