RESIDENTS fear school pupils will be put at risk by a council decision not to bring in parking restrictions in their street – despite three-quarters voting in favour of it.

Herbert Road residents are worried the parking free-for-all in their street will increase after they were removed from a proposed new parking zone.

They said they have become a victim of a decision based on political boundaries rather than the reality on the ground and will take their concerns to the council’s environment, transport and sustainability committee today.

Councillors have said the new parking restrictions will be closely monitored when introduced next spring and adjustments could be made at a later date.

Three quarters of residents in Herbert Road, Brighton, voted in favour of including their street in the Fiveways and Surrenden controlled parking zone this summer.

However, surrounding streets in the Withdean ward voted against bringing in the restrictions and so Herbert Road was excluded from the scheme.

Resident Hayley Lee said Herbert Road was distinctively different from the other Withdean streets, many of which had the luxury of houses with drives, and were more alike the surrounding streets which had been included in the new zone.

She said the introduction of the new parking zone in surrounding roads would make an already chaotic parking situation in their street even worse and far more dangerous for children and teenagers.

Mrs Lee said the road was the primary route for many children and parents walking to nearby nurseries such as St Mary’s in Surrenden Road, Growing Up Green in Preston Drove, Balfour Primary School as well as Dorothy Stringer and Varndean secondary schools and higher education colleges.

She said users of the Park View pub, St Mary's Church and Preston Park regularly parked in Herbert Road and would do so in greater numbers when the new parking restrictions were brought in.

Councillor Gill Mitchell, chairwoman of the environment, transport and sustainability committee, said: “Herbert Road was an exception to the overall response in Withdean but it is not practical to have one road in a parking scheme when surrounding roads are not included.

“The Fiveways parking scheme is due to be introduced next spring and the impact on surrounding areas will be monitored closely.

“If difficulties arise in surrounding roads, and residents from a number of adjoining streets submit a petition, the matter could be referred back to a future meeting of the committee to see if there is scope for extending the Fiveways scheme or creating a new scheme.”