‘Neighbourhood dispute’ may have led to yellow lines order
A parking order proposal from the Council is to be reconsidered
Plans to paint double yellow lines on a narrow Wiltshire street are getting a rethink, following the ruling of a council watchdog.
Wiltshire Council said it would impose a parking order at a junction in Box, near Corsham, citing concerns that fire engines and ambulances are unable to get around the corner due to parked cars.
But residents who want to continue parking outside their homes at the junction of Quarry Hill and Hazelbury Hill say the matter had been raised because of a “neighbourhood dispute” and said the decision was based on flawed information.
The matter was brought as an urgent item before Wiltshire Council’s Overview & Scrutiny management sub-committee.
Members were asked not to examine the rights or wrongs of the Traffic Regulation Order, but whether the cabinet member who made the final decision had followed the council’s protocols.
The matter was ‘called in’ by ward councillor Phil Chamberlain (Box & Colerne, Liberal Democrat) with the backing of nine Conservative councillors.
Resident Richard Bean told the committee: “I find it deeply concerning that we’re here at all today.
“From the outset, many residents of Box have felt their concerns have been dismissed. (This) is the first time it feels like many residents are being heard.
“If this is about emergency access, an ambulance on Sunday passed six parked cars on Hazbury Hill without incident – all in locations now proposed for restrictions.
“What, therefore, is this scheme trying to achieve?”
In a statement, parish council chairman Tim Walton, said: “The parish council undertook its own research into the situation and discovered that there was no evidence of emergency vehicles being impeded.
“Furthermore, we received correspondence from both the fire and ambulance services confirming there was no record of any problems in the Hazelbury Hill area, and the parish council never received any reports from the police relating to this issue.
“This situation arose from a neighbourhood dispute that had nothing to do with the emergency access, and some residents took it upon themselves to contact highways and anyone else they thought would be useful, repeatedly saying there was an issue with emergency access.”
But Martin Smith, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for highways, told the committee: “There’s been an attempt to dismiss evidence (saying) there haven’t been any issues with emergency vehicles being able to access properties on that hill.
“They’re ignoring the email from Southwest Ambulance Trust of April 9, 2024 about delays due to obstruction. They’re ignoring the email of March 15, 2024 talking about an incident in the previous January where an ambulance was blocked and paramedics had to attend the house on foot.
“Wilshire Fire Services did provide evidence that they could not access Hazelbury Hill to support an ambulance in January 2024. They had to knock on doors to get vehicles moved.”
He said that residents who lived further up Hazelbury Hill had responded to the traffic order consultation, complaining about delivery lorries, waste collection trucks, and ambulances being unable to access the road.
“There is credible evidence, and the attempts to deny that are unsound,” he said.
Ruth Hopkinson (Corsham Ladbrook, Liberal Democrat), who was on the council’s Local Highway and Footway Improvement Group that had originally requested the order, said: “I really do think that part of the issue with this call-in is about not actually liking the decision.”
And several committee members expressed concerns that their decision might set a precedent for having unpopular traffic orders re-examined.
Nevertheless, they voted – by a majority – to send the decision back to the cabinet member for reconsideration.