We’re fed up of Council staff parking in our street to go to work at South Shields Town Hall
Fed-up householders dealing with a sinkhole on their doorsteps claim they have been dealt a second blow by council staff taking their parking spaces.
Residents in Belgrave Terrace say they are being crowded out by workers who park their cars then go to work at nearby South Shields Town Hall, which has a paid-for parking permit scheme.
While they are happy that work is progressing to repair the sinkhole in adjoining Broughton Road, they are calling on council chiefs act to curtail its workers' cost-cutting parking habits.
Energy firm area manager Andy Sharp, 58, says he and other residents often cannot park outside their terraced homes on weekdays, between 8am and 5.30pm.
He says the parking situation means he sometimes can’t access his own drive to charge his electric car, due to employees flouting parking niceties by blocking the entrance.
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While he admits the ongoing roadworks and parking by staff from a nearby care home are contributing to the issue, he believes council workers are the main culprits.
The married dad wants council bosses to clamp down and instruct their teams to find alternative provision – or introduce a temporary ‘resident-only parking scheme.
Mr Sharp said: “Council staff are leaving their cars here while they go to the town hall to work. I see them parking up here at about 8am and some don’t come back until about 5.30pm.
“What’s really annoying is that they have access to specific car parks which are for council staff only.
“These are very close to the town hall – I don’t know why they can’t park there.”
He added: “I need to be able to get onto my driveway to charge my car, but often I can’t get on or I’m left with such a bad access angle.
“The sinkhole is in a street next to Belgrave Terrace, but it’s really close to us. Thankfully, it is being repaired and is not the real issue.
“However, it has caused a stretch of that road to be blocked off, which has limited the number of parking spaces around here.”
South Tyneside Council staff with a permit – costing from £75 a year – have sole use of two car parks a stone’s throw from South Shields Town Hall.
They are at Winchester Street and Claypath Lane, and permit holders can also use Charlotte Street.
Mr Sharp added: “A few years ago, we asked the council for resident parking permits, but that didn’t happen.
“Even introducing temporary resident parking until this situation is resolved would be progress.
“A lot of the other streets next to us have resident parking in place and I don’t know why we can’t.
“I want the council to acknowledge the problem its staff are causing to us and to do something about it.”
A spokesperson for South Tyneside Council said: “We recognise that ongoing works in the area may be contributing to increased parking pressures on Belgrave Terrace.
“Unfortunately, temporary residents’ parking schemes cannot be introduced, as these require formal consultation, statutory processes and legal orders, meaning they cannot be implemented on a short‑term basis.
“We have no record of any previous consultation on introducing a permanent resident permit scheme in this street, but this is something we could monitor if further requests are received."
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