Upton councillor says car park off Waggon Lane is number one priority

Coun Chad Thomas (Reform/Ackworth, North Elmsall and Upton), said it is his number one priority to get funding for work to create a car park on the area of land behind Upton Library and Upton Primary School.

Upton residents use the large area of land for parking, but Coun Thomas said there are a string of problems.

He said large potholes have damaged cars, and parents avoid parking there in winter because it becomes too muddy.

He added that parents end up parking on busy Waggon Lane.

The area of land Coun Thomas wants a car park on also leads to Upton Pavilion, which is used by Upton United Community Sports Club.

Coun Thomas said previous Labour councillors have campaigned unsuccessfully to get the car park done.

He said: "When I was campaigning in March and April in the lead up to the elections the most common thing people said on the doorstep was that they wanted the car park. They said they had been let down by previous councillors.

"Now we have a new regime with a new set of people lets do something different and get it done.

"Every ward gets a pot of money and we can put it towards this.

"It's the number one priority in my ward."

Coun Keith Anderson, Wakefield Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Planning, said: “We’re looking into what needs to be done on this site and if we can resolve it in a cost-effective way.