Nottinghamshire County Council has rejected calls for increased parking enforcement on Wilford Lane and surrounding streets in West Bridgford, saying existing patrol data does not justify diverting additional resources to the area.
A petition signed by 114 people was presented to a full County Council meeting on May 14 by Councillor Hari Om, who represents Compton Acres.
The petition asked the authority to increase parking enforcement along Wilford Lane and nearby roads.
In its response, the council said civil enforcement officers had patrolled streets in the area on 76 separate days during the past 12 months, resulting in 81 Penalty Charge Notices being issued.
Wilford Lane and the surrounding streets are also regularly patrolled and are treated as a priority during Nottingham Forest home fixtures, the council said.
However, council officers concluded that the level of non-compliance recorded did not demonstrate parking problems serious enough to warrant additional enforcement.
The authority said: “Whilst any contravention is regrettable, this level of enforcement activity and evidenced level of non-compliance does not indicate parking issues at a level that would justify diverting additional enforcement resources from other countywide priorities.”
Enforcement officers are deployed according to evidence of traffic management need, with priority given to areas where parking could affect the safe and efficient operation of the road network.
These include town centres, major routes, schools, public transport infrastructure, Blue Badge bays, residents’ parking areas and locations hosting major sporting events.
The council considered reallocating officers from other priority areas to provide more patrols around Wilford Lane but decided its existing countywide deployment system remained the most appropriate use of resources.
Increasing the total number of civil enforcement officers was also considered. However, the authority said the additional operating costs would not be proportionate to the scale of the parking issues identified.
The lead petitioner will be told that enforcement will continue proactively in the Wilford Lane area, with patrol levels linked to the number of anticipated parking contraventions.
However, the council said there was no justification for increasing patrols by diverting resources from elsewhere or employing additional enforcement officers.
