With the introduction of pay-and-display parking controls inching ever closer in an attempt to manage Rye’s parking, Rye News thought it timely to look at the planned changes in detail – from the location of the parking meters to the introduction to new disabled and loading bays.
It is expected that there will be 16 parking meters dotted around the town. There will be four along the High Street and one each on Hilders Cliff, East Street and Market Street. These will serve the inner core of the Citadel with additional machines on Market Road, Wish Ward, Strand, Cyprus Place, Tower Street, Landgate, Rope Walk and the final two on Cinque Ports Street.
What is not clear from the map is whether the machines will be up against the wall of a building (see picture) or out in the pavement and next to the kerb (see main picture). In a number of locations, such as along the High Street, the pavements are already very narrow so locating a machine there is likely to restrict pedestrian movement even more.
If you look carefully, the map of the proposed parking bays also reveals subtle changes. These include the introduction of two disabled bays for Blue Badge holders – they will be located at either end of the High Street at the bottom of East and West Streets. The loading bay outside the George on the High Street will be joined by two further loading bays at either end of Cinque Ports Street – one will be outside Sweet Williams and the other outside Cinque Ports Antiques.
In addition, a number of roads that currently have double yellow lines will be designated for pay-and-display parking. These include the spaces outside the Rye Club on Market Road and additional new pay-and-display parking spaces in Cyprus Place and along Wish Ward.
You can download a detailed map of the locations of each pay-and-display machine here.
As part of the FAQs on the introduction of Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE), East Sussex County Council (ESCC) has confirmed that NSL is the appointed contractor that will manage the scheme across Rye and Rother. NSL currently oversees dozens of parking schemes across the UK including those in Eastbourne, Lewes and Hastings on behalf of ESCC.
ESCC has confirmed that the pay-and-display machines will accept cash payments as well as credit and debit cards. Payment can also be made online, by text or by using the app RingGo – though it’s worth bearing in mind that payments using RingGo carry an additional processing charge of 20p.
For those people living in the current permit-only zone along Watchbell Street and around Church Square, ESCC has said that the annual charge for a parking permit will remain at £25 (for now) and you can get a second parking permit for an additional £75. In addition, daily parking permits can be purchased by residents of the permit-only area to allow visitors to park. Residents can apply for up to 100 visitor vouchers a year at a cost of 50p per voucher while housebound residents can apply for up to 150 visitor vouchers per year at a discounted cost of 25p per voucher.
ESCC plans to introduce CPE at some point in 2020, subject to approval granted by the Department for Transport. They have confirmed that the Civil Enforcement Officers (more commonly known as traffic wardens) will work throughout the day, when the majority of parking restrictions apply, as well as in the mornings and evenings to tackle people parking on double yellow lines and those parking on pavements.
Image Credits: Kevin McCarthy .
£25 a year for a permit! How lovely for the residents of Church Square & Watchbell Street!
Can the same ‘courtesy’ not be given to other residents in Rye? Cyprus Place? Cinque Ports Street?
Looking at the plan I see many roads will be free to park between 6pm and 8am which at least allows residents to park overnight, but it doesn’t alleviate problems for those who live and work in Rye, and also the retired and elderly and don’t use their cars every day.
If parking on most of the roads in the town is now going to be metered, our best, and cheapest bet will be the central market car park at £2.50 a day (not available on Thursdays) amounting to some £500 plus a year!
I’m sure many Rye residents would be happy to pay AT LEAST £25 a year for some kind of resident’s permit to enable them to park near their homes, not necessarily in ‘permit only’ bays, just something that excludes, or discounts the parking meter cost.
Welcome to the thin edge of the wedge; the price of parking starting cheaply and steadily becoming more expensive. Have a look at the cost of ‘controlled street parking’ in central London, the cars are still there, but the local council rakes in millions of pounds, along with the operators. Charging for parking in one area loads the adjoining ‘free to park’ area. The outcome is that to control the parking in that ‘free area’ the authorities introduce more ‘Pay to park’ and the knock on effect mushrooms until the entire area charges for parking. Basically, if all the allotted parking spaces are full, the driver has no choice to park else-ware, and walk! Gibbet Marsh is probably one of Rye’s best kept secrete public car parks, but it has an expensive hourly parking charge, compared with the ‘Free Parking’ in Mason Road, Udimore Road etc. So to make Gibert Marsh pay do you introduce ‘Pay to Park’ in these roads. Rye has a old world charm, let us not destroy it! One way to control parking in Rye is to introduce clearly marked out ‘Tow away Zones’. The word will quickly get out and illegal parking will drop dramatically.
In tourist areas of Brighton a residents permit costs up to £130 per year and residents have to confirm that: they are over 17; that their property doesn’t have off-street parking and that the property is not a holiday home.
Car parking in tourist areas is more like £5 per hour, not £2.50 per day and, because of its size, walking distances from car parks to destinations are probably greater than from Gibbets Marsh to Rye Town Hall.
We are so lucky to live in Rye! Let’s be thankful.
Not being cynical, but I can see early morning parking at tilling green estate,kings Avenue, tillingham Avenue, and the already hugely congested military road, being the first port of call,for many out of town motorists,which will only cause anger and frustration to many residents,with the money the council are going to make, from on street parking, they should reduce their carpark charges, because I can see mayhem ahead.