Proposals for new double yellow lines in a West Cumbrian village that has long experienced parking problems have been recommended for approval.
Cumbria County Council’s local committee for Allerdale has backed plans for the introduction of new double yellow lines along sections of Church Road and Causeway Road in Seaton.
The new proposals for double yellow lines along sections of these two roads are more extensive than those originally considered last year.
Further extensions to the double yellow lines along sections of Church Road and the northernmost segment of Causeway Road had been proposed by the county council in response to a public consultation and discussions with other organisations, including Cumbria police.
The new proposals for more extensive double yellow lines also come following an incident in January, in which an ambulance responding to an emergency could not pass through the area because of the lack of space on the road left by parked vehicles.
Outlining the proposals for new double yellow lines at last Friday’s meeting of the Allerdale local committee, the county council’s Allerdale traffic management team leader, Steph Davis-Johnston, explained that following the incident in which an ambulance was obstructed by parked vehicles, Seaton Parish Council and the county councillor for Seaton, Celia Tibble, raised their”significant” concerns over parking and traffic flow along Causeway Road and Church Road.
The county council launched an informal consultation last month on the issue, and roughly three quarters of respondents were in favour of the introduction of more extensive double yellow lines along sections of both roads.
Cumbria police provided the council with details of several incidents in the area over the last few years where officers have been called out to respond to obstructions on the highway, as well as reported damage to vehicles which could be attributed to scrapes resulting from the narrowing of the road.
A number of respondents to the council’s consultation raised concerns about the displacement of parked vehicles as a result of more extensive double yellow lines, which has in the past been in part a justification for further restrictions in this area not being put in place.
However, Mrs Tibble noted that Seaton Parish Council is exploring the option of land near St Paul’s Church in the area being used as space for parking.
“The ownership of that land has not yet been established,” Mrs Tibble, a Labour Party councillor and Seaton resident, explained.
“But the parish council are hoping that they can find out who owns it and mark that out with parking bays to help with people who don’t take cars into their garages or use their driveways.”
Mrs Tibble described the parking and traffic flow issues in the area as a longstanding problem that had been exacerbated recently during lockdown, due to a greater number of people remaining at home.
Mrs Tibble stressed that she felt people did try hard not to park irresponsibly in the area, and added that the county council’s parking enforcement team had been visiting the area regularly, including on Sunday mornings when parking issues are exacerbated by worshippers at St Paul’s Church.
The potential addition of up to 100 new homes on land off Causeway Road close by was noted by Mrs Tibble as an important consideration, as well as the fact that Causeway Road is the main route towards the village of Camerton.
“It’s not just Seaton that it affects,” she said. “It’s quite important we keep it free-flowing.”
The county council’s local committee for Allerdale agreed to the introduction of the more extensive parking restrictions, subject to there being no unresolved objections having been received by the end of the statutory consultation period.
