Parking on verges and pavements banned by council

Nine people in the middle of a road. Residential houses are on either side of the road and cars are parking in front of the houses on the road and paths. From left to right: A man wearing a black zip-up hoodie, a light grey t-shirt, blue jeans and black trainers. He has glasses. A man sat on a blue mobility scooter wearing a black t-shirt and black shorts. He has glasses and short brown hair. A man with glasses stood wearing a white t-shirt, a yellow tie and a black jacket. A woman with shoulder-length brown hair and a fringe. She is wearing a white t-shirt, beige trousers and white shoes. A man sat on a black mobility scooter wearing a red t-shirt and a navy jacket with his arms crossed. A woman in a knee-length green and black spotty dress holding a Liberal Democrats clipboard. She has long ginger hair with a fringe. A man with grey hair stood wearing a green t-shirt. A woman sat on a black mobility scooter wearing an off-white jacket, black leggings and black trainers. A man with glasses wearing a black Liberal Democrats t-shirt, black jeans, beige shoes and a black zip-up jacket. Local Democracy Reporting Service

Parking issues were raised at a council meeting

Ivan Morris Poxton
Local Democracy Reporting Service

Parking on verges and pavements in North East Lincolnshire will be banned, a council has decided.

Councillors unanimously agreed to put in place traffic regulation orders (TROs) across the borough to stop people leaving cars on verges and pavements.

Liberal Democrats councillor Stephen Beasant, whose wife Carol is a wheelchair user, said: "Every single week I take my wife out for a meal, I'm faced with barriers."

Conservative councillors backed the ban but said it would take time to put in place and would need more enforcement officers to ensure its effectiveness.

Beasant said drivers leaving cars on the footpath of Ladysmith Road, Grimsby, meant his wife had to manoeuvre her wheelchair on to the road for fear of scraping vehicles.

Councillor Nicola Aisthorpe added: "A mum with a pram shouldn't have to push her child into traffic because a car is blocking the footpath.

"An elderly resident with a walking frame shouldn't have to step off the kerb into the road just to get past a parked car."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, narrower streets would be exempt from the rule to allow access to emergency vehicles.

The motion, put forward by the Liberal Democrats, also called for improvements to the online reporting system for residents.

But Conservative councillor Stewart Swinburn said it could take between three to five years to implement the rule and Conservative councillor Ron Shepherd added the number of enforcement officers would need to double.

A suggestion of a select committee to work on how to bring in the enforcements was rejected, with some claiming it would hold up the process.

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