CHIPPENHAM Borough Lands have opened a new car park which is part of the £3million community hub planned for the town. It is hoped the hub will be completed by 2020.

The new car park, in Pewsham Way, which will allow disabled access to the open parkland and has ten free spaces, was opened on Tuesday by Lady Lansdowne.

Phil Tansley, CEO of Chippenham Borough Lands, said: “Although the land has been used by local residents for many years, the land needed revitalising and renaming to make more people aware of what is on their doorstep.

“The car park is just the beginning of a series of projects the charity is undertaking.

“The charity is securing, through the Forestry Commission, over 6,000 trees to be planted and there will be a two-day open public planting sometime in January.”

Parking in Chippenham has become such a problem that the town’s MP Michelle Donelan has written to Wiltshire Council calling for more to be done.

A number of businesses along New Road recently had concerns regarding parking as customers, who often parked at the nearby Hathaway Retail Park, were given tickets. The problem has now been resolved and motorists are able to park there and go off site.

Louisa Hall, owner of Hall’s Emporium of Fancy Goods on New Road, said: “The BID acted swiftly and thanks to them and the owners of the car park the misunderstanding was resolved very quickly and satisfactorily. Unfortunately the issue caused a little ongoing confusion for some of our customers.”

Police have also reissued calls for commuters not to park along Louise Rayner Place as a number of cars have been towed away for blocking access down the street. A police spokesperson said: “There could be an emergency vehicle which may have difficulty at this location so please park to avoid causing obstructions.”