THEYDON BOIS: Commuter car park provokes debate
5:30pm Tuesday 12th October 2010 in Where I Live By Edmund Tobin
THE debate over commuter parking near the central line has been reignited by plans for a new 179 space car park near a tube station.
Developer George Dilloway has submitted the plans for land on the site of the former Old Foresters Club, off Abridge Road, Theydon Bois, and claims it will ease commuter congestion in the village.
His plans are a revised version of those submitted last year for a 350 space car park.
Mr Dilloway said: “We have a lot more answers to the questions raised the last time. We have drawn a very in-depth study which proves there is a need for a car park.
“One of the problems with the last one was it was going across a footpath. We have cut a few of the spaces out. We'll have electric shuttle buses in the proposal so there's no distance to the tube.
“Currently people are parking in and around Theydon Bois and travelling on the London Underground. There is a clear demand for a car park.”
Not everyone in Theydon Bois is happy with the proposal.
Theydon Bois Action Group (TBAG) which opposed Mr Dilloway's last plan has already begun campaigning against his new one.
A spokeswoman said: “The entire project is unsustainable. It is just a cynical application by the same people that defaced Blunts Farm, that would result in wider implications for this site and the Green Belt in Theydon Bois.
“If planning permission is granted we could see a high volume of heavy construction traffic and potentially 350 extra cars travelling through the village and on the Abridge Road every morning and evening.”
A further concern against the plans is the effect they could have on congestion further down the Central Line- something Loughton Residents Association has already spoken out against.
Mr Dilloway said: “I've met with London Underground a few times and they're quite happy with the scheme. I don't see any problems with that.”
He added he had collected the names of 500 to 600 people in support of the scheme.
One of his supporters, Valerie Keeley, 62, of Theydon Park Road, Theydon Bois, said: “I've lived here ten years and the situation is ridiculous. I've got a sister in Havering-atte-Bower. She's got no bus service and her nearest station is Theydon Bois. She's got nowhere to park.
“Parking on the roads is a nightmare. We've got yellow lines outside but that creates more problems because people end up parking all over. I've always supported the car park, I can't see how it can't help.”
No date has yet been set for when the planning application will be heard. People have until November 5 to make comments to Epping Forest District Council at the Civic Offices in Epping High Street.
TBAG has organised a drop-in meeting for residents to see and discuss the plans to take place on Tuesday, October 26 from 3pm until 9pm at the Queen Victoria pub, in Coppice Row, Theydon Bois.
