Starting to tackle the village's parking issue

At Monday night’s meeting of North Sunderland Parish Council, members agreed to install the restriction following a public consultation which did not spark much of a response either for or against the introduction of double-yellow lines.

It will not be down the whole of the street, but the stretch from the junction with King Street down to the entrance of Kippy Law and the former police station.

At previous meetings, the possibility of the lines on one side of the street was discussed, but Coun David Shiel said: “I suggest we put them down both sides of the road.

“If they have nowhere to park, they shouldn’t be letting those houses.”

Coun David Donaldson agreed, saying: “I think double-yellow lines on both sides as far as Kippy Law because that’s where the bottleneck is.”

Asked for his views, ward member for the area, John Woodman, said: “I think something needs to be done.

“I don’t have a strong view about whether it’s one side or both, but I’m happy to go along with you. I think both sides would probably work.”

As county councillor for the village, Coun Woodman can allocate funding for the introduction of traffic restrictions once the request has been made by the parish council to the county council.

Coun Woodman pointed out that one of the residents who did respond to the consultation put forward the idea of a residents’ parking permit zone. However, this could not apply to one stretch of James Street in isolation and would probably need to incorporate other roads such as Kippy Law and Stone Close. “It’s a no-go,” said Coun Donaldson.

Other areas where parking is a problem were mentioned during the debate, but in other cases, the public consultation has resulted in split opinion, meaning it is difficult to progress with any options.

This was the case for Chapel Row/Chapel Court as well as on Main Street in North Sunderland, near the cemetery.

Over the past year, the parish council has also heard about parking issues in several other areas of the village.