Sheffield residents take day of action in parking protest campaign
Residents of a Sheffield housing estate fed up with the disruption caused by all-day street parking have held a day of action in protest.
The action was called on Monday (April 28) by residents of Castle Croft Drive. They parked on the street rather in their driveways to stop students at Sheffield College and others from using the road to park.
One of the protest coordinators, who has asked to remain anonymous, said: “So many people have felt empowered. They have posted on Facebook that they’re going to carry on doing it.”
Some of the cars had posters on display, explaining that they were taking part in the day of action. Residents have been campaigning for a parking permit scheme but so far their calls on Sheffield City Council have been unsuccessful.
The residents say that pavements are regularly blocked by cars parking on the narrow estate road, which is opposite the college Granville Road campus. They say that delivery vans, bin lorries and fire engines all have problems negotiating the tight space left in the road.
Abandoned
Anyone having work done on their homes or needing repairs to services also struggles with contractors unable to park outside. It means that work is often delayed or sometimes abandoned after repeated failed attempts to gain access.
Parents parking to pick up students from All Saints Catholic High School, directly opposite the entrance to the estate, regularly block the road off.
The residents thought they had made a breakthrough when they spoke at a meeting of the council’s transport, regeneration and climate policy commttee last July. Chair Coun Ben Miskell said that officers would look into a no-cost solution to their problem.
Coun Miskell recently wrote to one of the protest co-ordinators. He told her: “I’m sorry to hear that things haven’t improved on Castle Croft Drive — I can completely understand how frustrating that must be.
“As you’ll remember, residents in the wider Park Hill area were consulted on a permit parking scheme back in March 2022. The response at the time was overwhelmingly against the proposals — more than 900 of the 1,088 responses objected, including some from Castle Croft Drive.
Feedback
“A petition with over 2,000 signatures was also received, with many people feeling that the project was too large in scale.
“In response to that feedback, a revised proposal with a smaller boundary, which included Castle Croft Drive, was brought to committee in June 2023.
“However, the committee decided not to go ahead with that either, and at the time residents and businesses were informed that the scheme wouldn’t be revisited in the near future.
“At the committee meeting in July 2024, I asked officers to explore whether there might be a ‘no cost’ solution to the parking issues you’re experiencing. That work is ongoing, and I’ll follow up with officers to get an update on any options that are being explored.”
The protester said she was disappointed at the response because nothing has moved forward. “It’s impacting on mental health,” she said.
“People are now saying they’re moving when before they said it was their retirement home. Lots of people have moved.