A NEW park-and-ride car park for Wallingford could be the solution to the town's parking problems, residents say.

The proposal was put forward at consultation sessions hosted by Wallingford Town Council to prepare for the compilation of the town's Neighbourhood Plan.

Civic leaders have been seeking a site for years to build a new car park as the town grows, with 550 new homes planned for Slade End Farm off Wantage Road.

Following consultation with residents on Thursday(March3) and Saturday (March5) at the Regal Centre, the park-and-ride plan is now being considered.

Town mayor Lynda Atkins said: "The key issue that came out of the meetings was the lack of enough parking spaces in the town centre.

"One proposal put forward was for a park-and-ride to be created on land opposite Wallingford Sports Park in Hithercroft Road.

"You could question whether a park-and-ride would work on such a local scale, or whether people would still try to drive into town to find a parking space.

"But we do need to find a way providing more spaces because the number of homes in the area is growing and there is also a problem with air quality around the High Street."

Ms Atkins said another proposal was for one of the existing car parks to be decked.

She said town council working groups would now be created to take forward different schemes including solving Wallingford's parking problem.

South Oxfordshire district councillor for Wallingford, Elaine Hornsby, who runs First Edition boutique and is chairwoman of retail group Wallingford in Business, said the park-and-ride proposal was worth investigating.

She added: "There are times on a Friday and a Saturday when shoppers are circling in their cars because all the parking spaces are full.

"We need to look at the viability of a local park-and-ride in terms of the cost of buying land and running the buses.

"The district council is also proposing to create more spaces in the Riverside car park, which is on the Crowmarsh side of the bridge, but is in walking distance of the town.

"We will also look for other sites where new parking spaces could be created – it's high on our agenda."

Ms Hornsby said more than 200 residents attended the consultation sessions and put forward numerous suggestions on a range of subjects including the layout of the town centre, introducing 'shared space' in the Market Place for traffic and pedestrians, and having more benches in St Leonard's Square.

She said the plan would be finalised after working groups discussed various proposals over the next two years.

In 2013 town council leaders carried out a three-day survey in the town's car parks after South Oxfordshire District Council said it did not think more parking spaces were needed.

Last year (2015) SODC considered making an offer for the car park of the police station in Reading Road but was told by Thames Valley Police homes could be built there instead.

There are spaces in Castle Street, Thames Street, St George’s Road, Cattle Market, Waitrose, and Goldsmiths Lane car parks.

Councillors in 2013 who conducted the survey said demand frequently outstripped supply at 183-space Waitrose, 132-space Goldsmith Lane and 147-space Cattle Market car park.