Yellow lines have been painted without warning outside homes in an upmarket housing development in Wolverhampton city centre, sparking uproar among residents.
People living in the Southbank development near the railway station returned home from work this week to find single and double yellow lines installed along Albion Street by council workers. The authority is preparing to take control of parking enforcement from the police from Monday in a move which will see double the number of traffic wardens in the city centre.
Southbank residents say the lack of notification about the lines was made evident by gaps where people’s cars had been parked when the markings were painted.
Council chiefs say developer Redrow should have put the lines down on completing the scheme in 2005.
Resident Sally Walmsley today branded the move “a disgrace”. She said: “I live with my partner, and we have two cars, but only one designated parking space.”
“That is fine if we can park on the road but what are we supposed to do now?
“It is irresponsible of planners to allow developments to be built without enough spaces. Before we moved, we were told we could park on the road, and that played a big part in us choosing Southbank.
Complaints
“The council told me emergency vehicles were struggling to get through but there is plenty of space as people park half on the kerb.”
But another resident, a mother who asked not to be named, said cars obstructing the pavement caused her difficulty getting a pushchair past. “Many cars parked there didn’t even belong to residents,” she added.
Council spokesman Tim Clark said: “We made it very clear to Redrow they were obliged to repaint the yellow lines once they had completed building work. We subsequently received complaints from the emergency services and utility companies that parked cars were preventing access.
“Our highways department have now painted the lines back on. Redrow will be billed for this work.”
No-one at Redrow was available for comment.
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