A council has been slammed by a couple after it fenced off a roadside verge where they had been parking for nearly four decades. The couple, Tracey and James Woodbine run a successful glamping business and have lived at the family home for 46 years, three miles from the nearest village of Llangernyw.
Their business, Woody’s Glamping, has been up and running for seven years, and they said they had always parked on a verge just off the country lane between Betws-yn-Rhos and Llangernyw. But, saying it was trying to protect visibility on the road's bend after complaints about the number of vehicles parking there, Conwy Council has fenced off the land, preventing the couple from leaving their car there any longer.
The couple claimed the council had agreed to hold off fencing the area until their planning application for a new parking area on their own land was accepted and the work done. You can get more local news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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But the council has already completed the work, despite planning permission for the new car parking area only being agreed this month. Tracey said her 80-year-old mother, who also lives at the family home, now struggled to walk 100 metres from where she was forced to park.
James, too, has recently endured heart surgery. “The council has put wooden fencing around an area across the road from our home where my mother has parked for over 35 years,” said Tracey.
“My mother is 80, disabled, and holds a blue badge. My husband has just had a heart operation, and both need to park near the house. We are out in the sticks. We have lived here for 46 years. We have parked in the same space for pretty much most of this time. There have been no reported accidents on this part of the lane in the past 22 years. The reporting only goes back this far.”
The family claimed the council also attempted to paint double yellow lines on the stretch of road two years ago without giving the required notice. “It started in lockdown when the council contracted with a local company to put double yellow lines around our home and the other side of the lane,” said Tracey.
“The council did not adhere to the correct protocol to enable them to proceed with their plan. We had no knowledge of this action. It was only my mother who saw the lorry that enabled us to stop it that day. No yellow planning notice had been served. The council could not prove they had pinned a yellow notice to the designated area. We had a level two complaint upheld. All went quiet.”
She added: “The council is not working to their standards and rules. They are wasting public money. We would love to know how much money has been wasted on this issue. None of this makes sense.”
A spokeswoman for Conwy County Council commented: “We have installed fencing on council-owned land by a sharp bend in the road, to ensure forward visibility for drivers. The land was purchased some time ago by the council from a local farmer for this specific purpose. A local business has been using the land as designated parking for visitors, to the extent of marking out and naming spaces.
“We received complaints that the number of cars parked here was compromising road safety. Therefore we have acted to make sure the land is reserved for the intended purpose of providing visibility. It is part of the highway and not a designated parking area. As a highways authority, we do not need permission to install fencing within the highway boundary.”
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