CHIPPENHAM'S Christmas shopping park and ride scheme has been abandoned this year sparking fears that town centre trade will suffer.

North Wiltshire District Council was accused of simply forgetting to organise the park and ride scheme, which catered for 1,000 vehicles last year.

The subject was considered at the Chippenham area committee on Monday but members decided it was already too late to set up the scheme.

"I'm surprised that a matter so important to the town centre seems to have been completely overlooked," said Coun Christine Crisp.

"The Chippenham park and ride has been totally omitted without any committee decision. No committee decided this would not take place, and it is most peculiar this has not been picked up.

"The town centre is likely to suffer. This looks like incredibly poor management."

The park and ride scheme was set up by the Liberal Democrat administration and has run for four years.

In 1999 it operated on the five weekends before Christmas, using the ambulance station on Malmesbury Road and the car park of the Regent Lock company on Bath Road.

The Regent Lock car park is no longer available so council officers would have had to hunt for a new site.

The area committee put together a list of priorities for spending from its revenue budget in January and the £10,000 park and ride scheme was put at number six.

In May members decided to defer budget decisions until the November meeting, but realised by this time it was too late to organise the park and ride.

Coun Lynda Barber suggested officers should try and organise the park and ride as a first priority but members decided to write it off and hand over £8,710 to support the town centre CCTV instead.

"The park and ride has just been forgotten," said Coun Crisp, after the meeting.

"The administration was always singing its praises, but nobody seemed to have the park and ride in their portfolio. It is absolutely amazing."

Mel Dawson, chairman of Chippenham's Chamber of Commerce, said it was a shame the park and ride scheme would not take place this year.

"Car parking is really difficult in Chippenham and park and ride is one way of getting over it," he said.

"Not having the park and ride one year will damage it for a few years to come, because people get used to using it. It does seem a bit poor."

Trader Mike Braun, who runs three town centre shops, suggested the district council should ease up on parking charges in the run up to Christmas in a bid to lure shoppers into Chippenham.

"You can park for free at Cribbs Causeway and the Swindon outlet village," he said. "If we want to bring people into the town the district council should make some concessions. If we have no park and ride perhaps we should have free car parking in the couple of weeks leading up to Christmas."

Coun Ruth Coleman, the council's deputy leader, said: "A clear majority across the parties did not want to proceed with the park and ride this year."

And Coun Philip Allnatt said members were being disingenuous when they claimed the project had been forgotten. "The spending priorities were set in the spring. Perhaps some councillors don't read their papers and don't follow the plot," he said.