WHEN the contractors arrived at 8am on Thursday morning Carrie Gibbs knew exactly what to do – she moved her car to block them painting new double yellow lines by her home.
The Mount Pleasant resident owes some £1,800 in unpaid fines and feels she and her fellow residents are being hounded by Worcestershire County Council – just for parking outside their homes.
“It’s ridiculous – there are only a couple of parking bays around here where you can park for 20 minutes at a time which means I can park near my home for only 40 minutes a day,” said the mother of three.
“Nowhere else in Redditch are residents treated like this – it’s victimisation. In Beaufort Road just around the corner they have parking permits, here they are painting more double yellow lines.”
Carrie, who cares fulltime for her disabled son, admits to have been quite brazen about the fines until she got scared when the council sent in the bailiffs.
“It’s really heavyhanded – all we’re looking for is a sensible solution, but when the bailiffs came I got scared – they could take your car, your furniture, your house,” she said.
“I’ve got a Blue Badge but I don’t abuse it and I’ve even been fined when I’ve been carrying my son into the house – and this is when the wardens know where you live and know your car.”
The Standard first highlighted the plight of Mount Pleasant residents last month which caught the attention of Century Films who as a result of our story have been busy filming a documentary for ITV on the situation.
“It’s a really tight community here and the solution of parking permits seems so obvious but instead they are painting more yellow lines,” said Anna Dickerson of the London-based company.
Local county councillor Robin Lunn said he was helping to put together a parking programme for the area with fellow councillor Graham Vickery.
“I do not agree with parking restrictions which are fundamentally unfair to residents because there is nowhere else for them to park,” he said.
A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council said: The traffic regulations in the Mount Pleasant area are part of the wider Choose How You Move programme implemented in Redditch to encourage greater use of sustainable travel. These changes have been made following the usual consultations with residents and approval from local councillors.
“We do respect local concerns and we are carrying out research in to the possibility of issuing parking permits to residents.”
