New '˜civic wardens' could replace community wardens in Selsey

The new multi-purpose wardens would carry out community work such as litter-picking but would also be able to hand out parking tickets.

Selsey councillor Roland O’Brien put forward the idea which was presented to the Chichester District Council’s overview and scrutiny committee. The idea was supported by two other Selsey district councillors.

Cllr O’Brien said: “The committee reckoned it was worth exploring further. Nothing is set in stone, there is a lot of work to be done to sort out how it could operate and what the advantages/disadvantages would be.”

The idea is modelled on the garde champetre, someone who acts as a police officer, game warden and forest ranger which are employed in some French towns.

The civic warden role would effectively be combining the roles of a parking enforcement officer, a community warden, coastal warden and dog patrol officer.

During the meeting last week it was said combining these functions in one service should provide managerial and support service savings.

It was also said the new civic wardens would make it easier for residents to make a complaint about a service.

It was suggested a single pool vehicle could serve civic warden posts, on a rota that included weekends.

Another idea put forward was Selsey Town Council could inform wardens to what the current priorities in the area were.

Midhurst Town Council has pulled out of its community warden scheme.