There is nothing like an election to get issues moving that have previously been stalled.
This year we will shortly be having County Council elections and in his election address East Sussex County Council leader and local County Councillor Keith Glazier has promised to move the issue of Rye’s parking problems forward. Under the heading “Parking Solution for Rye and Villages Moves Forward”, his statement says: “Keith welcomes the recent announcement that County and Rother District Councils will work together to develop a business case for Civil Parking Enforcement in Rye and the surrounding areas. He readily recognises that, as a result of changes in policing priorities, there needs to be a solution found which satisfies the practical requirements of businesses, residents and visitors to our area.”
This is welcome news. Since the removal of a permanent police presence in the Town and the refusal of police, in any case, to control parking, the traffic situation has become progressively more chaotic. This paper has reported on a number of occasions the way in which illegal or selfish parking has restricted roads so that buses, emergency vehicles and other public utility vehicles are impeded and now, as our heading picture shows, even roads such as Conduit Hill – previously regarded as a ‘no go’ area for cars, is being used as a car park.
Other efforts have been made from time to time to control parking. Delivery vans in the High Street have always caused a problem and it was in an effort to deal with this that a loading bay was created outside The George. This has been largely ignored by local traders and their delivery companies and is now invariably occupied by cars.
A parking enforcement strategy will, we have been told, take up to two years to put in place, largely due to the bureaucratic procedure that it has to go through. This is not necessarily bad news as it will also give time for the Neighbourhood Plan – which outlines a number of proposals for general traffic control – to complete its own bureaucratic journey. If the will is there, this could then allow for a holistic plan to deal with all aspects of traffic and parking throughout the town, to be considered.
Photos: Rye News Library
As you said Mr Minter,
There is nothing like an election to get issues moving that have previously been stalled.
In Mr Glazier’ election pamphlet for election one of the questions is on the lines of, “Would you be prepared to pay for traffic wardens as is used in Hastings”?
Hopefully the answer will be YES. Please do not hold your breath for the best answer.
I do not live in Rye but have visited and seen what the the problems careless parking causes in the town. If Mr Glazier is anything like the politicians where I live he will say anything to get re-elected. If he had meant do anything by now about the problems of parking in Rye he would already have done something. He knows what the problems are already! The fact that the problems still exist says everything about this situation.
I’m loving the concept of ‘careless’ parking! In a vast number of cases it’s quite deliberate. But so many illegal parkers, it would seem, couldn’t care less!
Hopefully a new broom sweeps clean, and we give somebody else the chance to lead us in the next election,whatever their politics are, as so many of us are tired of empty promises,over the last 4 years.
As a Driver on our local Bus I see all of the problems about illegal and inconsiderate parking in Rye also the delivery drivers trying to carry out their work. We require action not empty words and someone who can control the parking.
I seem to recall that Mr Glazier had promised some thing along these lines in March 2016 at the special meeting called to discuss parking. A rival newspaper report of the meeting satated:
“Another development from the meeting was that East Sussex County Council (ESCC) may be willing to help Rother District Council introduce civil parking enforcement without needing Wealden District Council to do the same. Rother is coming under increasing pressure to take control of parking enforcement. The authority was initially told by the county council that Wealden would have to change as well, which Cllr Lord Ampthill said is unlikely. But it seems this is no longer the case as Rye mayor Bernadine Fiddimore said ESCC is willing to let Rother go alone.”
Can we expect another announcement of support from Mr Glazier on this issue in 4 years time when the elctions roll round again? Or am I being cynical?
a new website http://www.parkingbattle.co.uk has been set up encouraging Battle residents to report anonymously dangerously parked cars in their High Street. ‘Naming and shaming’ might have some effect but this is no substitute for a proper warden patrolling to keep the traffic moving like we used to have with Robin Warner. What do other readers think?”