A RESIDENT made an impassioned plea for changes to be made to ‘dangerous’ parking in Burnham-on-Sea.

Nick Hubbard, of Friarn Way in Burnham, spoke to councillors at Burnham and Highbridge Town Council’s town projects committee meeting on July 10 about policies he says are a threat to safety, as well as detrimental to the town economy.

“I believe very strongly that town centre parking in Burnham is a growing problem - parking charges should be heavily subsidised or even free,” Mr Hubbard told the meeting.

“There are three main reasons for my suggestion.

“One is that expensive and inconvenient parking is a deterrent to the visitors that are the lifeblood of the town.

“The second is that people who work locally are also deterred.

“The costs of parking are a form of tax on their incomes and understandably they avoid the costs when they can by parking on the streets away from the town centre.

“The third reason is that of safety.

“Sometimes people drive on the pavement and drive on people’s lawns to move their cars off busy side streets.

“A lot of elderly resident live in Priory Gardens and I know on a number of occasions irresponsible drivers have mounted the pavements and even some residents lawns to reverse their vehicles.

“I know a lot of people on the street are angry about the parking issues and that they worry about being safe on their street.

“The safety risks presented by parking on the roads are too great, it is an accident waiting to happen.

“Cheap short-term parking and attractively priced season ticket parking for those that work in the town is the answer.

“It would be good for our economy and traffic congestion and would minimise the risk of hazards.”

Mr Hubbard said was hopeful the council would help crack down on the problem as he has fears an accident could happen on the street.

Cllr Janet Keen said: “I fully appreciate the concerns the gentleman has and I can certainly raise the matter and ask for changes but I don’t hold out much hope for that.

“The inconsiderate and thoughtless car parking highlighted needs to be discussed with the county council and the county councillor for Highbridge is now the portfolio holder for transport, we need to ask him if the Highways engineers can suggest some restrictions that can be enforced so that residents are not inconvenienced.”

Cllr Nick Tolley said parking problems have been an issue for many years in Priory Gardens but says that something needs to be done as residents are in ‘immediate danger’.

“The immediate problem is that there will be accidents, road rage and more heated debates along Priory Gardens.

“There are all sorts of problems down there, especially between 5 and 5.30pm, these need to be immediately addressed” he said.

Cllr Lawson said she welcomed the idea of a parking season ticket in and said she shared the worries Cllr Tolley had about residents being in danger.

Cllr Michael Clarke said: “As a former resident of Priory Gardens I understand and sympathise with the residents.

“The problem is that people will seek out free parking in Burnham regardless of an increase or decrease in parking charges around the town.

“The county council are aware of the issue but I think something more needs to be done to solve the problem.”

Councillors decided that the town clerk would discuss the issue with Sedgemoor District Council and Somerset County Council to look at possible solutions to the issue and see if any changes could be introduced.