Yellow lines blitz planned to beat South Shields back street parking nightmare - but neighbours claim town hall staff are to blame for problem

Cars parked in the back lane of Berkeley Street in South Shields.

South Tyneside Council is looking at putting yellow lines in back lanes near to its headquarters at South Shields Town Hall after complaints by residents that council staff are parking there rather than pay for the staff car park.

The move has been welcomed by neighbours - although the council says there is no proof the problem vehicles belong to their staff.

During the day, lines of parked cars can be seen in the back lanes of streets around the town hall.

One resident said: “The residents around there are complaining that they can’t use their own garages as no one can get in or out.

“We for pay a permit to park outside of out own houses and would get a ticket if we didn’t have one - yet these cars have been parking here Monday to Friday every week - it’s terrible.

I have to ring the police on 101 and they contact the car owners directly to get them to move. But sometimes that can take a few hours and meanwhile we’re blocked in.

Cars in the back lane behing Berkeley Street in South Shields have been causing problems for residents.

“It’s also an issue as emergency services vehicles wouldn’t be able to get down there. “I would say its affecting around 30 to 40 houses.”

He added: “It’s people in the town hall parking here because they don’t want to have to buy a permit.”

Commenting on the planned new measures he said: “I am quite happy with them.”

Green Party campaigner David Francis last month backed residents in the area who started a petition to stop council employees parking in residential streets by introducing permits.

He says the problem is caused by the council charging its staff for parking, with Broughton Road, Lyndhurst Street and Selbourne Street their prefered parking areas.

A South Tyneside Council spokeswoman said: “A number of streets in this area benefit from permit parking.

“In response to a recent petition, the council is currently consulting with residents in Broughton Road and the surrounding area on the possibility of extending the permit parking scheme further.

“As part of this, we are proposing to introduce No Waiting restrictions in the back lanes of the estate from Monday to Friday.

“These yellow lines would help to prevent parking obstructions occurring.

“Residents are encouraged to submit their views by the consultation closing date of February 28, 2019.”