New rolling parking scheme approved in Portsmouth despite fears for displacement ‘misery’

THE councillor in charge of city parking has defended residents' parking zones branded ‘hodgepodge’ and ‘misery-inducing’.
This map shows areas that already have parking zones and others that could become parking zones following consultations. Picture: Portsmouth City CouncilThis map shows areas that already have parking zones and others that could become parking zones following consultations. Picture: Portsmouth City Council
This map shows areas that already have parking zones and others that could become parking zones following consultations. Picture: Portsmouth City Council

Portsmouth's Liberal Democrat administration came under fire from opposition councillors during a traffic meeting where a new rolling strategy for residents' parking zones in the city was approved.

The scheme will allow officers to look at two areas of the city simultaneously - with H area in Baffins and M in Eastney next in line - to determine whether residents are in need of permit-only on-street parking. At the same time, existing zones will also be reviewed.

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Councillor Lynne Stagg, cabinet member for traffic and transportation, described the need for parking zones as 'dynamic' and 'changing' during the meeting, which was held on Friday.

Under fire from opposition councillors she said: ‘It's not an ideal solution, it is the best one we can come up with.’

Tory councillors argued a city-wide referendum was needed - and the current approach was causing displacement 'misery.'

Copnor representative Robert New had concerns about the potential implementation of the HC zone, in part of Copnor.

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He said: ‘It's going to continue to cause misery for residents across my ward.

‘Looking at this map it seems to be so hodgepodge.’

During an informal survey 80 per cent of HC zone residents said a parking zone would be useful. Other areas around HC will also be consulted.

But Cllr Simon Bosher, a former transport cabinet member under the Tory administration, said: ‘Looking at this report some of the people are going to be waiting until the back end of 2022 before they potentially get consulted.’

Labour's Graham Heaney added: 'I think the council has got to make a decision about whether they are going to implement parking zones just because people have got too many cars or whether we are going to implement zones where we know there's a particular problem.’

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Cllr Stagg said: ‘None of us are saying this is the ideal solution, it is the best one we can come up with at this moment in time and it might change because if the number of cars in the city carries on increasing we're going to have to address the parking problem in different ways.’

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