Delivery lorries have again hammered a shop’s blinds in Rye’s narrow Lion Street to the despair of the Golden Fleece’s shopkeeper, John Fassum – and a few days later a nearby shop sign was damaged, though the driver in the second incident denied his lorry had hit it , the town’s Planning Committee was told last week by local resident Nick Taylor.
His picture (above) of a previous incident shows how delivery lorries parked in this narrow one way street force other vehicles leaving Rye’s historic hilltop citadel to mount the pavement in order to squeeze past, often with resultant damage to shop fronts and signs and threatening the lives of both pedestrians and those who live in the street as they step out of their front doors.
It was hoped that the problem would be solved with the creation of a loading bay outside the George hotel, but this is often blocked or misused – and the issue is not a priority for the police unless there is a clear risk to people’s lives and limbs as parking is now only a civil offence, and not a criminal one.
The most frequent deliveries seem to be to the George, but appeals to the hotel and firms delivering have apparently generally gone unanswered. Further appeals to the George were suggested by one councillor and another suggested the use of closed circuit television (CCTV) to identify culprits – and this is being investigated.
A report from a consultant is awaited on other possible measures with their costs (which should be discussed at next Monday’s council meeting) , but a site meeting with the highways authority, East Sussex County Council (ESCC), was unhelpful as the council faces continuing cuts in government funding and the historic street and pavements may limit what is possible.
However the introduction of parking controls, along with traffic wardens, may help, and is being taken forward by ESCC the full Town Council meeting was told last week – but, if agreed, could take two years to implement.
Many historic cities, towns and villages in Britain, Europe and around the world have pedestrianised all or part of their historic streets, with deliveries made on trollies within the pedestrian area – or by lorries at night-time or other specific periods. Indeed some deliveries to the George from vans blocking Lion Street have been made using trollies and could equally well have been used from the High Street loading bay created for this purpose.
Locally Ashford, Hastings and Eastbourne are all examples of partial pedestrianisation with controls on deliveries at certain times.
The recent damage to the Golden Fleece’s shop blinds could cost around £800 to repair and the blinds were only recently refitted in June. Both residents and shopkeepers in Lion Street are concerned about vehicle damage to both their properties and the pavement, which can become unsafe to walk on.
The council had been told by the police that the use of the loading bay would be enforced, but police priorities changed – again because of cuts in government funding and changes in the law – and other possible ways of enforcing use of the loading bay were rejected by the Chief Constable.
Currently the police will only take action against dangerous parking if there is a threat to public safety, and if there is an officer available – and the number of police support officers (PCSOs) has also been drastically cut.
Photo: Nick Taylor
Image Credits: Nick Taylor .