West End Parish Council has said it will initially remind drivers that the car park is for visitors to the parish centre, Hatch Café and adjoining library, rather than introduce parking charges or a formal registration system.
It comes a few months after the council considered imposing stricter measures after an increase in people using the car park on Chapel Road.
Cllr David Berry, chairman of West End Parish Council, said the authority had faced “challenges” after people using the centre reported being unable to park.
He said: “Users of the Parish Centre have been complaining that they have been unable to park due to, in their view, non-users parking there. The council did discuss the options.
“It is a tricky one as parking in West End isn’t always easy and we don’t monitor parking in that way. Equally, we need to respect the views of our users.”
Cllr Berry said income from hiring parish council spaces allowed it to provide facilities and activities for the community which might otherwise not be possible.
He added that councillors considered asking visitors to register their vehicle on a tablet inside the parish centre but decided this would not be the first step.
He said: “It was decided that we should leave notes politely reminding visitors in the first instance.”
The chairman stressed that the move was not a step towards charging motorists to park.
Cllr Berry added: “None of this is about charging and I would expect any suggestion of introducing charges to the car park would receive significant pushback from the councillors as we want to encourage people into the parish facilities.”
However, he said the council may have to consider further ways of managing the spaces in future, particularly during busy periods, adding: “In peak times, we do need to have these spaces for the users.”
In May, the parish council said it would introduce additional measures after a “significant increase” in people using the parish centre car park without visiting the centre, café or library.
It warned that the problem was affecting access for people attending activities at the centre, including visitors with additional needs.
