Town councillors have warned their worst fears – which were voiced at public consultation meetings last year – are coming true with the town's residents left with fewer places to park.

Members of Midhust Town Council are now writing to Chichester District Council's top officer Paul Over who headed controversial proposals to bring car-park charging to Midhurst.

Carol Lintott echoed the sentiments of fellow councillors when she said: "We need this looked at now, because this 'displacement' has happened while there is still free parking in the car parks. It will only get worse when charging comes in."

Town councillor Gordon McAra is angry controversy over car parking has had a negative effect on a scheme to improve the town's historic Church Hill and Market Square area.

People were confusing the residents' parking problems with the Midhurst Vision group's enhancement plans.

"They are two completely different things," he told councillors. "CDC has opened up a can of worms with their new car-parking arrangements and they have blighted what we have been trying to do for the past decade."

Residents who have become accustomed to a more lax approach have discovered they are getting tickets for leaving vehicles on double yellow lines or overstaying one-hour parking limits.

And cars are now being parked in other residential areas without parking restrictions, leaving homeowners there with no space.

Problems are building up all over the town, most notably in Edinburgh Square, Market Square, Lamberts Lane and June Lane.

They have arisen since Chichester District Council took over responsibility for on-street parking enforcement earlier this year and new wardens begun dishing out tickets.

Stressing the importance of bringing in residents' parking quickly, Mr McAra added: "CDC are pretending to do this in the name of traffic management but they are doing it in the name of revenue."

Chairman of the town council's finance and general purposes committee Stephen Morley said: "We need to ask Mr Over how he proposes to deal with the problem. Problems pointed out to him over car-park charging have come to a head and rather more quickly than we thought they would."

John Quilter added: "It is fair to say in the consultation for car-parking charges CDC neglected to adequately consider those things many people in the town brought forward and we are now reaping the consequences.

"It can only get worse."


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