Buckshaw residents angry as rail users park outside homes

Villagers say residential streets are becoming "blocked and dangerous" since parking charges were introduced at the nearby railway station.

Fees of £2 a day were brought in at Buckshaw Parkway near Chorley by Northern in December.

Residents said they have since seen an increase in on street parking as commuters avoid paying the fees.

Northern said the fees "discourage overnight parking" and ensure there were enough spaces for rail users.

Faith Marriot, who has lived in Buckshaw Village for six years, has described it as a "constant nightmare".

"The last straw for me was my son's funeral in January, I wanted the hearse to leave his home but guess what, the cars were blocking the road... I was so upset," she explained.

Kerry Jennings, who lives in Buckshaw Village, said there was "definitely" more parking on the street since the charges were introduced.

"You see commuters coming between half seven until about half eight, nine o'clock," she said.

"Some of them are multiple people in the car, some are only one person. Some days you see people with suitcases, so they're going to the airport, so it's a real mix of people."

"At the moment the whole street is blocked and the other day a police car couldn't get down because we are double-parked," Ms Jennings said.

"It's scary if my child even needed an ambulance, will it get down this road?

"There's no yellow lines, there's no signs saying that you can't park here. There's nothing to stop them parking, so we're stuck," she added.

Ian McKenna, a rail commuter who travels between Preston and Chorley, said he used to park at the car park but doesn't since the charges were brought in.

"More people are using the street parking and the car park is only half full," he said.

"People aren't stupid, £2 a day doesn't sound a lot, but when people rack up over the year, that's a lot of money out of your pocket that you could put to something else.

"As a one-off, fine, but if like myself you commute every day, it's a lot."

Chorley councillor Aidy Riggott said a "lack of communication an consultation" had been an issue.

He said he was "disappointed" that Northern did not speak with him, but added his focus was to help "design a solution that meets everybody's needs".

A Lancashire County Council spokesman said it had been in regular communication with Northern about the charges and the challenges for local residents.

"Ultimately it is Northern Train's decision to charge for parking at rail stations on railway land," they said.

The council said it would investigate any complaints about parking and take action where possible.

A spokesman for Northern said: "Northern already charges users a small daily fee for parking at some stations in Lancashire including Chorley and from Monday 11 December 2023 we expanded that to a small number of other locations including Buckshaw Parkway.

"The charges are being introduced there to ensure sufficient space is available for rail customers, to discourage overnight parking which we have previously been made aware of by Chorley Borough Council, help us to fund investment schemes across our car park portfolio and to reduce our reliance on taxpayer subsidy.

"The fees have been benchmarked against other car parking charges in South Ribble and Chorley, at £2 all day."

Why not follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [email protected]