Neighbours anger at 'selfish' car owner who left Nissan Figaro parked in same spot for two years - but Portsmouth City Council pledges action

Residents of Adames Road in Fratton say they are fed up with a Nissan Figaro that has taken advantage of a loophole to remain parked in the short and busy street for two years.

And now the city council is to take action to throw a spanner in the works of the ‘selfish car’ owner, who has frustrated residents by leaving his car parked in the same spot, unmoved, for almost two years.

The road – which has parking for two-hours or permit holders only – has been left open to abuse because the parking spot is located in front of a dropped kerb, previously put in place for a garage that has now been bricked up.

But with the dropped kerb remaining, traffic wardens have told residents that any car may park there – with the Nissan’s owner taking advantage of the situation.

The car is only moved briefly when the car requires its MoT – with residents reporting its mysterious owner seeming to rush a different car into the spot to hold the place before the Nissan returns.

Louise Purcell, who has lived in the street for more than 20 years, said: ‘This car has been sitting here for two years. It’s taking up a resident’s parking space, which is limited in this city.

‘So it’s very frustrating for people who can’t park cars here half the time as it is, and this one is just allowed to sit here and get away with it.’

Now the council has vowed to take action to alter the kerb – leaving the long-parked car’s owner facing hefty fines if it is not moved on soon.

Councillor Lynne Stagg, Portsmouth City Council cabinet member for traffic, said: ‘We don’t put parking bays across dropped kerbs while they are in use, and it is legal for the owner of (a) garage that requires the access to park their car there.’

‘We were notified of the issue on Adames Road this week and now we are aware of the change of use we will extend the parking bay so that drivers will either need a permit or will be limited to two hours parking when they park there.’

And Cllr Stagg has promised that the council will try – where possible – to iron out any problems with parking.

'It's difficult because in some cases there's not a lot we can do and a lot of the time laws are very out-of-date,’ she said.

'But we will look carefully at every complaint or case that is raised - our parking manager will assess them and we will take action where we can.

'Portsmouth has a lot of on-street parking and being a very cramped city with more cars than parking spaces we know there are issues and we do look at everything that comes through.’

Residents can report parking issues on the Portsmouth City Council website.