Bid to rid town of 'obstructive' parking

Parking control in Beaconsfield could be switched from the police to the district council as early as next year to put paid to "obstructive parking".

South Bucks District Council is looking at introducing a Special Parking Area (SPA) in the new year, with the council taking control of parking from the police.

This comes as traders in Beaconsfield fear commuters parking their cars there for free is losing them thousands of pounds every year.

A consultant's report, a joint study with Buckinghamshire County Council, was commissioned in summer 2006 after other areas of the county adopted the scheme to tighten up on illegal parking.

The problem of nuisance parking in Beaconsfield's Old Town was raised at the Beaconsfield Society's annual meeting earlier this month.

The society is campaigning for the introduction of controlled parking in the town.

Dermot Cox, vice president of the Beaconsfield Society, described the all day parking as "unattractive and obstructive".

He said: "Really I think the time has come to put pressure on the issue. In Beaconsfield Old Town, the pavements are for parking, not pedestrians. Parked cars cause obstruction and are transparently dangerous. Yet none of the various authorities seems to regard this as serious enough to take any action."

Not all residents were in favour of the plans. Andre De Marsac, chairman of Beaconsfield Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) who led a parking crackdown in association with the police in September, said: "If you look at the experience of other areas with these special parking areas, it makes it unfriendly for the local population, but it may be a money spinner for the local authority.

"There has been inadequate planning over the years as to the parking in Beaconsfield, which has been built with complete lack of thought to the infrastructure of the town. We're talking about outside firms coming in to monitor the parking and to issue tickets to known residents of the town, who may have difficulty walking through disability or age. There's no compassion and no leeway given. They're trying to put the problem with somebody else and make the community pay for it."

"I am a resident and a retailer of Beaconsfield, and both as a resident and retailer, I think with thought and application any problems with parking can be eradicated very simply."

SPAs are already in place in High Wycombe and will be extended to Marlow next year.

Bucks free press, Thursday 29th November 2007