Halifax residents call on councillors to end their parking nightmare

Parking on Sandbeds Road, Pellon, Halifax, is restricted to the road which is just the width of one car, meaning every time someone wants to move their car the whole street must let them in or out.

Coun James Baker (Lib Dem, Warley) says the situation is now affecting relationships between neighbours, with tempers flaring and some residents seeing their cars attacked by someone pushed over the edge by the situation.

Resident Brandon Sands says every day is a nightmare.

“We are struggling to get in and out of our own street and to get to work.

“Having to take each other up early in the morning if we are blocked in.

“Now residents have had their tyres let down and cars have been scratched – we just want a resolution in place to make the parking easier,” he said.

Coun Baker argues that a “solution to the problem is within easy reach.”

He says there is ample space to convert some of the large grass verge into a few parking bays for residents, but requests for the council to do this are falling on deaf ears.

Coun Baker added: “We have raised this issue using the council’s minor traffic works request scheme.

“But we just get told there is ‘no money’.

“Yet we have just learnt neighbouring Park Ward is to get £1 millionspent to promote ‘active travel’.

“Across the borough large amounts of money seem to get spent on trendy schemes while requests from the people the council is meant to serve get ignored,” said Coun Baker.

The council’ Cabinet member for Regeneration and Strategy, Coun Jane Scullion (Lab, Luddenden Foot) said the council was aware there were issues at Sandbeds Road.

“We’re aware that the narrow width of parts of Sandbeds Road in Pellon is causing some parking issues for residents.

“Similar problems exist at a number of locations in the borough, particularly outside older properties which weren’t designed to accommodate today’s vehicle ownership.

“The request for either a residents parking zone or the removal of the grass verge on Sandbeds Road will be considered alongside other requests, as part of our minor traffic and parking improvement scheme in the next financial year – the programme of works has already been agreed for 2020-21.

“We receive a large number of requests for improvement works each year and it’s important that we make the most of the funding available.

“Requests are therefore prioritised, focusing on areas where there have been reportable accidents resulting in injury within the last five years,” she said.

And responding to Coun Baker’s comments about the Park ward scheme, Coun Scullion said: “As our funding is limited, we take every opportunity to apply for additional ring-fenced grants to support specific infrastructure improvements in the borough.

“This is the case with our work in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to improve walking and cycling facilities and boost access to public transport in Park ward and North Halifax.

“We’re hopeful this project will receive funding from the Leeds City Region Transforming Cities Fund.”