Flintshire street’s parking issues may go to court

by Laura Jones

A SOLUTION could be in sight for residents of a street which has been plagued by parking problems for more than a decade.

People living on Bistre Close in Buckley have fought for years to stop drivers who do not have allocated parking putting cars on the roadside and blocking the close.

The road, which falls between two Buckley council wards, Mountain and Bistre West, is made up of sheltered accommodation bungalows occupied by elderly residents.

Concerns have been raised by those residents about access for fire engines and ambulances to their properties.

Now, Buckley Mountain Cllr Carol Ellis and the council’s executive member for estate management, Cllr Helen Yale, have started a legal battle to have residents-only parking put in place on the street.

Cllr Ellis said: “We have been trying to get something done for years and we have finally started what will be a lengthy procedure to get the problem solved.

“Bistre Close was allocated as an ‘adopted road’ when sheltered accommodation complex was built 30 years ago and it’s accessible to anyone who wants to park there.

“Flintshire Council do not have any legal powers to change the parking in the street to residents-only unless they go through a legal procedure which could take months to pass.

“But as it stands, access to the road is a great concern and I wouldn’t like to think what would happen if there was a fire.”

Cllr Ellis added: “This is the only solution that we have come up with that will resolve the problem.”

Joe Bennett, 81, has lived in Bistre Close for more than eight years, and said the situation has ‘got out of hand’.

He said: “It is about time something was done.

“We are pensioners and we really don't need this. It is not our fault that people buy houses that don’t have parking.”