Residents want parking schemes – council is delivering

Progress is being made improving the parking situation in three more areas of Brighton & Hove following lobbying by residents.

Near Hove Park a detailed consultation will take place by next spring on proposals to introduce a light touch parking scheme operating Monday to Friday for limited hours, yet to be finalised. It will cover an area where earlier consultation revealed 62 per cent of respondents wanted such a scheme.

In West Hove a light touch scheme is more advanced. Traffic orders were advertised in August detailing where precisely restrictions would appear in the street. Having taken on board public comments the council intends to start implementing the scheme on March 1 2018, subject to weather conditions which could affect the lining programme.Restrictions will operate all week, from 11am-noon and 6-7pm.

In Zone U near Brighton’s Queen’s Park, the council is addressing an east-west divide in opinion about the hours the existing light touch scheme operates. Based on a previous consultation the west side is to be asked if they would like to join the neighbouring Zone S. This is the light touch part of the Hanover and Elm Grove scheme going live this month. The east side is to be asked if they want to join a neighbouring full scheme in Zone I. Consultation letters are expected to go out in early 2018.

The council has also set out its parking scheme priorities for the 2018/19 financial year and beyond. Residents will be consulted on possible zones for south Portslade, plus the Surrenden Road area of Brighton. The council is also to  review the matchday parking scheme operating near the Amex stadium, where some residents are concerned about its effectiveness.

The Hanover and Elm Grove parking schemes will be reviewed after 12 months of operation to check it is meeting the requirements of residents, services and businesses.

Two reports updating progress on the city’s parking schemes went to the council’s environment, transport and sustainability committee on 10 October 2017.

Its chair Cllr Gill Mitchell said: “We only put in schemes where people want them.  Clearly lots of people want them and most like them once installed. They’re generally making life easier for residents and making neighbourhoods more safe and pleasant.”

West Hove is among parking schemes in the pipeline following residents' requests