Councillor forces County to review parking

1.16.10pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 6th Jun 2008

Rosalyn is putting pressure on the County Council to review parking across the Lewes area.

Lewes Councillor Rosalyn St. Pierre has forced East Sussex County Council to review its parking scheme.

Councillor St. Pierre forced the county to review the parking scheme for Barcombe, and it is now expected that this will lead to reviews of parking schemes throughout the county.

Rosalyn says: "There have been incredible delays in getting the parking scheme for Barcombe reviewed. It is failing, as it is across the area. The County Council have finally agreed to review it. They must now listen to local people and implement what they ask for."

Rosalyn adds: "A reduction in buses which makes it impossible for local people to commute to Lewes. For instance there is no public transport to the nearest doctor's surgery. This has led to an enormous number of cars in the village, and so an effective parking scheme is essential."

Councillor St. Pierre is one of the first councillors in the country to use a 'Call for Action', a new mechanism for councillors to pursue important local issues. This will force the County Council to justify the benefits of the parking scheme.

Rosalyn says: "The County Council must also now review the Lewes parking scheme immediately. I am continuing to put pressure on them to do this and they will be forced to explain why they are continuing to operate the hated system."

The news will be welcome for hard-pressed businesses in Lewes who are reporting a drop in traffic coming into Lewes and comes at the same time NCP took a staggering £3.5 million from the parking scheme.

Rosalyn says: "Any surplus generated from parking schemes must be spent on local transport. For example the County Council must not cut the 128 bus from the Nevill to Malling estate."