Whittlesey councillors call on police ‘to do more’ as illegal parking has become an increased problem

Illegal parking has become a big issue in Whittlesey, with councillors wanting the police to do more to tackle the problem.

At Thursday evening’s town council meeting, councillors raised concerns about vehicles parking where they should not be, which could become a danger to people.

Cllr Ray Gerstner told other councillors that he has received a lot of complaints about the amount of illegal parking in the town.

He said: “People are parking there to go to either the restaurants or the pubs in the area. It seems very prevalent these days.”

Cllr Dee Laws said she is delighted that the police have been issuing some tickets “at long last” and for going for “enforcement rather than education, but it's not enough.”

She also acknowledged that on the way to the council meeting, she noticed four cars illegally parked on St Marys Street on double yellow lines, also half on the pavement. She said: “It is very dangerous for pedestrians down there, and it's a very poorly lit street.”

Cllr Laws also raised concerns about parking on Orchard Street. She said vehicles are parked so far on the pavement that a person could not walk, let alone someone in a wheelchair or mothers on the school run.

She added: “I applaud what the police have done so far, but they need to do more.”

Alex Miscandlon, mayor of Whittlesey, said: “I will personally have a word with the sergeant that we are still having serious issues so that he can prompt his crew to go and have a look at that again.”