Moves are under way to stop drivers parking on the grass on the edge of a park.
Brighton resident Sylvia Davidson first spotted vehicles parked on the grass next to the access road used by council vehicles at Dyke Road Park in September.
There are pay to park bays along Dyke Road next to the verge where the vehicles are parked most days since Dr Davidson first spotted them.
Dr Davidson, vice-chair of Brighton and Hove Wildlife Forum, was frustrated to learn that there appears to be no law stopping pavement or verge parking after discussing the issue with the forum.
She said: “I think they view it as their own free private car park. It’s not as frequent a route for me these days but every weekday I’ve passed, one to three cars are parked there.
“It never used to get parked on and I’ve been walking past for over 20 years. Hopefully, some big boulders can be strategically placed.”
Conservative councillor Samer Bagaeen looked into what could be done to stop the vehicles parking on the grass as soon as he was aware of the situation.
Councillor Bagaeen, who represents Westdene and Hove Park ward on Brighton and Hove City Council, said: “I have heard from Cityparks (the council’s parks deprtment) that parking charge notices (PCNs) are not possible as the verge is not on-street parking.
“Officers have told me they are exploring using boulders or tree trunks to deter the drivers until they find a permanent solution.”
Labour’s lead councillor for the environment Tim Rowkins said: “Parking on the grass at Dyke Road Park is not permitted.
“However, we have a duty to maintain access for a small number of vehicles accessing businesses operating in the park.
“Our parks and legal teams are currently assessing the best long-term solutions for stopping drivers parking on the grass. Options under consideration include physical measures and enforcement.”
The council recently took action to prevent drivers parking without permission in St Peter’s Square, Brighton, by blocking access to the open space, using communal bins and fencing.
Attach a caravan to your car and park anywhere without problem 🤣
Maybe they can look at wild park on match days as well.
To be honest, as the council sees drivers as cash cows this whole thing is not surprising.
Free parking in the whole city!
BHCC charge exorbitant fees for parking – so what do they expect?
Interesting quote about ‘on street parking’ …so we can all park on the grass at Stanmer Park with impunity?
Probably, legally, yes!
Just try it, Stanmer has strict parking enforcement now since the over sized car parks were installed
Councils and councillors versus their paymasters : unless there is an election when suddenly all smiles.
Same throughout the country.
I have returned from trips to South Africa and a stop off in Spain – both far more relaxed and easy going.
Why don’t you move there then? I’m sure the locals love it just as much. Praising paradise from a tourists prespective. Both countries also have a much lower population density then England/Brighton (so less cars).
(fewer)
BHCC should investigate the use of PSPO legislation:
https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/10.21%20PSPO%20guidance_06_1.pdf
It’s a good shout. There’s a fair notice period of several weeks, and you have to put a lot of signs up, which can be a bit on the ugly side, but in my experience dealing with a similar issue, having both preventative and punitive measures in place tends to eliminate most antisocial parking.
“Alight” means “to leave”, not “to enter”. I suggest you get some literate sub-editors/journos. A symptom of our failing education system.
Why are sub-literate ex-Argus commenters being allowed on this site with their ignorant drivel??!? Geoffrey obvs alighted on only one definition in the dictionary. In my trusty old tome, alight means to descend in literal and figurative senses. You can alight on an idea, or a bird can alight on a branch. I’m only surprised Geoffrey didn’t try to suggest that alight means ablaze as proof of the utter illiteracy of the journos here. Instead, Geoffrey himself comes across as an example of the failing education system he mentions in his petty little rant.
Perhaps the car owners are parking here then setting themselves on fire. Some cult or other. Yes, I made sure I didn’t fat finger when typing “cult”.
Maybe he alighted from his education a little bit too early, specifically, before English class? 😀
I moved to the Highlands, 2 years ago, from Brighton…no problem parking here, at all!
Just the occasional invasion from England?
Good for them!!!!
Understand it might be a bit of an eyesore, but local Councils are waging war on residents. All are totally useless and totally unaccountable.
We all but solved this problem with tree planting, boulder placement, planters, and grass repair in my area.
We still had the odd one that will attempt it, but after daily tickets being issued for several weeks (I took real offense at them undoing my community work), even they relented.
Use these as opportunities for green development using the EDB pot, and they can the affect of improving the aesthetics of the area at the same times. For the more engrained antisocial behaviour, I’d also pursue a zoning, which takes time, because you need to give fair notice, but set it up whilst you do the former and you have a comprehensive solution.
