600 fined but drivers say they have no choice but to park on grass verges

Those living in Brighton and Hove told The Argus they have no choice but to use them because there is nowhere else to park.

Others have taken matters into their own hands to stop their neighbours doing it, slapping notes on windscreens and putting wooden stakes in the ground.

It comes after councillors said they wanted to see a crack-down rolled out across the city where wardens would issue tickets to offenders.

The scheme currently only operates in four areas in the city but Hangleton and Knoll councillor Dawn Barnett said it is needed city-wide as grass verges deteriorate.

Caroline Powell is a single mother living in Wickhurst Road, Portslade - one of the roads that faced a crack-down - and just one of many who say they have to park on the grass.

The 32-year-old said: "With three children, I like to park close to the house.

"I work nights and get back late, and sometimes have nowhere to park. Being a single parent I can't just go and get the car from miles away."

Others, who did not wish to be named, said there was "literally nowhere else to park" and the problem keeps getting worse because there "are more cars than ever".

However, some have criticised their neighbours and described the verges in their streets as looking like the "Battle of The Somme".

Bryan Richardson of Mayfield Crescent, Brighton, said he puts stickers on windscreens as a deterrent.

Wendy Morrison, of Graham Avenue, Patcham, said she did the same - but also confronted drivers.

The 57-year-old said: "I don't think people understand how badly people feel about it."

The council's environment, transport and sustainability committee will discuss the issue on Tuesday.

A council spokesman said there was no official policy, adding if a request was made to start ticketing an area "resources for taking this forward would have to be identified and approved by the committee".

Cllr Barnett said: “We have got to get our lovely green grass verges back and restore some pride in our city.

“At the moment the state of the grass verges really does bring the whole city down.”

Traffic wardens currently issue tickets in targeted areas for motorists parking with one or more wheels on any part of an urban road other than a carriageway at a rate of around five a week and raising almost £30,000 in revenue.

CARS PARKING ON THE GRASS HAVE TURNED A QUIET CITY SUBURB INTO ‘THE SOMME’

LET’S not be dramatic but it’s hard to avoid the war analogies.

The suburbs of Brighton and Hove are not quite the green and pleasant land city-centre dwellers might imagine.

I saw it for myself when I hit the roads earlier this week to see how suburban streets with grass verges were faring.

In Hangleton, the verges of several streets could have been driven over by a division of Panzer tanks.

In the roads off Braybon Avenue, Brighton, subject of a council crackdown on verge parking, it is a mud bath.

Bryan Richardson of Mayfield Crescent, Brighton, said his verge resembles the Somme.

The 78-year-old plans to renovate and re-sow his verge in the coming weeks.

Drawing imagery from the infamous First World War battlefield, he said: “If you were to look at my verge it looks like the Battle of The Somme.

“It pulls the whole neighbourhood down quite honestly.”

Having moved to the road in 1967, he said: “You wouldn’t recognise it. There were hardly any cars and lots of shops – a different place altogether.

“It just spoils everything – and they are not just small cars, they are great big ones.

“What I do now is stick a note on their car and they do take notice.”

Like Mr Richardson, Wendy Morrison, has ended up sticking notes on cars.

The 57-year-old has lived in Graham Avenue, Patcham, for 16 years.

She said: “It was really annoying having to put the note on there and I felt a bit silly.

“After I spoke to the chap I noticed he hasn’t parked badly since so it may have resonated with him.

“I don’t think people understand how badly people feel about it.

“It’s not everybody – it’s just those with a certain mentality.

“You just wonder what you can do that’s not antisocial.

“It’s difficult to know how to counteract it but it really is very, very, very annoying.

“It’s a shame because it has changed the landscape of the street.”

Others have also taken matters into their own hands, by putting wooden stakes into the grass to stop people parking there.

Meanwhile, some of their neighbours insist there is nowhere else for them to park and have no choice but to use the verges.

Howard Shingfield, 71, went to the extreme of putting paving slabs down to avoid chewing up the grass.

