Concern over parking in Skegness after 'near miss' and car seen driving along pavement

One hotelier says the problem will remain until more car parking spaces are made available for the high volume of visitors coming to the coast following the pandemic.

However, there has been a report of a 'near miss' involving children - and your reporter saw a car that had been parked on a grass verge on Scarbrough Avenue mount the pavement before driving up to the junction with North Parade.

Queues of traffic along the seafront have been a regular sight since the entrance to the Princes Parade car park was moved to off South Parade, due to the pedestrianisation of Tower Esplanade.

One theory is motorists are frustrated trying to find a car park space are just abandoning them - and at a time when businesses need visitors to survive after the pandemic, it is feared lack of parking could prevent them from coming back.

Karen Shields runs the Beachlands hotel in Scarbrough Avenue and says lack of parking has forced her to park on the grass verge near her business - and she is not planning to move any time soon even if she gets a fine.

"I am not prepared to park my car in a side street and risk it being vandalised - I want to be able to see it and know it is safe," she said.

"Parking in Skegness is a massive problem at the moment. People are arriving in the resort frustrated because they cannot find a car parking space - you see them stuck in queues shouting and blowing their horns all of the time.

"People dumping their cars out of frustration isn't just a problem in Scarbrough Avenue - it's happening all over town but nothing is being done to alleviate it.

"We lost the pier field parking space to Premier Inn but creating new car parking spaces does not seem to be a priority.

"It isn't a new problem. I was on the council chamber when I first came here and it was always on the agenda but nothing was done.

"It's great the resort has all of this new investment to attract people, but unless they sort the parking problem out people just won't come back.

"I cannot understand why the Sea View Road Car Park isn't made multi-storey and the council doesn't do the same at the south end of the resort.

"It would probably cost millions but after the bad year we have had due to the pandemic we need these visitors or businesses will be lost people people just won't come back."

The Standard spoke to Lincolnshire Police, Lincolnshire County Council and East Lindsey District Council about the situation.

Our newspaper recently received a report of a car narrowly missing two children coming from over a 'bridge' to the right of the pier near where a number of cars had been 'dumped'.

And on Sunday, your reporter saw a motorist that had been parked on the grass verge in Scarbrough Avenue mount the pavement and drive up it to the junction with North Parade.

Insp Haigh said his officers were aware of drivers parking on the grass verges and were working with Lincolnshire County Council and local residents to find a solution.

He said: "I’m concerned for the safety of pedestrians using the pavement.

"Pavements should be safe spaces and the last thing they want to contend with is vehicular traffic.

"Driving on a pavement presents an added danger to the visually impaired and our most vulnerable citizens”

“I am working with LCC and local residents to find a solution but I must remind vehicle users that it is an offence to drive on a pavement”

East Lindsey: District Council said the authority had received no complaints about bad parking.

A spokesperson said: "ELDC continues to take appropriate enforcement action in all council owned off-street car parks and our officers have reported no instances of ‘bad parking’ taking place currently.

"We are in dialogue with Lincolnshire County Council colleagues as we are aware they are experiencing difficulty in motorist behaviour for on street parking as some people are simply ignoring parking restrictions and parking where they want and then paying any penalty charge notice issued."

A Lincolnshire County Council spokesperson said: "Our parking enforcement team continues to patrol on-street locations in Skegness.

"However, we do not monitor or enforce any off-street car parks or land owned or maintained by the district council.

"We have not had any formal complaints about Scarborough Avenue since August 2020, but we continue enforcing vehicles parked on pavements where there are single or double yellow lines.

"If there are no restrictions, this would become a matter for the police, who can enforce for causing an obstruction."

Anyone wanting to report an instance of nuisance parking to Lincolnshire County Council can do so by visiting www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/nuisanceparking.Read also

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