Residents have said "they have been let down" by a council after parking in their neighbourhood became "increasingly dangerous", especially for children.

People in Hollingdean have said cars are often parked on double yellow lines and grass verges, blocking visibility and causing buses to get stuck. 

Resident-led group The Friends of Hollingdean has started a campaign calling for Brighton and Hove City Council to change its mind after it axed a proposed scheme earlier this month.

A majority of residents initially backed the idea of a parking scheme in the neighbourhood. However, a subsequent consultation by the council saw 60 per cent reject specific proposals for a seven-day-a-week scheme.

The Friends of Hollingdean also points out that areas in the south of Hollingdean, where there are greater levels of through traffic, parking displacement and air pollution, continue to back a parking scheme for the area.

The Argus: Residents in Hollingdean are calling for the council to reconsider plans for a parking scheme in

A resident of Horton Road said: “The current way people are parking especially up Davey Drive and Horton Road where I live is very dangerous.

“I have two young children and I worry when they need to cross the street as there is no visibility for them to see cars or for cars to see them.

“People get annoyed and aggressive with having to only go one by one.

“Sometimes buses or bigger trucks get stuck - it’s chaotic.”

Another said: "We have really been let down as a community from many sides of Brighton and Hove City Council, but it feels like an uphill battle that I don’t have the energy to fight! That’s what councillors are there for".

Campaigners are calling for the council to reconsider a parking scheme for southern Hollingdean, with residents encouraged to sign a petition to show their support to councillors.

The Friends of Hollingdean claim that more than 130 residents have signed the petition so far via their website.

Consultation results presented to councillors at a meeting of the transport and sustainability committee earlier this month highlighted that dozens of residents who responded signalled that they wanted a light-touch scheme or expressed concern about the cost of such a scheme during the cost-of-living crisis.

Labour councillor for Hollingdean and Fiveways Theresa Fowler told the committee that, while the lower end of Hollingdean has issues with car swapping and parking, some residents had “changed their mind” on the proposal as “it was a full scheme and they would rather have had a light touch”.

She said: “People were concerned that, in a cost of living crisis, it is an extra payment which they couldn’t afford.

“Residents need to bring deputations to the transport and sustainability committee to ask for it [the parking scheme proposal] to be brought forward again for a light touch.”

Councillor Trevor Muten, chairman of the council's transport and sustainability committee, said: "A public consultation took place between April and June 2023 on options for a resident parking scheme in Hollingdean.

"The results of the consultation were presented to the transport and sustainability committee on October 3.

"The results showed that 60% of respondents were not in favour of a residents’ parking scheme and it was agreed by committee not to proceed. 

"We understand that not everyone was in favour of this outcome. Our decision is made on the majority respondents within this public consultation process. 

"Council officers analysed the results of the public consultation as applied to the whole area."