CONTROVERSIAL plans by English Heritage to charge visitors at Old Wardour Castle for using the surrounding parkland have hit a stumbling block with councillors refusing to grant permission for a parking meter.

The organisation wants to prioritise access to the castle for its annual 25,000 visitors who, after paying the £2 parking charge, would have it refunded once they go inside the castle itself.

It says there are often occasions when the car park is found to be full but that many of the people are there to use the countryside leaving others unable to visit the castle.

Submitting plans for the 6ft tall solar-powered black or green parking meter to Wiltshire Council, English Heritage (EH) says the fee would only apply during opening hours of the scheduled monument.

Matt Bulford of EH said: “We obviously want people to still come and enjoy the wider parkland and enjoy the walks but we think it’s a fair compromise that if you’re going to park there during the day, people pay the very modest fee of £2.”

Mr Bulford said the car park on site has space for about 20 cars and while cars could also park on a grassy area, it becomes boggy in winter.

However, the owner of the land, Richard Arundell, told councillors at the Southern Area Planning Committee, that he objects to the plans, saying: “I’ve had no consultation [from English Heritage].

“I wrote to them saying I would object to the erection of a parking meter for a variety of reasons, not only legal - I’m the owner and I don’t want a parking meter on my land - but also for practical and aesthetic reasons.

“There are people who fish in the lake and people who walk their dogs who wouldn’t expect to pay for parking, they might have arguably over the years, formed some sort of prescriptive right to do those activities just by matter of usage.”

Luke Hughes who spoke on behalf of six households living close by said residents “vehemently opposed” the plans and asked why they had not been involved in any consultation especially since the area had its own management plan.

Tisbury parish councillor Jo Ings also criticised the lack of consultation and said it was an “ill-considered” application which would have a “significant detrimental effect” on the anglers, neighbours, walkers and tourists.

Ward councillor Tony Deane said: “The residents, the owner and the parish council do not want it.

“The fear is that if EH is going to enforce parking there, cars will be parked all over the place and cause problems.

“It doesn’t seem to make sense in this very rural setting that we should be charging visitors to this delightful spot for parking their cars.”

And councillor Jose Green said: “It is over-zealous and a complete alien feature within that exceptional landscape, it is fleecing the public.”

Councillors voted to refuse the application for reasons of visual amenity and impact on the AONB. There were two abstentions.