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Warnings over pavement parking rules called 'draconian'

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Wiltshire has been urged to show caution over new powers to tackle pavement parking.

Earlier this month, the government announced local councils can take action against pavement parking under the latest enforcement measures.

Parking on pavements is not illegal outside of London - although motorists still risk a parking ticket if their car is left in dangerous position or where it causes any unnecessary obstruction of the road.

Residents in urban areas - including parents with push chairs, the elderly, and disabled people - including wheelchair users and the visually impaired - say pavement parking is a hazard and they can be forced into roads by cars parked on narrow pavements.

Responding to the news Cllr Martin Smith, Wiltshire Council's cabinet member for highways, said: “We are pleased that the issue of pavement parking is being recognised.

"Parking on pavements can create safety and accessibility issues for a range of people, including pedestrians, wheelchair users and those with pushchairs.

“Once the relevant powers are introduced, we will explore the options available to us and consider how they could be applied in Wiltshire.”

At a meeting of Wiltshire Council's cabinet the leader of the opposition Conservative group, Richard Clewer, urged caution.

Deviating off-piste during a discussion about parking strategy, he said: "I'm really concerned about pavement parking.

"There are areas where pavement parking can be very dangerous for people. It forces them to walk on a busy road.

"But equally we have an awful lot of housing estates across Wiltshire, particularly council housing estates that were designed back in the 1970s when average car ownership per property was one. It's two point something now.

"And if we were to start imposing without any form of draconian rules on pavement parking, I think it would cause real disruption, particularly in those council estates where people do not have other options.

"You only have to drive or walk around them to see people parking on green spaces all over the place because they just don't have enough parking in the way they were designed at the time that they were built."

"I'd urge a great degree of caution as and when that is looked at."

The council's deputy leader Mel Jacob, who was chairing the meeting, assured him: "I don't think anybody's suggested that we're taking any radical action about parking."

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