Fresh bid to crack down on illegal parking throughout the county

A SCHEME to clampdown on illegal parking in the county is to be resurrected on Monday.

As reported in the Echo, the introduction of civil parking enforcement in Lincolnshire was thwarted last month after East Lindsey District failed to come to an agreement with Lincolnshire's six other district councils and county council.

For the past six months Lincolnshire Police and Lincolnshire County Council have been in talks with the Department for Transport about taking the responsibility of parking reinforcement away from the police.

It was mooted that a £1.4m deal for the councils to take control of parking from the police would see cash spent on traffic wardens to patrol the streets as well as an increase in residents' parking schemes.

But on Monday the county council is relaunching its bid to strike an agreement with the seven district councils in order to crack down on illegal parking throughout the county.

Three options will be put to members of its Highways, Transport and Technology Scrutiny Committee, the favoured one being a new agreement with all seven of the district councils.

Most residents seem in favour of the new system being introduced.

Bracebridge Heath resident Michael Randles says a desperate overhaul is needed for parking in Lincoln's city centre.

Mr Randles's 84-year-old mother Nancy Sampson lives in Gaunt Street, off Lincoln's High Street and says that illegally parked cars make it difficult for ambulances to travel along the congested road.

"Because of the high cost of council-provided car parks in the city basically what is happening is that the residents don't get an opportunity to park outside their houses," said Mr Randles.

"People are parking on both sides of the road and blocking the paths in the Gaunt Street area which is a real problem with emergency vehicles considering the number of elderly people too."