Parking "anarchy" warning for Arun

That was the warning from a senior councillor when Arun's cabinet met on Monday, to discuss measures which would stop the parking free-for-all in Littlehampton and other towns and larger villages in the district.

Paul Dendle, Arun cabinet member for finance and central services, welcomed moves to set up a partnership with the county council, with the ultimate aim of Arun taking over parking enforcement on the streets from the end of June next year.

He urged the cabinet members to beware of introducing a scheme like Worthing's, which was "detrimental to local residents and businesses", and instead consider arrangements which were working well in Mid Sussex, Horsham and Adur.

Police 'will not enforce'

He added: "If we don't implement something along the lines of Adur, Mid Sussex and Horsham, we would have an anarchic situation, where police will not enforce what they are currently doing."

Ricky Bower, cabinet member for planning, was decidedly less enthusiastic about the possibility of Arun taking on the enforcement role.

He asked: "Does Arun want to be in a position for being blamed by residents for not enforcing parking? Because at the moment, the county council is not enforcing it. Are we going to expose ourselves to that sort of blame from residents?

"If we do carry out that enforcement, than Arun is going to be there right in the firing line in terms of the ability of local businesses, particularly one-man operations, to survive. It's not one I'm yet satisfied I can make a decision on."

Arun chief executive Ian Sumnall responded: "If the council does not want to be blamed for doing anything, the council should stop doing everything.

Minimum financial risk

"If Arun simply does not want to have the blame, or any responsibility, Arun should say now we don't want to do it."

Roger Elkins, cabinet member for community safety, said parking enforcement fitted in with Arun's priorities for a "clean and safe" district. "Of course we should take on this role," he declared.

In a detailed report, Kevin Basford, Arun head of environmental amenities and community safety, said the cabinet was being asked at this stage only to agree to agree in principle to the partnership with the county council, and to prepare a business case to go to the June cabinet meeting, with any financial risk to Arun kept to the lowest possible level.

Cabinet members agreed to his recommendations.

Should the partnership progress, there would be full consultation by the county council and approval would be needed from the Government.

'This could kill our town'

No new parking orders, such as residents' parking, or additional yellow lines, could be brought in until after the scheme started at the end of June, 2010, although measures already in the pipeline for Rustington and New Road, Littlehampton, will progress.

Littlehampton trader Andrew Sleeman, founder of the "Live Littlehampton, Shop Littlehampton" campaign, speaking in public question time at the meeting, warned: "With Worthing's predicament in mind, I know that this could kill our town."

A Norfolk Road, Littlehampton, resident, Claire Stevens, feared existing parking problems on her road could be made worse if the new parking regime was too strict.

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