Frustrated residents have called for better management at a car boot sale amid an ongoing dispute over badly parked cars on a busy road in Bulwell. The indoor 'Bulwell Car Boot' sale is hosted on Saturdays at the St John's Family Centre, described as serving as a church, in Snape Wood Road, but some local residents have complained about the road becoming "jam-packed" with visitors arriving at the car boot sale.
The sale has been described as a "community project", and one that has received an "amazing response" from many. But others are concerned about the parking which has caused some NCT buses to have to divert on certain Saturdays when they experience disruption.
People in the area spoke of the problems and said something needed to be done to improve the congestion issues with the car boot sale. Jonathan Bridgley, 58, said: "It's happening far too often; I just think it's a bit careless thinking you can park wherever you like.
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"I don't have any issue with what they're doing at the place - it's all for a good cause and I'm fine with that. But people live on this road who need to get out and need to go here and there. Buses need to get past, too.
"I see them stuck behind badly parked cars all the time. It's inconsiderate. Maybe it needs to be hosted elsewhere or it just needs to be managed better."
Gareth Heady, 79, said: "My son lives close to it and there have been complaints. It seems that people have parked opposite the bus shelters which, to me, seems a bit out of order.
"Buses get stuck behind rows of cars. I watched the other day a bus just sitting behind some of these cars for ages and ages.
"I wouldn't really have an issue with the cars myself but they're parking near the bus shelters and blocking them from getting past. It needs to be managed better.
"I just take my walks around Bulwell every day to stay active. It certainly isn't happening everyday, but when it does it can seem a bit of an issue for people."
On Saturday just gone (January 21) instead of being held at the local church, the event was hosted at Snape Wood Community Centre, on the same road, with their own staff and car park being used to mitigate some of the issues. Mandy Makings, chairperson for the community centre, says that the roads were "rammed" whenever the car boot sale was on at the church.
The community centre does not have anything to do with the event; hosting it as a one-off on Saturday. Mandy Makings, chairperson for Snape Wood Community Centre, said: "People have been complaining about the parking.
"What it is there's a church across the road from the community centre and they hold the car boot on the Saturday. It does get really jam-packed but a lot of the community is loving it. But most of them are moaning about it because of the parking.
"Not only that but it's a struggle for the buses to get through as well. But it is being held at our community on Saturday [January 21].
"We have got our staff that are going to help as much as possible to keep the cars under control so traffic can get through and people can walk on paths and everything because the cars do park half and half on the road. We're hosting it as a one-off so we can control the parking.
"I haven't got a problem with it because at the end of the day our community centre has got a massive car park, so what happens at the community centre stays at the community centre. But what happens at the church, that's for them to deal with because the parking situation has got nothing to do with us unless it's being held at our centre, which is just for this Saturday.
"There is a lot of parking on both sides from top to bottom of the main road and it does get literally rammed. People have been complaining, we've had complaints ourselves, but I've said it's got nothing to do with us."
A spokesperson for the car boot sale has pointed to the "amazing community response" that they have received since the car boot sale began as a one-off event last year. The organiser of the event added that the issues can be worked around, if there are any.
Paul Dobson, spokesperson for the event, said: "It's a community project. The people who run it - including myself - have all got disabilities. We're all volunteers. To be honest we haven't seen a problem. We put cones out, we do marshalling.
"We've got an amazing community response. It started as a one-off car boot sale but now it's turned into a cost of living crisis market really. It's a place that people can come to for cheap food, cheap clothes, they come just for a chat, they come to keep warm. On a Friday night the children from the local community come and help set up.
"In response to coming to help set up they get free stalls. They bring their toys, they sell them and make a bit of pocket money. It's a lovely community place. There's a chap who comes every week, he's got stage four cancer, and we bought him a gazebo. We didn't think there was a problem but there obviously is. But we can work around that."
Nottingham City Transport (NCT) has issued tweets in the past about the "badly parked cars" in Snape Wood Road that have caused buses to divert.
A spokesperson for NCT said: “We are regularly experiencing short-term disruption on Saturday afternoons, where access along Snape Wood Road has been restricted by parked cars for what we believe to be an event in the area. Access along Snape Wood Road at all others times is not an issue and access for buses is assisted in the area by double yellow lines at junctions installed by Nottingham City Council several years ago.”
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