Scarce parking bays in Lewes are being unnecessarily coned off for long periods, causing annoyance and inconvenience for the town's residents. That is the view of local MP Norman Baker, who has asked the county council, responsible for on-street parking, to carry out an investigation into the rules relating to the suspension of parking spaces.
This is a controversial issue for drivers where there is high demand for parking spaces, such as Lewes, and often takes place during utility works, building works or when residents request them, for example to move house. While this is a perfectly legitimate practice, concerns have been raised about suspensions lasting too long, not being justified and the number of bays used as being excessive.
The MP has therefore called on the council to investigate monitoring the use of such suspended bays to ensure it is justified, and clarify what steps are being taken to ensure bays are not booked out unnecessarily for excessive periods.
Commenting Norman said: "While the suspension of parking bays is a legitimate activity, it is unsurprisingly a huge inconvenience for those who are struggling to find a parking space, so the county council must ensure that when suspension does take place it is necessary, and only lasts for the amount of time needed. I am not convinced that this is currently the case.
"If a bay is suspended from say 8:00am to 6:00pm, it is not acceptable for cones to still be blocking parking bays into the night. It is also not acceptable for four bays to be suspended when three could suffice. Parking in Lewes is bad enough without the unnecessary blocking of perfectly usable spaces. I have now taken this up with Rupert Clubb, the Director of Transport and Environment, and I expect him to investigate this fully."
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Contact Norman at:
Norman Baker,
23 East Street,
Lewes,
East Sussex,
BN7 2LJ.
Tel: (01273) 480281.
Fax: (01273) 480287.
Email: info
