Parish council unanimous in opposing car park plans for meadow Parish council unanimous in opposing car park plans for meadow

A PACKED public meeting erupted into cheers when Cookham Parish Council voted unanimously against the proposal for a car park at Marsh Meadow.

And, in a surprise turn of events, Geoffrey Copas who owns the land was said to be happy to sell the acre to the people of Cookham.

After the meeting Mr Copas said: 'In principle we are prepared to consider accepting an offer if the people of Cookham want to buy it.'

Feelings ran high over the two hours as two representatives from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead battled to answer questions, tolerating heckles and jeers from the public.

The plans to build a 90 space car park in the riverside meadow, replacing the one on Cookham Moor, attracted the attention of the national press last month, with headlines like Pull down paradise put up a parking lot.

The three main issues raised by residents were: there was no need for a new car park, with both traffic and parking in the village not a real problem; scarce and contradictory information was available; and the proposal, which they say goes against the local plan, would cut Cookham Moor in half.

The Royal Borough, which is the applicant, claims it pursued this after receiving a positive response from questionnaires sent to villagers, with the support of the Cookham Society and initially the parish council.

The plan is expected to go before the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the late autumn.