30 -60 minutes free parking in some areas would help enormously. Even when you heed to park for longer it can be tricky. Recently the 5 or so minutes it took to go to a basement flat get my older parents to the door in order retrieve a parking voucher and pen from them in order to fill it out and back up to pavement level was nearly too long as my car was already being eyed up! It was like the parking attendant was Mr Ben! If my parents were any older or less firm it would have taken a lot longer to get the voucher! I’m grateful I live in Wealden where you can park legally freely in most places. If it wasn’t for visiting family I wouldn’t go to Brighton ever. Yes technically I could get a bus for 1.25 hours each way with 4 spaniels but have you ever tried it? And no one else. really wants to be subjected to travel on the bus with my 4 often smelly wet and possibly muddy dogs either!
I would have thought STP would help as well, but as I’ve read up on tactics like this, they surprisingly have next to no impact. Also, parking wardens aren’t that cruel honestly, and most appeals of this nature are squashed. Also, a really simple solution to your situation, keep a few permits in your car!
Or just park on the pavement in dyke road ave and block it off then get a 27 bus £2 pound each way job done
Thankfully I never go to Brighton.
We are thankful as well, Paula
I wonder why we moved away from Brighton? The place is done.
Tara Nige!
I agree council have murdered this town which is not a city. It is filthy dirty .Roads are awful no toilets ,graffiti every where ,and nothing done to stop them. ….grand parade now lookes like shit . Because they prefer to have the students here than born and bred residents 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬👨🏼🦯👨🏼🦯👏👏
So many comments here saying you’d never visit Brighton, it’s godawful, the worst. Yet here you are, sitting at home, some place else, reading Brighton news, and commenting on it.
Make it make sense.
Lol
There needs to be far more free bays to enable short term parkers, say half an hour which would assist picking up infirm people or exercising dogs in Dyke Rd Park area.
Boulders around the area in question seems a better idea than planting saplings which carry on getting bigger!
Or vandalised ……
Brighton is the worst place, I’m a Brighton man born and bred this city is dirty smells, know wonder tourists are dwindling every year buck your ideas up Brighton city Council.
“know” wonder? I don’t think you “no” much at all…
The Brighton & Hove Visitor Economy Strategy 2018-2023 disagrees with you. According to the data it pulls from, you are, objectively, incorrect in your opinion about tourists.
IThis sort of thing inevitable after the removal of pavement payment machines.
Failing to see how the presence of a PayPoint would change people’s ASB in parking on the verge.
This sorr of thing inevitable after the removal of pavement payment machines.
If you charge exorbitant rates to park people will resort to desperate measures
That’s terrible justification for anything.
I would love to have a council that worked for us – to make our lives more enjoyable and productive. Instead we are faced with dogma and “nickle and diming” practices that just make it not fun to be here. Every interaction with the council is seemingly always “us and them” and quite tiring. I am not surprised if anyone tries to get one over on the council – because it is “us and them” …
Well said Chris. #us and them.
I was born in Brighton and have lived here for 63 years.
I have to pay £330 p/y for a resident permit. I only drive 1000 miles a year as I cycle if I don’t need a engine. ‘And then, should I dare to leave my allotted area, I have to pay the council again. And not a nominal fee either.
Parking charges are astronomical. I run a business in Brighton.
I am in constant battles with the council. 20 years I’ve been asking them to unblock the road gully drains so that the road stops flooding into the shops.
20 years asking them to sweep the street so that I don’t have to do it.
!!!!!!!!!!!¥$¢π
This is only the top of the list.
20 years of us and them.
These clueless idiots will go out of their way to try and close your business down. To put as many obstacles they can in our way to make running a business harder.
It will always be “us and them”
The attack on the motorist is disgusting. We are now and will always be treated as cash cows.
And as a point of interest for the higher educated out there. To be slightly or wholly illiterate is not a crime. Should somebody dare to make a spelling mistake or a grammatical error, it is incredibly offensive to take the higher ground and attack their lack of education. The fact that they want to make a point and you were able to read what they have taken the time to write, does not give you the right to offend. It is undoubtedly nimby knobheads like you that cause all the problems in society.
I hate Brighton. But..this is my town. I will not leave, even though I want to.
There must be a bylaw preventing parking in the park?
Maybe they should look at the underlying reason why the drivers are doing this (cos parking is extortionate) rather than the behaviour itself 🫠
CHEAPER PARKING!