Residents' patience pays off for parking

I and friends raised the petition in 2012 after listening to local people tell us about commuters parking for the day outside their homes and even in some cases going on a holiday, parking their cars for the duration.

In 2014, we had a similar petition for those living around Monkwearmouth Hospital, who were blighted by inconsiderate parking, accepted by the council. We were fortunate in our timing and managed to get the whole area considered together and passed for future action by the council.

Since then I have been proactive in asking questions about when this scheme will be implemented.

As the council is obliged to listen to everyone in the area and their opinions we arrived at a situation where some wanted the scheme and some did not.

A consensus was reached in most streets in favour of the scheme but some at the time did not feel it was a problem for them. I am pleased to say that all these streets have now come on board and the scheme is proceeding.

I feel for the people who have problems with parking but can say that I have done my utmost to see this scheme delivered.

I could have wished for the whole process to have been shorter but appreciate the permissions, legal processes etc that the council has had to follow.

If no objections are made to the scheme then all materials are ready and although I have no knowledge of the council schedules I would not expect it to be a long process compared to what we have already gone through.

I thank the residents in the area for their patience in waiting for the scheme to be implemented.

Coun Margaret Beck