We would like to give you notice that we plan to alter the current parking tariffs at Queenswood from 30th April 2018. The alterations will affect cars only and the new charges will be: £1.50 for parking for up to one hour; £3 for parking for up to 2 hours and £4 for parking over 2 hours. Charges for all other vehicles such as campervans and coaches will remain unchanged.
These changes reflect the ongoing need for parking charges to finance the running of the site. As advised by the council when we took on the site’s management, the cost of running the site is around £150,000 per year. In the last financial year parking charges raised in the region of £100,000 so the current model is unsustainable.
We have also recognised the need to reinstate the option of a 2 hour stay which many visitors have requested. As the majority of visitors stay for between one and two hours, they will continue to pay the same rate – £3 – for their visit as before.
We believe the new charges favourably compare with similar tariffs at other destinations. (The Malvern Hills Trust have a fixed £4 a day charge; Cannock Chase Forestry Comission charge £2 for up to 1 hour, £4 for up to 2 hours and £6 for all day.)
Queenswood costs around £421 a day to run which covers everything from keeping the toilets clean, stocked and fully functional (around £30), upkeep of paths, running events and trails, maintaining the playground and visitor areas, waste disposal, planting and tending to trees in the arboretum collection and managing the wildlife habitas in the wider woodland. The charges for car parking charges help us to cover this cost and all money raised through car parking fees is spent on the running of the site.
Since taking on the site we have installed a Gruffalo Trail and Nature Tots playground and will be further updating the signage, infrastructure and interpretation over the next few years. There are repairs needed on the exterior of the buildings which we will be undertaking costing circa £10,000. We are also planning eco-friendly improvements: installing green energy sources and car charging points.
For enquiries, please contact: James Hitchcock:
- j.hitchcock@herefordshirewt.co.uk
- 01432 356872
