Plagued by illegal parking

More enforcement is needed in Newark to stop drivers parking on double yellow lines, town councillors agreed.

The chairman, Mr Peter Foster, told the planning committee there was traffic chaos in the town after the start of work on bus laybys on Castlegate in preparation for the closure of the bus station at the end of the month.

Mr Foster said the problem had been made worse because of work to buildings on Portland Street that meant part of the road was cordoned off, making it narrower than normal.

He said despite that, people still parked outside shops in that area causing severe problems.

He said: “It took me 20 minutes to get from Pelham Street to the castle roundabout at 11am one morning and that is a main road into the town.”

Mr Tony Roberts was concerned lorries were coming through the town centre rather than using the relief road and said signs warning of traffic hold-ups because of the roadworks might encourage them not to come into Newark.

He said there were bound to be delays because of the Castlegate work.

“You can’t make an omelette without cracking the eggs. People will have to get used to it,” he said.

The vice-chairman, Mr Chris Gangel, said more enforcement was needed to ensure vehicles were not parked illegally making the situation worse.

Mrs Irene Brown said cheaper charges might persuade people to use public carparks rather than parking on the streets.