Penwortham Town Council settle rumours over Fleece Inn car park

Questions over the ownership of a controversial town centre car park have been addressed by Penwortham Town Council.

Since September, ANPR machines from Britannia Parking have been operating on the Fleece Inn car park in Liverpool Road, Penwortham – eight years after pay and display charged were scrapped because of a community backlash.

A spokesman for the pub, owned by Greene King, said it was to "ensure there is always space for our customers to park when they visit us", and said customers will not be charged.

Click here for the penalty charges and rules

Who owns the land?

But the change has re-ignited local debate about who owns the land, with many believing it had been gifted to people of the town decades ago, and wanting to know if the Town Council has a role in managing it.

Penwortham Town Council have now got to the bottom of the matter with the help of a professional surveyor.

In a statement on Facebook, the Council said: "We have co-ordinated with the Estates Team at South Ribble Borough Council, who have carried out a thorough check of all available documents.

"The professional surveyor has reported that there is no mention of any of the land in question being granted or gifted to the people of Penwortham, or a public authority. There is no mention of the public owning the land, nor of it being leased to the people of Penwortham, at any time in the past.Penwortham Town Council has no involvement in this matter. The land is privately owned and, to the best of our knowledge, it always has been."

The Fleece Inn

The pub dates back to the early 1700s and is part of Penwortham’s Conservation Area, next to the town’s iconic water tower and Rawsthorne Road.

Together with its attached cottage and workshop, it was listed by Historic England in May 1976.

It has recently undergone an exterior renovation. To see more, click here.