Living in Vale Avenue, Brighton, the former council gardens worker laid paving slabs where his verge used to get chewed up.

He said: “It was quite easy to do – and it’s better than that [points at muddy verge].

“There was a time when the council used to go around repairing verges and re-seeding them.

“Now, if people are minded to do something, they should. There are more people mowing their verges now.”

Mr Shingfield sought permission from the council to do the work and said anyone who does anything similar is then liable for their work.

During The Argus’s drive-by, the worst spot was Vale Avenue in Patcham, where, even after the morning rush hour, there were 16 vehicles parked with at least one wheel on the verge.

Jim Johnston, 70, who has been living in Vale Avenue for 40 years, said: “You do get a lot of traffic down here because it’s a rat run but there’s no need for [parking on the verge] if you tuck your wing mirrors in.

“I have asked before to try to keep my verge looking nice and they say ‘sorry mate’ and you never see them again. I try to keep myself to myself.”

Elsewhere in Patcham, Warmdene Road and Craignair Avenue had three cars on the verge.

Fairview Rise in Westdene had two cars on the verge, though there were marks on a wider area.

Hangleton, the area represented by councillor Dawn Barnett, who last raised the issue, is afflicted with the problem quite badly.

In Hangleton Close, six vehicles were on the verge.

Michael and Patricia Nixon, both 71, have lived there for almost 50 years.

Mrs Nixon said: “You have to accept that there are more cars now so it will never be the same. It used to be lovely. Grass verges are lovely but nowadays they are not practical.

“Some places have put in Tarmac so that might be an idea.

“Cars parked on both sides would cause problems if ambulances and fire engines had to get down here.”

Neighbouring Dale View Gardens, which overlooks Hove Park School, is also badly affected.

Resident John Webb said the problem was partly down to the roads being narrow and most households having two cars.

He added: “It can’t be self-policed and I just don’t think the council can do anything about it.”

Another councillor who is trying to address the issue is Lee Wares.

The Conservative representative for Patcham has highlighted a growing bog in Carden Avenue, Brighton, where vehicles mount the verge to pop into Sainsbury’s or Uncle Sam’s.

On his Facebook page he posted pictures of the problem with the aim of airing it with senior figures.

As far as prevention goes, he said: “Firstly, if people actually put things on the verge they take on the liability of things being there.

“But if residents feel that’s the only way they can protect the verge outside their house I can understand why they would do that.

“People who have to park somewhere but do they have to park on the verge?”

On ticketing those who do park on the grass, Cllr Barnett added: “You could pay a man’s wages for all the tickets you could issue and still have a lot more besides.”

PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR ENFORCEMENT ACTION

VERGE parking has been a problem as car ownership has risen.

Even as far back as the late 1980s, residents have been putting posts in the ground, rocks on their verge or even modifying the area with paving slabs to address the problem.

The issue has become prevalent in suburban areas where households are likely to own more than one car and roads are narrow or act as cut-throughs on to main routes.

Brighton and Hove City Council introduced a pilot scheme in response to the dozens of complaints from residents about parking on footways and verges.

In the autumn of 2013 councillors approved plans to begin enforcement action in parts of Mile Oak and Surrenden Road, the areas identified as having some of the worst problems with parking on verges. There was clear support for the proposals in the Surrenden Road area with 60 per cent of those who responded to traffic regulation order adverts supporting the proposals.

The enforcement areas include parts of Chalky Road, Braybon Avenue, Drove Crescent, Graham Avenue, Mile Oak Road, Surrenden Crescent, Surrenden Road, Valley Road, Wickhurst Rise and Wickhurst Road and 598 penalty notices have been issued since November 2013.

Last week, councillors announced they wanted to see a crack-down on grass verge parking in selected streets rolled out across the city which would allow wardens to issue tickets to offenders.

There is no law against parking on a grass verge but the council is able to ticket people where it has put up approved signage and made a traffic regulation order.

A spokeswoman said this has to be done on a site-by-site basis and that there is no identified budget for this.