Horsham traders’ frustration over town parking

Business owners in Queen Street have raised concerns about cars parking outside their shops after claiming one vehicle has not moved for more than three months.

The road has parking restrictions - applicable for most drivers - however, according to Horsham District Council the spaces can also be used by residents in the area with parking permits.

Mo Uddin, manager at Spice Nights in Queen Street, said he believed the spaces in front of shops should be for customers only.

He said: “There has been a car parked in front of our shop for the past three or four months and it has not been moved.

“We all expect our customers to park here because it’s convenient for our customers.”

The spaces themselves have parking restrictions between 9am and 5pm with drivers allowed to park for up to two hours.

Queen Street is classified as a Zone E parking area under the district council’s Controlled Parking Zones (CPZ) which means residents living between Denne Road and South Grove can park outside shops with permits, ignoring the restrictions.

Andrew Duffin, of A D Cycles, said he was not against people parking in the area with permits but raised concerns about the exception stating: “All it takes is three people with parking permits to leave their cars out there all the time and then there’s no parking in this area.

“It’s already bad. There is very little parking around here for our shops.”

He added: “Most of the customers move (their vehicles). Generally they don’t leave their car for four months.”

Colin Martin runs the Angling Specialists Horsham store which has been ever-present along the street for 41 years.

He said he agreed it was okay for people with permits to park in the spaces but was frustrated with those who ‘abandon’ their vehicles.

He said: “We want to bring people here. I think they are taking the mick. You wouldn’t like it stuck outside your house for four months.”

A Horsham District Council spokesperson said: “The motorist in question does in fact have a Zone E parking permit which allows them to park in Queen Street as this road falls within Zone E. This will also permit them to park in the limited waiting bays on Queen Street as these are shared use bays.

“Having a permit for a particular zone does not mean that motorists have to park in their own road, which may not always be possible, and entitles permit holders to park in any road that falls within their Zone.”