WORRIED parents have launched a petition against changes to parking restrictions around Southend Hospital.

They fear it could make it almost impossible to pick their kids up from Earls Hall School, in Carlton Avenue.

There are currently 9.30am to 4.30pm ‘permit parking only’ restrictions in place on Mondays to Fridays.

The proposal is to extend the restrictions to include more streets, and residents must voice their views before January 23.

Mum-of-two Jackie Gooding said: It’s just ridiculous, I realise the ethos is that we should be walking to school, but a lot of the family at the school are out of catchment area and if people are waorking and you have grand parents that pick the children up they can’t park.”

Mrs Gooding has set up a petition calling for Southend council to reduce the restriction to 3pm or allow half an hour of free parking.

The other alternative proposed is to allow a ‘school permit’ for parents a reasonable rate, rather than large fees on pay and display machines.

Mrs Gooding, 40, who lives in Southview Drive, said: “There will be an accident in the end because I can see some parents will just drop their kids in the middle of the road because they can’t park anywhere.”

She said the current parking restrictions were already causing problems.

One parent had left their car blocking the school carpark because they had already suffered £90 in fines and could not face any more.

Another received a parking ticket at 4.27pm while picking their child up from an after school club.

Mrs Gooding said a lot of the problems had been caused because planning permission had been allowed for the Royal Bank of Scotland building, in Thanet Grange, which employs more than £2,500. The Echo reported earlier this month that the company had employed a planning consultant to look at ways to offer more parking.

Cheryl Hindle-Terry, Southend Council’s Team Leader for Traffic Management and Road Safety, said: “As a result of complaints received from local residents the Council is currently consulting on proposals to extend the existing parking scheme into Hobleythick Lane, Henley Crescent, Midhurst Crescent and a small section of the Prince Avenue Service Road.

“Residents have until Wednesday January 23 to comment on the proposals and all feedback received will be passed to the Traffic and Parking Working Party.”

The petition can be found at www.change.org under the title ‘Southend-on-Sea borough council: Amend the parking restrictions to the proposed Hospital Parking Scheme.’

 

A SINGLE mum who suffers from breathing difficulties fears the changes will make her life hell.

Alison Drew, 43, suffers from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease which makes it difficult for her to walk long distances.

Mrs Drew, who lives in Dolphins, with her son Joshua, seven, said: “I don’t want oxygen at the house because I’ve got a small child and I don’t want to become reliant on it at the moment, I’ve got various breathing exercises that can get my breathing back to normal. Because of that I don’t get a Blue Badge.

“I live by the Bell and I have to cross the footbridge to get my son to school and I just can’t make it over there.

“If there’s no parking how do I get my son to school? Some may say it’s my own fault for not giving in and having the oxygen in the house, but I don’t want that.”

Miss Drew currently gets to the school 30 to 45 minutes early to ensure she can pick her son up.

But she feels that if the restrictions are extended it will be even more difficult to get her son to school everyday.