Langsett reservoir: Plans to hit motorists with parking charges at beauty spot near Sheffield condemned

The chairman of Langsett Parish Council has hit out at Yorkshire Water’s plans to introduce the fees at four of its reservoirs.

He fears charges could result in people parking on the street to avoid paying, leading to safety issues and harming the local community.

MORE: Stark image reveals what Sheffield reservoir could look like in 50 years if water shortages hit

Peter Horner, aged 58, said: “It’s a significant safety problem and it will also do huge damage to local business. We have a pub and a café with car parks and people will park there, taking away space from their customers.

“There’s a risk that a small local pub might not survive major changes in the area. It’s been there for some years; it would be a huge loss to the whole area.”

MORE: Motorists to be hit with parking charges at Langsett Reservoir beauty spot in Sheffield

When announcing the plans back in June, Yorkshire Water claimed the parking charges would help reduce anti-social behaviour and that the income raised from the tariffs will be reinvested across Yorkshire Water’s sites to deliver nature conservation, countryside management and improvement of facilities at reservoir sites.

Alastair Harvey, lead countryside advisor at Yorkshire Water said: “We know how important our sites are to local communities and visitors alike.

“We have thought long and hard about the way people use our sites before implementing this trial, as well as considering approaches at similar sites around the country.

“We believe a small parking fee and increased security will help to dissuade anti-social behaviour, such as fly-tipping, at our sites but also have a long-term positive impact in terms of the projects we can deliver in the future.”

But Mr Horner is adamant that the parking charges could cause permanent damage to the local community and haven’t been properly thought through.

He added: “We had a huge turnout at our parish meeting. The parish as a whole, not just the council are unanimously against the plan.”

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said: “The project is a trial and impacts, if any, of dispersed parking will be monitored and we will keep in regular contact with the Parish Council throughout the trial period.

“We are continuing to work with Barnsley Council, the Police and Highways England to look at solutions to deter/prevent unsafe and inappropriate parking.”

“Yorkshire Water recently attended the Parish Council meeting and are providing written responses to questions that weren’t answers at the time of the meeting. We are committed to working with key stakeholders to monitor the impact of the parking charges during the trial period including both negatives and positives, he added.”