Fears over 'dangerous and frightening' pavement parking in Hartlepool

Labour borough councillor Tom Feeney has contacted residents in the town’s Rossmere ward after concerns were raised over the last 12 months about parking issues in the area.

Councillor Feeney said: “Ultimately, parking on pavements and blocking them entirely inhibits the independence of many vulnerable people, wheelchair users, pushchairs and those with visual impairments.”

He added: “It is of course a sensible option to park partially on a pavement if it's a narrow road and parking fully on the road would block other vehicles from using it, particularly emergency vehicles, but no vehicle should entirely block a pavement.”

One Rossmere resident is visually impaired and has been struggling with the amount of cars parking on pavements.

Councillor Feeney said: “They sometimes find themselves having to walk onto busy roads as the pavement is blocked entirely by a vehicle.

"As you can imagine, this is an incredibly dangerous and frightening situation to be in.”

Councillor Feeney said it is illegal to entirely block a pavement, verge or road without a permit although parking on pavements is legal so long as it does not block it entirely.

Areas where vehicles are completely blocking the pavement have been identified by residents and Councillor Feeney is in the process of writing to residents in those areas.

He will consider contacting Hartlepool Borough Council once he has studied their responses.

The Department for Transport has proposed reforming the rules to give local authorities more control and powers to tackle the issue.