Hotelier calls for relaxation of overnight parking restrictions in Northumberland village

Harvey Roberts, who runs the St Valery Boutique B&B, claims that guests arriving in the evening often have difficulty finding a parking space.

“I understand the double yellow lines throughout the village are there for a reason but I do think there are certain stretches where you could have parking,” he told a meeting of Alnmouth Parish Council.

“Those double yellow lines are there to stop congestion throughout the day. I really can’t see why we can’t utilise that space on a night-time when the restaurants need it.”

He said he had recently had guests who arrived at 7pm but had nowhere to park.

"I actually told them to leave their car on the double yellow lines for a couple of hours because they had dinner reservations,” said Harvey.

Unfortunately for them, it resulted in a penalty notice from a late night traffic warden.

“I’m not saying they did the right thing and they shouldn’t have got ticketed,” said Harvey.

"I've done the same thing when I’ve gone out for dinner and come back to find the village is full so I’ve parked up and then re-parked it late at night when all the restaurant staff have gone.”

He said it was legally possible to lift the restrictions on double yellow lines if signage is installed.

“Perhaps we could find a way where the double yellows apply between 7am and 7pm or something like that,” he suggested.

"99.9% of people don’t want to park their cars where it’s going to cause an obstruction,” he argued. “The time you get really inconsiderate parking is when people are at their wit’s end and decide to just leave it there. People wouldn’t just park on a corner or something like that. They would park it where it is safe to do so.”

The issue will be discussed at April’s parish council meeting.

But Cllr Ed Williams said: “I am broadly sympathetic to the proposal but it would have to be looked at very carefully. The double yellow lines are there for a purpose and sometimes people are not very rational, particularly in the summertime when we do get very busy and areas of the village get very heavily congested.”