A Wokingham-based sports club has said it will be ‘utterly devastated’ if parking charges are introduced to the site it calls home.
Archery club Bowmen of Burleigh has raised its concerns to Wokingham Borough Council against an introduction of parking charges at Cantley Park.
Wokingham Borough Council said it is ‘unable to continue to provide the extensive facilities’ at Cantley Park without asking users to ‘contribute to its upkeep’.
The authority is considering applying charges to Cantley Park as well as Avery Corner in Finchampstead, and other sites in Shinfield and Woodley.
The park, off Twyford Road, is also the home of Wokingham Theatre, as well as a host of football pitches, tennis courts, hockey pitches and children’s play equipment.
Charges could be brought in at a similar rate to those at Dinton Pastures and California country park, Wokingham Borough Council said.
But Becky Steliarios from Bowmen of Burleigh asked council leaders to reconsider its plans.
Ms Steliarios said: “Adding parking charges at Cantley Park sounds like a quick win. But for the archery club, and I’m sure for all the other sports clubs there, it will be utterly devastating.”
She said membership to her club would become at least three times more expensive than others within a few miles – which would lead to them ‘hemmoraging’ members and ‘wiping out’ their ability to recruit new archers.
“Day parking charges will render our fundraising tournaments unviable, we’ll be priced out of the market,” Ms Setliarios continued.
In response, executive member for active travel, transport and highways, Cllr Martin Alder, said the charges were being considered to balance the council’s budget.
Cllr Alder noted that Wokingham Borough Council remains one of the lowest funded unitary authorities in the country, and is facing ‘unprecendented financial challenges’.
He said an equalities impact assessment as well as a formal consultation would be carried out.
Leader of Wokingham Borough Council Stephen Conway said the authority was ‘still in the process of working through a lot of things in relation to this’, and it was ‘not a decision that has been made’.
Cllr Conway added that the sports group’s input during a formal consultation would be ‘very valuable’.
