New double yellow lines will be installed in a street where homes and driveways have been blocked by 'obstructive' parking 'for years' - but residents without driveways have been left wondering where they will be able to park.
Nottinghamshire County Council plans to introduce the new measures on King's Mill Lane, Sutton in Ashfield, in an effort to stop drivers obstructively parking on the road and blocking driveways.
The double yellow lines will be installed along the lane and at the junctions of Millersdale Avenue, Featherstone Close and Randol Close. The county council will also change existing parking bays on King’s Mill Lane to restricted parking from Monday to Saturday between 8am and 6pm.
Residents in the lane explained they have been having issues for years with people parking outside their homes, and then going to the hospital, King's Mill Reservoir, the nearby Morrisons or even the Costa which has been built alongside the lane off Sutton Road - despite it having its own car park.
Philip Parsons, 75, who is retired and has lived on the lane for more than 20 years and he and other neighbours have all sent letters complaining about parking. He said: "Yeah it's obviously difficult for us as we haven't got a driveway."
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"All the time there is about 14 or 15 cars that come and park down here. They don't want to pay for parking so anyone who wants one or two hours will park here."
Philip is concerned over the yellow lines as if members of his household can't park on the road, it leaves them with limited options, especially if they have visitors.
He explained: "I'm thinking about ripping this hedge off and putting something here so we can park. If we have someone come to visit us over a weekend we have no parking, so they have no parking, so for anyone who comes that is going to be difficult.
"All they have to do is give us permits and we would be happy, and if we get visitor permits that would solve it all."
However, the county council said the area is unlikely to be considered for a residents parking scheme, as the majority of properties on King’s Mill Lane have off-street parking.
When asked about parking on the other side of the lane, healthcare worker, Ruth Norman, 54, said: "I've just given up now as we just get so much verbal abuse. They park on both sides of the road and make it difficult for people with pushchairs or wheelchairs.
"We challenge them and say it's a private road." Ruth explained that as the top part of King's Mill Lane is private they could pay to have fences put up, but they would need to pay for the cost and maintenance of this "out of our own pockets."
Ruth continued: "It's always been an issue, it was an issue a lot with the student nurses at the hospital before. A lot cars come down here thinking they can turn here into Costa, and then can't be bothered to turn onto the main road and go in the proper way.
"Because they are going to Costa the people park here and then they just jump over the fence." She added that she has even seen people with pushchairs "lifting them over" the fence instead of walking around.
When asked about double yellow lines for the lane, someone who lives who did not wish to be named said: "They do need those as it's not fair on the residents here. Morrisons gets busy and people park down here or decide to go and have a walk. They park here because they can, and I wouldn't like it if I lived here."
Retired, Martin Barker, 61, has also been experiencing issues with people parking on the road, which often makes it difficult for him to exit and pull onto his own drive.
He said: "I think they will only have the yellow lines up to that lamppost and then that way (gesturing away from Sutton Road) which I'm not sure I do want as then everyone will park on our little bit of the lane. Costa has made it much worse, it's really annoying that people park on our lane to go to Costa when there is a car park there."
Marin explained the parking problems are ongoing "throughout the day." He and his wife have previously had "some really bad abuse" from people parking on the lane when they have asked them to move.
Speaking of the double yellow lines, he said: "If they do put it here, does it mean that people can come to visit us if they can't park on the road. Nobody has mentioned parking permits as far as I'm aware.
"It is worse for people down there as they haven't all got a drive, and so can only park on the road." Although the parking issues have caused him a lot of problems, Martin explained he has "never complained about it as sometimes I park on someone's street if I go out somewhere."
Councillor Neil Clarke, cabinet member for transport and environment at Nottinghamshire County Council, has previously said: “Our public consultation showed that there was strong support for the parking restrictions around the junctions of Millersdale Avenue, Featherstone Close and Randol Close but that some residents were concerned about the loss of off-street parking bays. The majority of properties on King’s Mill Lane have off-street parking and so the area is unlikely to be considered for a residents parking scheme, however in response to this concern, we have reduced the length of time that the parking bay restrictions will be in place to make sure that there is parking provision should any residents need to use this.
“There are a number of garages which require access and so we will fund an advisory H bar marking to highlight that access should be maintained for these garages. Overall this is a positive for local people who have been affected by obstructive parking in recent months.
"We ask that motorists always consider how their parking will affect other road users, including emergency vehicles who may not be able to attend an emergency if parking causes an obstruction. When parking, it is important to do so in a way that does not inconvenience and endanger others.”
A Costa Coffee spokesperson said: “We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by cars parking in the area around our Sutton Road store. We invite customers to use our car park directly next to the store when they next visit for their favourite Costa coffee.”
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