Car park expanding to ease Waverley residents' concerns

The number of spaces at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre Training Centre will rise from 71 to 145.

The building — opened in 2014 — is used to teach hundreds of apprentices, some of whom are there full-time and others who visit weekly.

A statement from agents DLP Planning said: “The current car park cannot meet the demand of spaces.

“This has resulted in users using on-street parking in the immediate area to park their vehicles.

“Subsequently, this has made the road network difficult to navigate for larger service vehicles and causes disturbance to neighbours.”

Planning board member Cllr Bob Walsh said: “The public are quite deeply aggrieved at the current parking arrangements. 

“Where the students park more or less wherever they can. It’s quite clear that there hasn’t been enough provision.

“There’s a real problem there and it sets friction between the AMRC Training Centre and the local residents. This looks to be a very pragmatic solution.”

Nigel Hancock, development manager at Rotherham Borough Council, said: “This is the first real idea of how to start to address the problems of parking. It is seen as an interim, medium-term measure.

“We don’t want to give too much car parking and encourage people to use their cars all the time. It’s about getting the balance right.”

The DLP Planning statement said the success of the training centre would require the facility to expand in the future.

It added: “In the mean time, it is clear that there has been an overwhelming demand for vehicle car parking at the facility.”