East Yorkshire grass verge parking 'blights' rural areas, says councillor

Areas such as Fridaythorpe and Hessle were particularly badly affected, Councillor Viv Padden said

Drivers who damage grass verges while parking their cars are "blighting" countryside areas and villages in East Yorkshire, councillors have been told.

The problem was worse in more rural areas such as Fridaythorpe, North Dalton, Anlaby and Hessle, East Yorkshire councillor Viv Padden said.

He had received "many emails and calls" about the issue, he told councillors.

His motion calling for ways to tackle the problem to be scrutinised by the authority was successful.

Lib Dem Mr Padden said while the problem was down to so many people now relying on cars, he added that for many, their vehicles were not a luxury but "necessary for their way of life".

"Times have changed, people often have to travel miles away to get to work and grass verges are being used because lots of roads are so narrow," he added.

East Yorkshire councillor Linda Johnson said some grass verges in her ward had been removed due to the issue

Meanwhile, fellow East Yorkshire Lib Dem councillor Linda Johnson, who seconded Mr Padden's motion calling on the problem of grass verge parking to be examined, told the BBC some streets in her ward had been "ruined".

She warned it could also "affect the infrastructure for gas and electricity".

However, Ms Johnson said she did not believe the answer was to "industrialise the whole landscape" by paving over grass verges.

"It looks awful, especially where there are trees, but people need to be able to park," she said.

"Perhaps we look at something like silicon, which is load-bearing but allows grass to grow through?"

Councillor Richard Meredith, chair of the Environment and Regeneration Sub-Committee, which looks at highways issues, said solutions needed to come through a creative use of existing measures because of how little the council could do to stop it outright.

The issue is now expected to be discussed by the committee.