COUNCILLORS will meet with campaigners and ask planners whether any changes can be made to controversial plans for a temporary car park at Asker Meadows.

Bridport Town Council is to meet with the Friends of Asker Meadows (FAM) to discuss the plans after the group rallied the support of more than 900 people against the plans.

The town council has applied to West Dorset District Council for temporary permission to use the showfield part of the site as a car park during busy days during the summer.

Representatives of the council will meet with FAM and with planners in order to see if changes to the application can take concerns raised into account.

Cllr Sarah Williams, leader of the town council, said: “The town council agreed to submit this application for the temporary use on the showfield only, in view of the calls for possible overflow town centre parking on busy days during the summer.

“The application was submitted to get the views of the public and the relevant statutory agencies.

“The town council has worked hard over the past few years to establish Asker Meadows as an important green space and nature reserve, opening it up to the public with new paths and cycleways. It is recognised that this is a very popular space and that people have concerns about how it is used.”

Cllr Williams has reassured residents that the council has no intention to turn Asker Meadows into a town car park and that any income received will go towards conservation projects at the site.

She added: “I must stress though that the town council has no intention to turn Asker Meadows into an urban car park.

“We are putting in a temporary request to use a very small part of the showfield for extra parking for a small number of days a year when Bridport is overloaded. There will be no hard engineering, no concrete, tarmac or parking meters. The surfacing will not be changed in anyway and the field will not be used if the weather is poor.

“The sensitive areas of the site - the river corridor and the wildlife corridor - will not be harmed. We estimate that the amount of space taken up with cars would only be about 6 per cent of the whole site, for around nine hours on a small number of days during the summer.“