NOBODY could claim that there’s anything attractive about Culver Street car park – well, apart from the fact that it’s free after three because drivers won’t go there otherwise.

It smells of wee, it’s popular with our druggie community, and as an example of mid-twentieth century architectural vandalism, it’s outclassed only by the ring road alongside which it sits.

Few of us, I suspect, would shed tears at the prospect of it making way for a Hilton hotel. But we might ask questions.

Such as: Where will the people who use it go in future? The drivers, I mean, not the druggies! Although, come to think of it, they’ll have to find somewhere, too.

OK, so the would-be developers say they’d include 100 public spaces in their scheme. Culver Street currently offers 528.

It’s never full, but it is increasingly well patronised. Therefore I can’t help harking back to an old question.

How are we planning for the influx of people from the thousands of new houses going up all round our outskirts?

Not to mention the military supergarrison?

Core Policy 20 of the Wiltshire Council Core Strategy earmarks the Salt Lane and Brown Street car parks for development with a combined total of 25 dwellings.

We’ll lose more spaces through the redevelopment of the Central Car Park and Maltings, if the project ever gets off the ground. The New Street stack is permanently full. I doubt there’ll be enough spare capacity on the park and ride, especially north and west of the city, for all the extra shoppers and commuters, though with luck the system will stop losing money at last.

Without setting aside the 40ft Rule – which limits the height of new buildings to protect our cathedral views – and putting up another multistorey monstrosity, where’s everybody going to go, other than Southampton or Basingstoke? Nobody ever tells us.

Maybe, if people have no choice but to travel by bus instead, the operators will make enough money to keep running rural services? If those haven’t been axed under Wiltshire’s (after next year’s elections!) public transport “review”.

Anyway, back to the needs of our overnight visitors. What’s happening about the ‘boutique hotel’ plan for the Post Office buildings in Castle Street that’s been kicking around for years?

Or Tesco Towers, on top of the city centre store? That sounded like all systems go, but then came the supermarket slump, and it all went quiet.

Or the Premier Inn proposal at Big Tesco roundabout? It was turned down, but the last I heard was that the developers were considering an appeal.

We certainly won’t need four hotels, will we? Will any of them ever materialise? And could a day dawn when we’ll regret the loss of our least loved car park? Only asking.

anneriddle36@gmail.com