Transport and Parking

Transport and parking have been two major issues that have been raised at Stanmore Combined meetings. Some success was gained with the introduction of a new 49/49A bus service to Stanmore which now enables Stanmore residents to obtain a direct service to the hospital and railway station where as previously they would have had to catch 2 buses. However the service is still on trial and so will ultimately be down to local residents to use the service if they want to see it continue.

Parking continues to be a real issue for many residents in Stanmore. Many residents blame the parking situation on students, but there is some evidence to suggest that people commuting into Winchester and parking in Stanmore are equally responsible. Stanmore Combined has produced a draft report from information collected earlier this year as part of a car registration survey focusing on the Cromwell Road and Stuart Crescent areas.

In addition to this the Love it/Hate it survey undertaken as part of the Community Plan identified parking as the No. 1 issue. As a consequence the City Council organised a number of open meetings to enable residents to identify problem areas and to comment on various proposals, including the introduction of a permit scheme. As a result a number of restrictions in various locations was supported and the City Council were introduced in march 2009. A copy of a map detailing the restrictions can be accessed on this page.

Although it was evident from the meetings held that there were not enough residents prepared to support the introduction of a permit scheme, a number of concerns were raised regarding the current conditions. One such condition was that a 2/3rds majority of all residents was required to support the introduction of a permit scheme. This was considered unfair because anyone who couldn't be bothered to vote and/or were unaffected by a permit scheme counted as a 'No Vote'. The costs of permits was also identified as a barrier for implementing the scheme in Stanmore. These concerns have been raised with Officers at Winchester City Council who have confirmed that they will be taken account of during a review of the Permit Scheme during 2010/11.  

In April 2010 a new Park & Ride Scheme near Bushfield roundabout was opened and provided a route into the city along Romsey Road past the hospital and Railway Station. Incentives are being given to the Hospital and University to encourage as many of their staff and students to use the Park & Ride scheme. It is too early to say yet, whether the intoduction of the scheme and its incentives have any impact on the student and commuter parking currently experienced by many Stanmore residents.