Almost 300 fines have been dished out to motorists for parking offences on a busy road near Nottingham Forest's City Ground. A new permit scheme has been proposed as a result of parking concerns and the scale of the problem has now been revealed.
Nottinghamshire Live asked Nottinghamshire County Council just how many fines had been given to motorists for parking in prohibited areas of Radcliffe Road over the last year. The council was asked for the numbers with talks having started over introducing a new permit scheme in Fox Road, that runs behind Trent Bridge Cricket Ground towards the City Ground, and Radcliffe Road in West Bridgford.
Plans to extend the Peter Taylor Stand, which would increase the stadium capacity to 35,000, have now been approved and, along with proposals for a new 13-storey apartment block nearby, concerns were raised over the parking problems becoming more prevalent. The scheme could come into force because the parking ratio is well below what is normally accepted by the council, and councillors say the idea is to "stop future residents of the residential block parking on any adjoining street".
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According to the council, between August 1 last year and August 1 this year a total of 295 fines were issued. Gareth Johnson, traffic manager at the county council, said: "This was a mixture of vehicle users parking on the bus stop, the pedestrian crossing, overstaying the parking time limit or parking illegally during the scheduled rush hour time."
Some shops on Radcliffe Road raised concerns over the proposed permit scheme's potential impact. Sinan Catik, who works in the The Blue Convenience Store, said: "I see lots of times between 4pm-6pm, when you cannot park here or stop here, I see lots of people getting fines. Maybe six to ten. It is not good getting a fine for five to 10 minutes, even some of my customers do."
Similar concerns were raised by a councillor. However the county council has now confirmed it is unlikely the scheme will be enforced in areas fronting businesses. "We can confirm that whilst there may be some changes on Radcliffe Road to existing parking restrictions as a result of the Nottingham Forest development, it is unlikely we will be seeking to introduce a residents parking scheme in the areas fronting existing businesses," Mr Johnson added.
Economic estimates suggest the City Ground redevelopment could pump £804 million into the city by 2034, as well as creating 360 full-time jobs. Demolition work on the Peter Taylor Stand is set to start next summer, with the intention to complete the rebuilding by the end of the 2023/24 season.
The plans will see the first major work on the stadium since 1994, prior to the City Ground being a host venue for Euro 96. In 1968, the Main Stand, as it was traditionally called before being renamed the Peter Taylor Stand in October 2015, was damaged by a fire which broke out during a First Division match against Leeds United.
This prompted the redevelopment of the stand and the club are now set to embark on another rebuild, with plans to erect a world class structure with a capacity of at least 10,000. When the plans were first put forward, it was reported that further work to the Bridgford Stand could potentially add more seats.
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