People’s views on car parks in Carlisle and Keswick sought

Main Street in Keswick

Residents, businesses, organisations and visitors are being encouraged to take part in new surveys being conducted by Cumberland Council to understand people’s use of and views on local car parks. 

The surveys are initially focused on car parking in Carlisle and Keswick, with other areas of Cumberland to follow at a later date, and will be open until Friday, 31 January. 

The council is hoping to gather opinions of the parking options in both locations, users’ reasons for using the car parks, value for money, how sites could be improved and more. 

The information gathered will help inform the council as it develops a parking strategy; looking at how it can best manage and use the car parking assets it owns as well as provide the necessary parking required in different locations. 

Cumberland Council took over the off-street car parking sites previously managed by Allerdale Borough Council, Carlisle City Council, Cumbria County Council and Copeland Borough Council as part of local government reorganisation in April 2023. 

Councillor Barbara Cannon, Executive Member for Financial Planning and Assets, said: “Car parking is a really important subject for many people; especially for residents, businesses and visitors. A well-managed car park can not only help effectively manage traffic in our town and city centres, but also help provide valuable space for residents to park to do their shopping and access vital services, and provide a proper space for visitors to leave their cars while enjoying what Cumberland has to offer. 

“As Cumberland, we inherited a number of car parks across the district, and we now want to develop a long-term strategy on how best to use these sites. The results of the surveys will help shape those plans and I’d encourage as many people as possible to take part.” 

To take part in the surveys, go to:

Keswick: https://forms.office.com/r/7dn0nT4UEf 

Carlisle: https://forms.office.com/r/7YFXwKmc7Z

More information about the council’s car parks can be found at: Parking | Cumberland Council