A row over double yellow lines has erupted in a tiny, tucked away Tavistock street.
No waiting parking restrictions were initially proposed along the The Nook and Laburnum Cottages after some residents said inconsiderate parking meant emergency vehicles couldn’t access properties, people couldn’t leave their homes and walls and gardens had been damaged.
They said many commercial vehicles found it impossible to turn around in the narrow cul-de-sac and had to reverse down a windy hill and onto the main road to get out, causing safety issues to pedestrians on a road with no pavements.
But a staggering 81 people have opposed the plans highlighting the hardship for residents without driveways and those with mobility problems and said the plans would make it harder for anyone to have visitors.
One opponent said there was so much ill feeling over the issue that he was considering moving house.
The controversial scheme is on hold because members of the West Devon Highways and Traffic Orders Committee can’t reach a decision. They agreed this week to take a look at it again despite already visiting the site in the summer and considering a scaled down revised scheme which suggested parking restrictions around the most troublesome areas.
One councillor, who did not wish to be named, said there was “no easy answer to the problem”.
Resident Malcolm Worth has criticised councillors for the delay saying: “What an absolute waste of taxpayers money.”
He is supporting the parking restrictions saying he had frequently witnessed inconsiderate parking and damage being caused including a gas pipe repeatedly being ruptured by drivers.
He recalled an incident where an ambulance couldn’t get to a stroke patient and had to load them onto a carry chair from their home. The driver then had to reverse down the hill delaying the patient’s onward trip to hospital, he said.
Mr Worth claimed the amended double yellow lines plan would only displace around four residents’ cars as many of the 14 households in The Nook had their own driveways.
“This is a common sense proposal, he said, adding that it would address “every single issue”.
“The free, safe movement of pedestrians and traffic is surely everyone’s priority isn’t it?”
Another resident said: “The bottom line is an ambulance needs to be able to get up here. This has been an ongoing issue for a number of years. I just tell my visitors they have to park elsewhere.”
One opponent said the site was “awkward” but it had always been that way and she didn’t think the restriction would solve the problems.
“We have been managing it for years. I have never seen a case of someone not receiving medical care.”
She added that the The Nook was at the top of the hill and it was not easy for people to walk up there especially if they were elderly or less mobile.
She questioned why the debate was still going on in the face of “so much opposition”.
Another said with no off street parking space available for his property, the parking restrictions, if they went ahead, would devalue his home by tens of thousands of pounds.
He said the South Western Ambulance Trust had not raised any issues, only four people supported the scheme in the consultation and council officers had recommended it did not go ahead.
One of the committee members said there was a problem at The Nook but the difficulty was trying to find a solution that kept everyone happy.
“It’s an emotive subject but that little estate is purely bad design,” he said. “Vehicles are getting much bigger and that can’t cope with anything bigger than a Ford Anglia.”
