Parking and Traffic Issues in Breadsall

I am well aware that some residents in Breadsall are concerned about on-street parking and obstructive parking. With that in mind I thought it might be helpful to outline some of the issues around restricting parking.

Whilst the Council understands that residents look to it for help, sadly it has no powers in matters of this type.

The only way that parking can be prevented is by the installation of yellow line parking restrictions which have to be backed up by legislation for a Traffic Regulation Order which is a lengthy and expensive process.

Without going into massive detail Derbyshire County Council (DCC) has a ranking system for these and will only consider the implementation of yellow lines as below:

  •  At junctions with a proven collision history
  •  To keep major routes clear where obstruction occurs all day, every day
  •  Where commerce and industry are seriously inconvenienced by the presence of parked vehicles
  •  Where the installation of TROs is essential to provide the maximum benefit from a capital investment

DCC does not consider that any of the above apply to the issues that have been reported at Breadsall.

In terms of obstruction of driveways, DCC has no powers to introduce restrictions to protect private accesses or to assist visibility from a private off road parking place.

Where obstruction is concerned the Police have the powers to take action against offenders and the Civil Enforcement Officers can enforce the offence of parking a vehicle in front of dropped kerbs at vehicle accesses.

Therefore the onus is on householders to report obstruction to the Police, which can be done by calling 101 and if possible supplying times so that officers can attend at appropriate times as and when resources permit.

To report civil parking offences to the Civil Enforcement officers you should call 01629 533190 and ask to be put through to the Civil Parking Enforcement Team which can deploy an officer if there is one in the area. Further information on this can be found on this link:

www.parksmarter.org.uk/dropped-kerbs/dropped-kerbs.aspx

Residents may have been considering the use of parking cones to block off unwanted parking. However, you do need to be aware that putting things like cones or wheelie bins on the street to block out space without permission is an offence under the Highways Act, and anyone caught could be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice. This would be enforced by the County Council should a complaint be made - you would certainly be asked to remove the cones regardless of whether or not a penalty was issued.

Specifically with regard to customer parking at the Damsons coffee shop the Parish Council has encouraged Damsons to promote considerate parking and the use of the Memorial Hall and Old Hall car parks, and I know that the owners of Damsons do their best to get their customers to park appropriately.

Liz Holgate
Clerk to Breadsall Parish Council