TORIES PREPARE FOR U-TURN ON PARKING RESTRICTIONS

1.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 9th Apr 2008

Solihull Council has finally bowed to pressure from residents by agreeing to discuss parking permits for Hillfields and Monkspath residents affected by a street parking ban outside their homes.

The decision to consider parking passes follows months of complaints from fed-up residents who warned that the parking restrictions would cause chaos without parking permits for car owners without off-road parking facilities.

The Council U-turn comes after dozens of residents were issued parking tickets for parking vehicles outside their own homes..

Liberal Democrat candidate for St Alphege, Mamdooh Jalil has campaigned with local residents for parking permits and said:

"We surveyed over 500 homes in the no parking zone before Christmas. The overwhelming view was in favour of a resident's parking scheme and those results were published in January, but it has taken until April for Solihull Council to even agree to discuss a scheme.

"Some residents have already received up to half a dozen tickets and they will not be happy that the Council has taken so long to respond."

Lorely Burt MP, who conducted the survey said:

"We published our findings in January and there has been nearly three months of unnecessary frustration and delay for residents. Who knows how much longer it will take before a scheme is finally implemented.

"All this could have been avoided if the Council had listened to the concerns of local residents before ploughing ahead with the original scheme last year.