Would you pay to park to use Greenham Common? On Saturday morning I was approached by a young women carrying out a survey at 'Blue' gate. Among the questions she asked was would I pay to park to use the common, and from some of the other questions asked I would hazead a guess that she was carrying out the survey on behalf of who ever owns the control tower. Only a guess and could well be wrong.

No!
Anyway, who would enforce it?

I may be wrong but doesn't the Common belong to the people but managed by the local authority?

There's no right to access by car though.

Looks like the public should get ready to get screwed, again.

Access to the countryside should be made as easy as possible if we wish people to firstly respect it, and secondly to use it to get fit!

I am appalled by the ever increasing desire to charge people to have access to what is in effect theirs anyway. Do we not already pay rates to the Council? Next someone will come up with the less than bright idea that we should be charged to enter the library and browse, or perhaps walk through the parks in the town.

I personally use Greenham Common very regularly for both dog walking/swimming plus playing my ukulele in an environment where only the cows may be upset and would have to think twice about going there is I was going to be charged for there are many other places to go.

If a Cafe though opens, I bet I would be a regular attendee following my walks, and this may be the way for people to otherwise contribute.

I would hope that Greenham Parish Council now that they own the Control Tower will object to any form of enforced payment to use the Common?

Ruwan Uduwerage-Perera

Newbury Town Council - Councillor for Victoria Ward

The idea is not to charge for the use of the common, rather it's to charge to park in one of the designated areas.

I'd like to think the healthy 'profit' made by the GCT could help to maintain vehicular access for the general public.

Someone is going to have to pay for the Control Tower white elephant and as we are all aware it is usually the poor motorists that are the easiest pickings?

It is, perhaps, worth noting that WBC have recently contracted out the management of their wildlife/nature/thingy sites to BBOWT . The parking question may have been instigated by them.

So, perhaps as members we might get in free?

Vehicular access over common land is always a sticky point. To quote Wikipedia, common land is "land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel." Doesn't mean vehicular access necessarily, as the residents of Newtown Common know all too well. (Incidentally the Mr Farrow of Newtown Common fame is not to my knowledge a relative).

"Welcome to our new cafe and visitor attraction, through that window you can see the site if the longest runway in Europe, and through that window there you can see your car being clamped"