SENIOR Police Officers from the town’s Neighbourhood team faced a barrage of criticisms about enforcement of parking restrictions in Thame, during an open session of Thame Town Council this week.
Inspector Mark Harling and SGT Vicky Hoskin told Councillors and questioners from a sparsely populated public gallery, that PCSOs can and do issue tickets for vehicles parked on zig-zag lines in the town (£40 fine), if they are causing an obstruction. Otherwise they have no powers of enforcement. “Police Officers themselves do police unlawful parking, when and if they are not committed to other priorities,” explained Insp Harling.
Inconsiderate parking around Lashlake
Similarly, because the streets around Lashlake, Green Lane and Moorend Land, often used as car parking for employees of CPM, are not areas with Residential Restricted parking, anyone is allowed to park there and action can be taken only if cars are parked too near to junctions or causing an obstruction. Cllr Mary Stiles reported that residents of Lashlake had complained to her about cars parking on the pavement and on both corners of Greenway, restricting the view around them and dangerously narrowing the road. Sgt Hoskin said that she would look into the matter with PCSO Natalie White who regularly patrols the area.
‘It’s like the Wild West on yellow lines’
Cllr Bob Austin declared that parking on yellow lines in the town was: “..getting like the Wild West!” Particularly mentioning the mis-use of the five parking spaces opposite The Cottage Bakery, he said: “The situation is becoming ridiculous. How can we tackle it? When you get people quoting back at you a lack of enforcement, you know you’re in trouble.”
Insp Harling replied that when letters were issued to persistent offenders previously, there had been ‘a huge decrease’ in the misuse of parking in that area, and that he would look again at repeating that option.
In response to a question about people parking near the junction of Jane Morbey Road recently, from Cllr Mike Deacock, Insp Harling said that he noted the problem and would look at it. Similarly, he took note of a complaint from a Chiltern Vale resident, Owen Davies about cars being parked on the blind corner between Beech Road and Sycamore Drive. assuring Mr Davies that the police would do what they can.
Prioritising with limited resources
Insp Harling was blunt, concluding to everyone in the council chamber: “I know that parking has an impact on local communities. We will try to do what we can with letters etc, but parking cannot be our main priority. Threat, harm, risk to people, child-sex exploitation, missing persons etc will be prioritised. A lot of the work of Neighbourhood teams say, ten years-ago would have been dealing with thefts, burglaries, etc. Now there has to be an acceptance that some of our work is too important not to be a priority.”
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