'We're too old to carry shopping home from streets away' - residents blast parking cull

Pensioners living on Stourton Street, in Rishton, claim that the rule change would force them to park further from their own front doors than some of them could walk while carrying shopping.

However, they also say they are being driven out of the parking spots by what they believe is a senseless revamp designed to accommodate coaches that would struggle to get down the road in the first place.

Under a blueprint drawn up by Lancashire County Council, the near 50-metre long lay-by, outside Hyndburn Academy, will become a designated ‘bus stand’ on weekdays between 8am and 6pm – with no other vehicles permitted to park in the cut-out during those hours. The only other available parking is on the road itself, directly in front of the houses on the street.

A couple that lives in one of the dwellings said that the extra capacity currently provided by the lay-by helps ensure they can still park relatively close to their properties when they return home having been out for part of the day.

Eddie and Margaret – not their real names – added that the area is so busy that parking is always at a premium during the period when the bus stand would act as a roadblock to other vehicles

“[Through] the day, it’s well-used by people who visit the school, taxis bringing in children and also residents and delivery drivers – it becomes an overflow for maybe three or four cars,” Eddie, 78, explained.

Margaret, 74, added: “It’s a good facility for us to have as parking is very limited. There’s room for everybody in the houses, but if school visitors can’t get [into the on-site car park] – where do they go?

“They’d park in the bay if it was still available, but [otherwise they will] park on the side of the road where the houses are – so we’d be in the next street if we came [home during the day].

“If we came back with four bags of shopping…you just can’t do that. Plus, both of our neighbours are in their late 80s.”

Eddie said that school buses currently park just a two-minute walk away from Hyndburn Academy’s gates and that there is “no danger to the kids, because they’re not having to cross any roads”.

There are conflicting accounts of where the plans originated from and why they are being pursued.

In a formal objection submitted to the local authority, Eddie said that one of the school coach drivers had confirmed his suspicion that it would not be possible to turn out of Stourton Street onto Cliff Street in such a large vehicle.

Meanwhile, Margaret told the LDRS: “The street is so crowded in the mornings and at school finishing time, the bus wouldn’t be able to get down the bottom of the road now.”

The lay-by is already a bus stop, but there are no ‘clearway’ regulations attached to it, meaning that parking is allowed, provided it is not deemed to be causing an obstruction. Commercial services aret believed to have last used the facility more than 15 years ago.

In a report outlining the reasoning behind the proposed change, Lancashire County Council said: “The lay-by is not currently used by regular public bus services, so it is unnecessary to maintain this restriction outside of school hours. We therefore intend to allow residents to continue parking overnight.”

Meanwhile, in a statement responding to the issues raised by residents, a spokesperson for the authority added: “A consultation ran until 24th October for a bus stop clearway order to introduce an enforceable bus stop from 8am-6pm, Monday-Friday.

“This would allow privately-contracted school buses to stop and wait outside the school, enabling students to board and alight safely and allow buses to pull in and out without obstruction.

“There are currently no commercial or Lancashire County Council operated school services using this lay-by. Any buses that may be using this area are under private contract with the school themselves.

“We have now received responses to the consultation and will begin working through these to find a resolution.”

This article was updated on 27th October to include a statement received from Lancashire County Council.