Car park back on market after controversial sale

A former council car park is back on the market, for more than double the price it was sold for, as a plot with planning permission for a home.

About 1,000 people signed a petition to keep Idsall Drive car park in Prestbury in 2024 but Cheltenham Borough Council decided to sell it for £282,500 because it was "surplus to requirements" and cost £4,000 a year to run.

Adrian Gillman has secured planning permission for a five-bedroom self-build property on the site, which is now on the market for £600,000.

Councillor Stan Smith said parking had been a problem after the closure of the car park with residents "fuming over the chaos it has caused".

Smith said the parking situation was set to get worse after proposals for double yellow lines in the area.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the proposals include Mill Street, Linden Avenue and The Burgage.

Smith said the council "rode roughshod" over the petition to keep the car park and did not listen to concerns over the proposed new property.

"It's chaos in there now. Residents are fuming. People are parking on the bank by the war memorial opposite the Idsall Drive car park," he said.

"If they put double yellow lines on the road, where are people going to park then?

"Nobody has thought this out. The council just doesn't care," he added.

A council spokesperson said: "Taking into account the market at the time, along with planning and other costs and risks, the council is satisfied that it secured best consideration for the local taxpayer.

"The sale also removed the financial liability of ownership, allowing those savings to be diverted into front line services.

"The purchaser has since obtained planning consent for a single self-build dwelling, meaning that the future owner must live in the property for a minimum period of time."

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