Fairlands Valley Parking
The SA expect to be invited to a meeting with representatives of Stevenage Borough Council in the near future to discuss their proposals to introduce parking charges at Fairlands Valley on a match day. In order to gauge the views of Boro fans, the SA have recently used a questionnaire, and a summary of the responses are as follows:-
| Questions | Yes | No | ||||
| Do You Drive To Lamex? | 325 | 22 | ||||
| Do You Use Fairlands Car Park? | 202 | 145 | ||||
| Should Car Park Be Improved? | 174 | 173 | ||||
| Are Parking Fees Justified? | 108 | 239 | ||||
| Would You Pay £0 – £2? | 192 | 155 | ||||
| Would You Pay £2 – £5? | 17 | 330 | ||||
| Would You Want Pay & Display? | 240 | 107 | ||||
| Would You Want to Pay by Phone? | 16 | 331 | ||||
| Are You an SG1 or SG2 Resident? | 127 | 220 | ||||
| Total | ||||||
| Responses | 347 | |||||
| General Comments | ||||||
| Willing to pay if charges applied 24/7 ie not just football fans. | ||||||
| Willing to pay if major improvements to surface, lighting and improve exit. | ||||||
| No maintenance carried out for years. It’s basically a field and not a car park. | ||||||
| It’s a public area, and should not be subject to charges | ||||||
| Potential for condition contravening health & safety and issues and possible claims on the Council | ||||||
| Any parking charges should be split between Council and Club | ||||||
| What plans to charge away fans coaches | ||||||
| Parking charges will result in more street parking in the area | ||||||
| Increase cost may mean attending less games | ||||||
| Unable to pay using a mobile phone, as don’t have one | ||||||
| Club should provide Stewarding and get percentage of any charges | ||||||
| Council is discriminating against the Town’s football supporters | ||||||
| High Court ruling that parking monies must be used to improve car parks | ||||||
Although a significant number indicated that they may be willing to pay up to £2 to park, the majority indicated that they would only pay if major improvements to the car park were carried out, and that the charges applied on a 7 day a week basis.
Based on the results of our survey, the SA will strongly resist any proposed charging by the Borough Council, and may organise a petition, if the Council insist on implementing charges.