THE council has decided to removal parking charges from a country park.

Plans to introduce a flat £1 parking charge at Wat Tyler Country Park were revoked by Basildon Council's Leisure, Culture and Environment Committee.

The fixed charge will no longer be introduced, with free parking set to remain in place for visitors from opening until close of the park each day.

Craig Rimmer, vice-chairman of the leisure, culture and environment committee, said: “Wat Tyler Country Park is a fantastic educational facility which promotes health and wellbeing, and we are committed to doing all we can to encourage residents to visit. We should all feel very proud to have such a beautiful open space in the borough which is so rich with wildlife.

“The park is used by bird watchers and dog walkers throughout the week. It is a source of environmental tourism and we don’t believe that people should have to pay to access this.”

Proposals for visitor pay and display parking between 8am and 6pm seven days a week were approved by the former Policy and Resources Committee in January and at a full council meeting in February.

Wat Tyler Country Park offers visitors 125 acres of country walks, wildlife spotting, adventure play zones for children and spectacular views over the Thames, as well as being an official Site of Special Scientific Interest.