NEIGHBOURS say their road is being choked up by parked cars and are furious they missed out on getting parking restrictions.

People in Stewards Green Road, Epping, say the issue has reached breaking point and their street resembles “a giant car park”.

Allnuts Road, Charles Street, Crossing Road and Brook Road were all made part of a CPZ two weeks ago.

Now with nowhere to park for free, commuters heading to nearby Epping Station leave their cars in Stewards Green Road instead.

Resident Andrew Brooks is trying to find a solution so cars stop clogging up his road.

He said: “We are very jealous we haven’t been given parking permits like our neighbours.

“It’s like our road is now a giant car park, with cars that have just been abandoned on grass verges.

“It makes me angry and it’s frustrating.”

Not everyone in Stewards Green Road has a driveway and some residents are forced to park in one of the two lay-bys.

Cars now park anywhere they can find – over fire hydrants, pavements and on top of grass verges.

But the situation means parents with buggies and disabled people in wheelchairs can’t get through.

“It’s dangerous - people can’t squeeze past,” the 51-year-old added. 
“The attitude of the commuters is that they don’t seem to care.

“If you’re going to park over a road, it will cause trouble. But I do understand they have places to go too, especially if they’ve been driving around looking for a parking space.”

The first day the restrictions were in place people flouted them anyway, and a warden issued 22 tickets.

Mr Brooks is keen for Essex County Council to give his road permits, too, or create a yellow line.

“The council hasn’t given any thought into what happens to these streets. Where will people go? 

“It feels like they are washing their hands of us. I’d be happy to pay for a permit if it alleviated the situation. I think that yellow lines would help matters too.”

Epping Forest District councillors Cherry McCredie and John Whitehouse have joined forces with Mr Brooks and his neighbours to help them fight for restrictions.

Cllr McCredie, who lives in Charles Street which has recently been given permits, suggested creating a “Park&Ride” system.

This, she says, would alleviate pressures on roads.

She said: “We did try to implement that a few years ago but from 6am, people are hardly going to want to take a shuttlebus.

“But there isn’t always the capacity for them to park. I’m not sure there’s a solution yet but I would like to try and keep the residents comfortable.”

Cllr Whitehouse added: “There’s clearly big pressures down there, I hope the parking partnership will carry out an assessment and bring forward proposals.

“There needs to be consultation with the residents. There are two options – permit parking or yellow lines, although I suspect the second option would be impractical.”

A North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) spokesperson said: “The NEPP considers the potential benefits and impacts of many parking or waiting restriction requests from across north Essex.

"Residents wanting parking or waiting restrictions should demonstrate local support, including from the local ward councillor. 

“Each request is reviewed and scored, looking at key factors including the level of local support, potential benefits and impacts.

"Schemes are then referred to the Partnership’s Committee to prioritise and agree which will be progressed.”