Lib Dem MP slams government inaction on pavement parking as Polegate “left abandoned”

James MacCleary, Liberal Democrat MP for the Lewes constituency, which includes Polegate, has called on ministers to urgently act on pavement parking after raising the issue in Parliament.

James highlighted Polegate’s “bizarre and unfair” situation, where Wealden District Council has never decriminalised parking – leaving enforcement to the police, who understandably have other priorities. As a result, pavement parking goes unchecked, blocking access for wheelchair users and parents with pushchairs, damaging pavements, and choking off trade on Polegate High Street.

James MacCleary, MP for Lewes, Polegate, Seaford, Newhaven and surrounding villages, said: “Pavement parking isn’t just a nuisance – it’s a daily barrier for people in Polegate and across my constituency. Parents are forced into the road with prams, wheelchair users are left stranded, and local businesses are losing out because customers can’t park safely.

“This is completely solvable, but government inaction has left communities like Polegate abandoned. Scotland and Northern Ireland have acted, Wales is about to – why is England still stuck in limbo?

“It’s time ministers stopped sitting on their hands and gave councils the powers they need to end this once and for all. Pavements are for people, not vehicles.”