Save our street from parking nightmare is plea from Blackpool residents

Paula and Dave Storton are currently the only residents of Harrow Place, but the conversion of nearby former hotels into luxury flats has prompted moves to bring in new parking measures.

This would mean the loss of public on-street parking as spaces are given over to exclusive use by people moving into the apartments.

But the couple are warning they would be faced with disruption including car lights sweeping into their front room, while the pavement would also be substantially narrower putting pedestrians at risk.

Planning permission granted in 2016 for 86 apartments currently being built at Coastal Point includes an agreement to reconfigure parking on Harrow Place and introduce a residential parking scheme.

This does not include space in front of Mr and Mrs Storton’s home, but a subsequent application submitted in May by developer Tony Banks to convert 6-8 Harrow Place into 15 flats is seeking to create 10 parking bays there.

In a bid to highlight the issue the couple, who have lived on Harrow Place for more than 20 years, have put up a sign setting out the proposals and asking people to help ‘save our street’.

It has resulted so far in 76 objections being submitted to the council.

Mrs Storton said: “The new parking bays proposed outside our home will not only affect our privacy but will take a huge chunk out of the pavement.

“A lot of people living in the area didn’t know about the plans so we thought we would canvas people coming past and put the sign up.

“There are lots of disabled people living nearby, as well as a nursery which regularly brings children down this way and they will all struggle to use the pavement if it becomes single file.

“And for us, especially in the winter, when people park we will have their car lights sweeping into our front room.”

Mr Banks claims he does not want to put parking spaces in front of Mr and Mrs Storton’s home and is seeking an alternative solution with town hall planners.

He said: “I believe there is a solution to the parking issues in Harrow Place which would suit everyone, and I am calling on all the stakeholders to get together to resolve this.”

He said he was willing to put parking at the rear of his property but he had been advised that the land should be allocated for amenity use and bins.

The application is expected to go before the council’s planning committee at a future date for consideration.

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