VISITORS to events in Beacon Park will be barred from parking on local roads as part of a new trial.
The move comes as Beacon Street Area Residents’ Association (BSARA) said the issue of inconsiderate drivers leaving their vehicles on nearby streets was becoming an increasing concern for residents.
As a result, trial closures to visitors will be in place on roads off Beaconfields in the coming weeks and months.
A BSARA spokesperson said:
“Since we were formed nearly 25 years ago a considerable number of individual concerns have been raised about the inconsiderate and sometimes illegal parking by visitors attending events held in Beacon Park.
“BSARA does support events being held in the city of Lichfield and Beacon Park and welcomes visitors, but requests for them to use public car parks have been continually ignored causing disruption to the daily lives of residents.
“We have been working with Lichfield District Council and Staffordshire County Council to try and resolve these issues. As a result, it has been decided to trial road closures when events are held in Beacon Park.”
Events earmarked for the trial include the Tribute Festival on 27th and 28th July, Crooked House on 25th August and Proms in the Park on 7th September.
The roads covered by the new measures include Beaconfields, Lillington Close, Swinfen Broun Road, Erasmus Way, Sackham Road and Jordan Close.
The spokesperson added:
“On trial days when there are events in the park, a barrier manned by professional security staff will be deployed at the entrance to Beaconfields at its junction with Beacon Street.
“They will only permit access for residents living in the roads leading off Beaconfields, emergency services and vehicles that need to attend one of the properties during these events such as visitors, care workers, delivery vehicles or tradespeople working for a resident.
“Residents have been issued with permits to minimise any disruption to their daily lives.
“When the trials are complete, BSARA will assess the benefits and drawbacks with Lichfield District Council.”
Cllr Phil Whitehouse, Lichfield District Council’s cabinet member for operational services, parks and waste, said the local authority was developing a strategy to ensure enough parking provision was in place for events in Beacon Park.
“I am very proud of the events that Lichfield District Council is part of and we are looking at ways of striking a balance between welcoming these events, especially in and around Beacon Park, and supporting local residential areas.
“As part of this we are grateful to the residents in the Beacon Street area for applying to trial a road closure for several upcoming individual summer events, so we can better understand whether this type of approach can help us strike that balance.
“We are also working on a strategy to ensure more parking is provided locally for people attending, so we can support both local businesses, event organisers and residents living in the direct vicinity of event areas.”
Lichfield District Council are very picky about the concerns of local people. If it’s about their own arrangements they get great attention, others much less so. Planning is particularly blind to legitimate local concerns and are often dismissed as ‘outside the planning remit’.
It further occurs to me that, isn’t the demolition of the multi story car park likely to exacerbate the parking problems we and visitors currently experience? This too forecast from many ignored citizens.
Oh I was forgetting, we are being encouraged to walk or ride our bikes. Is the council running a social experiment? And where do I park my bike!
Come to our city and join in the fun!
great where can I park?
burntwood
I love the let’s move the parking onto streets further away policy ? Hospitals tried this and it’s another not in my back garden scenario.
I want the roads closing by me on Friday & Saturdsy due to parking issues by the chip shop in wheel lane ? Can the council please organise this ?…. I think not
That’s it then,we won’t visit for future events, there’s not enough parking space,oh here’s an idea knock down a multi storey car park,that will help!!!!!!!.
This will just push the parking further away from the park and yes the already dangerously overloaded wheel lane will get even worse. The granting of planning permission for the pizza place to open didn’t worry about parking disruption for residents when they allowed that to open. Perhaps someone influential lives near the park but likes pizza
Introduce insane charges for short-term car parks, knock down a perfectly good multi-storey car park with space for 300+ cars, and then decide Lichfield has a parking problem! Just wait until the bus station has been built over and buses are expected to fit in the space in front of the train station; the Council will suddenly realise there’s nowhere for the buses to go. I got a bus from the bus station on Tuesday and there were eight different buses using it at the same time, plus a coach which pulled in before my bus left. There’s no way they’re going to all fit on the other side of Birmingham Road. Please don’t destroy a perfectly good bus station as well as a perfectly good car park.
Yet bizarrely Beacon Street Area Residents’ Association let residents unlawfully block roads with cones preventing legitimate parking daily 🤔
Are the residents who want to close their street footing the bill for the private security? What happens when the problem shifts to Anson Ave and roads off it? And whatever happened with that parking survey that alleged there was more than enough parking which we all know is nonsense?
The cost of parking in the city is prohibitive! That’s why people park on residential roads.
The parking problem is already affecting resident s parking along Anson Avenue and side roads off and has done for some time now.