Sheffield Council throws out huge parking scheme following complaints

The controversial Park Hill parking scheme – which locals said the original plan for would make 65 residential roads look like car parks and create more problems – was reduced following critical feedback earlier this year but it has now been scrapped.

Councillors on the transport, regeneration and climate change committee voted to not continue with the scheme as planned in a meeting this week.

Ahead of the vote – which went against officers’ recommendations – councillor Sioned-Mair Richards, who is also a representative for the ward, said: “It all got very unhappy with the majority being very clear they did not want a parking scheme and even when we looked at the smaller parking scheme people said they just didn’t want any scheme at all because they don’t think it will work in the area…

“Knock this on the head and start again in a very small discussion group way and I’m still not convinced we will get any kind of consensus or support from enough people to be able to make it a scheme that will work…

“I think judging by the mood and the feeling of all local residents we have to stop this and start again. I’m loath to say that because I know a lot of effort has been put in by officers, members of the public and local councillors to try to find a way through this but at the moment I don’t think that is possible.”

Coun Ian Auckland added: “We need to go back to the drawing board on this one and look again.”

What were the plans?

Council officers said their objective was to improve: parking for local businesses and residents, access for vehicles and conditions for active travel.

This zone was prompted by complaints from residents on Norfolk Road, a large street behind the Midland train station.

Many commuters, holiday-goers travelling by train and other visitors from outside the neighbourhood were taking advantage of free residential parking there to avoid high prices in city centre car parks, according to residents.

But what started out as an idea to tackle specific nuisance on this road escalated to a sprawling “one size fits all” scheme covering a huge area affecting multiple wards in the south east of the city, despite the vast majority saying it was not wanted or needed.

It was made smaller but residents were still unhappy with the scheme.

Concerns raised were about the costs of permits, a zone not being necessary, it moving any problems to another area, it harming businesses and there being less parking spaces and no guaranteed spots for locals.