VISITORS to Witney’s new £50m shopping centre have raised concerns about a shortage of parking in the town.

West Oxfordshire District Council said today it was monitoring the situation after residents said spaces – which are all free – were in short supply now the Marriotts Walk shopping centre, in Welch Way, had opened.

A multi-storey car park has been built for the development, but people can only use the 590 spaces for up to three hours, which shoppers say is not long enough.

The centre has also created more than 300 new jobs, which has added to the pressure on facilities nearby, while the multi-storey car park has just 100 extra spaces for residents of the 143 new homes in Marriotts.

Shopper Jane Park-Pearson, 44, from Carterton, criticised the three-hour limit at Marriotts Walk.

She said: “It’s not really enough time if you are going for a film and then having something to eat. We could do with more parking now.

“It was horrendous parking on Saturday. The multi-storey was full and all of the other places were full.”

There are also concerns the shortage of long-stay car parking would worsen if the district council goes ahead with plans to shut Woodford Way, which has 250 12-hour spaces.

The land currently has outline planning permission for 50 homes, which was granted in 2007 when Marriotts Walk was approved.

Woodford Way car park is only due to stay open until June next year.

David Harvey, the council's cabinet member for environment, said: “With the opening of Marriotts Walk and the run-up to Christmas, we are expecting Witney to remain busy.

“But I would like to reassure residents that we will continue to monitor the situation over the coming months and review car parking arrangements if necessary.

“We remain committed to providing free car parking in Witney and across the district as we believe this will continue to support traders, residents and the local economy.”

Father-of-two Richard Hull, 45, of Madley Park, said: “I think the open air car park in Woodford Way has been nicely done and it should be kept.

“To keep the centre alive in Witney, you shouldn’t build houses on it.

“As everyone has gone to the expense of building the car park, it seems such a shame to build on it.”

Referring directly to the new multi-storey car park, he added: “You can’t do some shopping and then have to move your car from the multi-storey if you want to go to the cinema.”

In total, there are 2,000 car parking spaces in Witney town centre – almost 1,800 in council-run car parks and 200 on-street spaces.