Fears of parking chaos at Caistor Roman Town near Norwich

Visitors to Caistor Roman Town will find they now need to pay by the hour to park at the historical site in a new move by the Norfolk Archeological Trust (NAT) to fill a funding gap.

The site was formerly free to park at but trust staff recently installed a pay machine and associated signage, with an Automatic Number Plate Recognition camera to arrive soon.

Parking charges have recently been introduced at Caistor Roman Town which was previously free to park at (Image: Google Maps)

Natalie Butler, NAT director, said: "It is such an exciting time for us to be able to introduce car parking charges at Caistor which will hopefully help raise the money we lost from European Union grants.

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"NAT is a charity and completely reliant on grants and donations to keep sites open for everyone to enjoy."

Natalie Butler, director of Norfolk Archeological Trust which manages the site (Image: Norfolk Archeological Trust)

A view over the Caistor Roman Town, Venta Icenorum (Image: Denise Bradley/Newsquest)

But the change has caused a stir in the community, with some worried about its impact on the narrow roads nearby such as Wash Lane, Caistor Lane and Boudicca Way which may be used to park on to avoid the charge.

One local, commenting on Facebook, said using roads in the area will become a "nightmare".

Another said: "I am really worried about High Ash Farm as I think people will park on the grass there."

Locals are concerned that narrow roads nearby will be used to park on to avoid the new charge (Image: Google Maps)

Others support the new scheme though, saying: "If parking charges protect the site, reduce the crime rate and reduce the senseless harm being caused to the grazing animals then I am happy to pay."

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The Roman town was closed entirely to visitors last year following several incidents of dog-fouling and sheep-worrying. 

A parking machine similar to this one has been installed at Caistor Roman Town car park (Image: Newsquest)

As the new rules take effect, Natalie defended the trust's decision to implement them.

She said: "I think what's really important to get across is this has only happened as a way to fundraise for our charity. 

"We have lost a lot of our funding and this was very much a last resort to keep the site open for people to enjoy."