Residents without a phone unable to park in Wiltshire town centre

Borough Fields and Wood Street car parks in Royal Wootton Bassett have both unintentionally become cashless parking sites due to out-of-order pay machines which have not been fixed.

According to residents of the town, these machines have been broken for several weeks and residents are instead encouraged to pay online via the ‘pay to park’ or ‘MiPermit’ apps.

This has made it difficult for elderly people without smartphones to get into the town centre and use vital services such as supermarkets and pharmacies.

Borough Fields car park is a particular concern, as it is located opposite Sainsbury's and New Court Surgery.

Many residents have been unable to access Borough Fields Shopping Centre. (Image: Newsquest)

“Many residents do not have a mobile phone, and therefore have no way to obtain a parking ticket,” said town councillor David Bowler.

“Many also need to come to GPs and dentists and if they are unable to obtain a parking ticket, they put themselves at risk of a fine.”

“We are supposed to be encouraging people to use local services not drive them away,” added local resident Susan Cahill.

“Bigger towns such as Witney in Oxfordshire have free parking and it’s well used. It’s a shame many other towns and councils haven’t learned from this.”

According to Royal Wootton Bassett Town Council, the council has been “inundated” with comments and complaints about the out-of-order parking machines, which have forced locals to pay using their phones.

But even those who have a phone with internet access have faced difficulties, as Borough Fields car park is a known blind spot for phone signal and 4G internet access.

“The mobile and data signal is shocking in Bassett, more so up at Borough Fields,” said resident Ruth Walsh.

“How on earth are people who do actually have the app meant to do it?”

Councillor Caroline Thomas, Wiltshire Council's cabinet member for transport, said: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the pay and display parking machines being out of order in Borough Fields Car Park.

"This was due to one of the parking machines being vandalised, incorrect coinage used in another, and the third experiencing a printing error.

“A programme to replace all parking machines across the county will be underway shortly, and people can also pay easily using the automated phone call or text service.

"The parking machine in Wood Street Car Park is being removed due to this car park being mostly used by permit holders; however if space is available, people can still pay using MiPermit or the automated phone call or text service."