Norfolk Car Club, which started in 2009 with two cars, is asking Norwich City Council for 130 new parking bays on top of the existing 37 in the city to meet growing demand. The club aims to add 80 new vehicles to its existing fleet by the end of 2017.
Founder, Rex Warner said: 'Our vision is to be available across the whole of the city, but we have run out of bays'. Previous bids to expand have been only partially successful because of objections from residents, so the current proposal includes an 'excess' number of spaces.
This time, the Norwich highways agency committee, made up of both city and county councillors, will be imposing tough conditions. It will only make bays available if the club secures funding for the new vehicles that it wants; and will then introduce the bays in phases, to avoid their being created and left empty, to the annoyance of residents.
The club says that 'where possible' it is seeking locations that will avoid the loss of any existing on-street parking spaces. It claims 700 members, gaining 30 new ones in a week in early January, with a growing number of businesses using the service.
