Parking on the Church Forecourt

Over the years – you must have noticed! – our church forecourt has proved irresistible to various drivers to park their cars while they go about their business in Epsom. Even the addition of two ‘Private Parking’ notices, positioned prominently either side of the entrance, has done little to improve matters, the result being that when our members need to park their cars while on church business, there is insufficient space for everyone.

There is also the thought that we maintain the church and its car parking facility, and it is not right that outsiders can park free, without helping to pay for the upkeep. There are two Council car parks within a short distance, where, on payment of the appropriate fee, they can park for as long as they like, without inconveniencing anybody else.

One car was parking in the forecourt for some days recently – and quite late in the evening. I mentioned this at Church Meeting, and established that it did not belong to any of our members. The meeting confirmed that it was our policy only to allow casual parking on church business.

I went across the road to the Police Station to see if they could find the owner on their computer system: but they did better than that – they said that the car belonged to one of their colleagues who was attached to Epsom, but not there at that time. He had, however, left his keys, so the car was collected and moved over to the police car park.

While chatting with the police, it came out that somebody had said that he could park in front of the church ‘but not on a Friday, as that was when a lot of old people [Friday Painters!] would be there’! Unfortunately, we don’t know who this person was. And subsequently, someone left a note on the car’s windscreen, saying that non-church parking was not permitted. The note is, apparently, no more.

Now, we have no desire to be bad neighbours. But I subsequently had a long telephone call with a Det, Con. Cumming, who was conducting an investigation and this parking incident was involved, so Det, Con. Cumming was keen to find out as much as possible about it.

So if anybody is asked by drivers whether they can park in our forecourt, just point out the ‘Private Parking’ notices and advise them that use of the forecourt is for people on church business only.  Thank you.