Stirling Castle Esplanade car parking subject to review following complaints
by John Rowbotham, https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/authors/john-rowbotham/Stirling Castle’s operators Historic Environment Scotland this week confirmed they are reviewing visitor parking provision at the site.
It follows rumours that HES were about to ban public parking on the Esplanade.
At the moment there are spaces for on the esplanade for 130 cars and 12 coaches.
With more than 600,000 visitors to the castle every year, the volume of cars and coaches threading their way to the attraction, through the Top of the Town’s narrow, cobbled streets, has long been a source of complaint.
And people living near the castle regularly complain about visitors parking in nearby streets to avoid the £4 charge for non-HES members leaving their cars on the esplanade.
A spokesperson for HES said: “The management of the Stirling Castle esplanade is reviewed on an ongoing basis, as part of the overall management of the site.
“In line with this, we are currently reviewing current and future options for visitor parking, however no decision has been made.”
A Stirling Council spokesperson confirmed HES had contacted its officials regarding a review of parking arrangements on the castle esplanade.
“Should HES at any point decide to implement any changes, the council will work with the organisation to ensure they are positive for Stirling,” added a spokesperson.
Stirling North councillor Jim Thomson was concerned about the possible move.
He said: “I trust HES are taking cognisance of the fact that overspill parking at the moment is affecting the lives of residents who live at the Top of the Town.
“Any arrangement for alternative parking needs to be considered in that context.
“Park and ride options are an obvious alternative but visitors have come to expect easy access. I would be hopeful that HES consult with both the Stirling Council and local residents.”
At the moment, a regular bus service runs from Castleview park and ride to Broad Street, within walking distance of the castle, and the city’s land train takes visitors from the city centre on to the esplanade.
However, the esplanade car park is regularly full to capacity, particularly during the summer months when there are sometimes tailbacks down Castle Wynd, leading to congestion on St John Street and Spittal Street.
Chairman of Mercat Cross and City Centre Community Council Karen Bellingham-Baird, said: “Speaking personally, I would want to know where the coaches and cars visiting the castle would go if this was agreed. There is very little parking at the Top of the Town as it is.”
Former Top of the Town community councillor Jim Sandison, of Crofthead Court, Stirling, has over the last few years raised with Stirling Council a number of parking and congestion problems in the streets near the castle.
He believes a decision to ban parking in the esplanade was “long overdue”.
He added: “There are huge numbers of cars and coaches that head up to the castle on roads that were never designed for them and all they bring to the Top of the Town is pollution, congestion and aggravation.
“Banning parking on the esplanade would be a great thing but what they would have to do is catch people intending to visit the castle at the entrances to the city and direct them to park and ride facilities. Cities all over the world, with similar attractions, do this – they catch visitors on their periphery. At the moment, Stirling is in the process of strangling itself.”