Parking zones to be rolled out in Hanover and Elm Grove

Hanover and Elm Grove - a popular parking spot for commuters - will now have its own parking zone, as agreed by councillors on Tuesday.

Residents rejected a parking scheme seven years ago, but the latest consultation saw 60 per cent of residents in favour of a scheme.

Green Hanover and Elm Grove ward councillor David Gibson: “Everybody supports the full scheme proposed which is proposed in about two thirds of the ward - that’s very clear. The difficulty arises in some of the areas where people said overall be considered for a parking scheme, which is in the light touch scheme.”

He thanked officers for working with residents to come up with a compromise scheme. He urged the council to ‘listen and engage with residents interests to make it a better scheme’.

Conservative councillors voted against the move, and Cllr Joe Miller said: “I think that these schemes are incorrect. I think it will just shift the problem elsewhere, with the other 1,000 cars parking in Moulsecoomb and Bevendean probably instead and that will become a parking zone. It’s a stealth tax, essentially, on vehicles.”

Green councillors put forward a set of amendments to the motion, some of which were approved, including to pilot a scheme allowing businesses to buy a number of visitor permits, in order to help offset the impacts of a paring zone.

But plans to leave some roads out of the scheme were rejected by Labour and Conservative councillors, for fears it would cause ‘mayhem’.

Labour ward councillor Emma Daniel, said: “We cannot leave out streets within a parking zone, This would be irresponsible. “

Conservative councillor Lee Wares said: “If you leave an area out and it becomes an island within a scheme, that becomes the target for everybody else.”

After being agreed by councillors, the new parking zone could be rolled out as early as this autumn.

The new parking zones will see restrictions seven days a week from 9am to 8pm, in the core area of Hanover, the bottom of Elm Grove and streets from William Clark Park west to Lewes Road and up to Bear Road.

The top of Elm Grove, streets to the north and the rest of the ward will get a light touch scheme operating Monday to Friday from 11am to midday and 6pm to 7pm.

The council will also consider a new parking scheme for Craven Vale, a group of streets south of Brighton Racecourse, from 9am to 8pm all week. There will also be pay and display bays in the new parking zones.

Before the meeting, Cllr Gill Mitchell, chairman of the environment, transport and sustainability committee, said: “Hanover and Elm Grove is suffering artificially high demand for parking because it is surrounded by other residents’ parking zones. A parking scheme would give these streets back to the residents and make the area much more pleasant.”