Theatregoers face parking fees as congestion concerns increase

On nights when shows are being staged motorists face having to pay 5-6 – as much as a coach – to use off-street car parks near the venue on Scarborough's North Bay.

At present, drivers can park free after 6pm at these sites, but with more than 900 cars expected for sell-out performances, council chiefs fear this could overwhelm the car parks on event nights.

The "Open Air Theatre Redevelopment Temporary Traffic Management Plan" has identified several sites near the theatre where late charges should be imposed.

If no objections are received, the new show night charges could be in place by next month, or by September if the authority has to consider hostile views.

As the venue can seat 6,279 and some will use the park-and- ride service or other public transport, council officials still believe nearly 1,000 extra cars will turn up for performances, along with 25 coaches.

Head of technical services John Riby said: "It is also known that in general the majority of the tourists leave the town between 5pm and 6pm and that after these times these car parks tend to be largely unoccupied by vehicles."

However, he explained that this did not automatically mean that they were completely empty – and this had to be taken into account when calculating the number of spaces needed for theatre goers.

He added: "Based on a theoretical maximum requirement for 941 vehicles it can be seen that there is predicted to be just sufficient capacity within the car parks to accommodate the requirements of the Open Air Theatre when using all of the grass area spaces.

"However, there will be no additional capacity if other events coincide with these shows and careful programming of council events is recommended to avoid overload of parking capacity."

He is recommending that instead of allowing free parking after 6pm a new evening charge comes in – of between 5 and 6 – covering the period between 6pm and midnight, meaning drivers who are willing to pay will not have so far to walk to the theatre.

The new charges would apply to both surfaced and grassed spaces at Burniston Road car park, Marine Drive, Northstead Upper and Lower, the Royal Albert Drive, Victoria Park, and William Street.

On event nights, the town hall's own parking wardens will regulate the flow of traffic into and inside the car parks and will stay until after the shows have ended.

As well as directing departing traffic, the wardens will check that every vehicle is displaying a valid ticket.

After dropping theatregoers outside the venue, coach drivers will be directed to park areas further away – including Scalby Mills at the opposite end of the North Bay.

The new charges will help cover overtime pay for the parking patrollers but should also encourage many theatre goers to leave their cars at home and use public transport.

More than 12,000 extra visitors will visit Scarborough with tickets for the first two shows at the Open Air Theatre.

More than 6,000 people will tomorrow watch opera stars Jos Carreras and Dame Kiri te Kanawa perform together for the first time in the UK.

Nearly 6,300 tickets have also been sold for the follow-up event featuring chart-topping stars from the 1980s.

Since the Queen officially opened the venue in May, it attracted more than 30,000 visitors in six weeks.