FRUSTRATED residents who have been campaigning for parking permits for a decade face a further three year wait.

More than 125 people living in Crosse Courts, Laindon, face daily misery with commuters using their parking spaces – leaving them waiting hours to park near their homes.

They want residential parking to be introduced to solve the problem, but it has emerged it would take Essex County Council, which is looking at adopting the road from housing company Lovell, three years to put such a scheme in place.

Keith Guttridge, 37, said: “It has been ten years.

“We have had a meeting with Essex County Council highways which said they can put in a parking scheme right across the road if the residents agree to it.

“But they need to adopt the road, and in order to do that, Lovell has to get the maintenance up to scratch and the sewers sorted, which will take a while.

“They then have to keep it at that good level for a year before the council adopts it and a further 18 months before the scheme can be put in. It’s just never ending.”

The residents were dealt a blow in April when the plug was pulled on their own parking enforcement scheme which they had set up themselves.

Lovell had initially agreed, but pulled out at the 11th hour, saying permission had been granted by someone who did not have the authority.

The housing company does not allowparking schemes on its own land for legal reasons.

Mr Guttridge said: “At the end of the day, Lovell needs to change its policies on allowing parking schemes.

“The road really should have been adopted ten years ago.

Then we wouldn’t be in this position.”

A spokesman for Lovell said: “We have met with Essex County Council’s Highways department in the past month and are progressing legal proceedings for the adoption of the road by the County Council. We will keep residents updated on progress.”

Essex County Council did not respond before the Echo went to print.