A brand new seven-storey multi storey car park has been lit up so brightly it shines like a beacon that is “visible from space” – a meeting heard.
The new 700-space car park in Elder Gate near Milton Keynes railway station is set to open in May and is under the control of the borough council.
“Residents can see the lights all night in Linceslade Grove,” said Cllr Amanda Marlow (Cons, Loughton & Shenley) when she raised the issue at a meeting on Tuesday (March 3).
“I am hoping the council will change it to a movement sensor system as the lights are on all night.”
And Cllr Peter Geary (Cons, Olney) said: “I hope you will introduce a method of dimming and trimming to reduce the amount of light. The building glows and you can see it from miles away. I am sure it can be seen from space.”
The council’s head of transport, Steve Hayes, said he has been assured that a new lighting system is being installed in time for its opening.
But he added: “We do not want it to flash on and off like a beacon but we will have a system which switches off when there is no movement in the car park.”
Speaking at a delegated decisions meeting, Mr Hayes added that once the car park’s cladding has been put into place it “won’t appear so bright.”
Tuesday’s meeting was held so the elected head of transport, Cllr Martin Gowans (Lab, Bletchley East) could publicly approve the new car park’s £10 a day charge, and its “pay on arrival” system.
But three Conservative councillors used the opportunity to challenge the number of parking spaces set aside for electric vehicles, the disabled, and parents and children, and the fact that drivers will be charged £10 if they stay all day, or for just three hours.
Cllr John Bint (Cons, Broughton) said he wanted to see people being given a refund if they stayed for less than a day. “We know that can be done,” he said.
He and Cllr Geary wondered why only seven of the 700 spaces (one per cent) were assigned for electric vehicles, where drivers would be charged £5 a day if they plugged in but £10 if they did not.
Cllr Gowans replied that electric vehicles were “not the answer” to reducing carbon dioxide pollution because of the amount of greenhouse gases in their manufacturing.
But they would monitor the use of the spaces and would be able to increase their number relatively easily if necessary, he said.
The car park also has 44 disabled spaces, and no parent and child spaces, which Cllr Marlow said was “a bit of an oversight”.
But Cllr Gowans said those issues were decided by planners much earlier in the process. But he said a solution could be to look at the provision of spaces on the streets outside the new car park.
On the provision of allocated spaces he said the council had “no power to regulate” and would be in the same position as a supermarket which had parent and child spaces which were often flouted by other drivers.
Cllr Gowans formally agreed to the £10 a day charge (£5 for plugged in electric vehicles) which he said was “competitive” in the area, being £1 a day less than the railway company’s car park.
