Man may have to park miles away after permit error

A resident feared he would not be able to park near his home after a council said it would not renew his permit as it was issued in "error".

Karl Carpenter, who lives in flats by Cliffs Pavilion, in Southend-on-Sea, said without one, he would either have to pay for a public car park or leave his vehicle further away in Leigh-on-Sea.

"I will have to pay at least £150 a month to hire someone's space or park three miles further down the road," said Mr Carpenter, who currently pays £20 a year for a permit.

In the letter seen by BBC Essex, Southend-on-Sea City Council said some Station Road residents had been issued parking permits by accident and they would not be renewed.

Mr Carpenter's permit runs out next March and he said it would "not be practical to park in [public] car parks because the fees are astronomical".

"Some resident's permits expire in two weeks and they only received the letter this week," he claimed.

"Residents here are really worried."

Mr Carpenter was also worried about the effect the policy would have on the value of his flat.

"I have lived here for seven years and I bought the flat in large part because there was a parking permit scheme available," he said.

"I think I would have trouble selling it if there is nowhere to park.

"No one is going to be interested in paying exorbitant fees to park."

Mr Carpenter said not every block of flats in the area received a letter.

"There's other people not affected by it," he said.

"The council says there's certain properties that shouldn't have access to parking.

"However, there's newer places that have been converted here into flats and they don't seem to have been affected."

In the letter, the council said "it has been highlighted by audit checks that these (permits) have been issued in error as your address is not part of the scheme".

It added: "When the permit comes up for renewal, we will not be able to reissue these."

However, Mr Carpenter vowed to fight the decision and get the council to rethink.

"It seems extraordinary that the council made a mistake for such a long time," he said.

"I believe they are double checking this audit as there's something that doesn't quite add up about it."

A spokesperson for the authority said following some "operational complaints about the Cliffs Pavilion Area Residents Parking Scheme, it was discovered that a small number of properties had mistakenly received parking permits outside of the scheme's boundaries".

They continued: "Those residents have been informed and they will be able to use their current permits until they expire.

"Unfortunately, these will not be renewed.

“We understand the parking pressure in the area and are thoroughly reviewing the process to ensure this does not happen again, and that permits are issued only to those within the scheme".

The council said not all residents living on Station Road will be affected and some will be "entitled to permits".