St Leonards parking permit zones plan dubbed 'Yet another tax on local people'

The council is inviting people to comment on the proposals in a consultation which runs until June 5.

The proposed area affected starts at Marina and includes streets like Kenilworth Road and Maze Hill, and extends across St Leonards towards Warrior Square and Magdalen Road and north to include roads like Chapel Park Road and Church Road.

However, some have criticised the plans as 'crazy' and 'yet another tax on local people'.

Readers took to the Observer's Facebook page to air their views.

Oliver James Leonard said: “Parking is already bad enough in this town, so hopefully these are rejected.”

Chris Smith said it was an ‘awful idea’ and added: “Hopefully the people of Hastings can try and stop this happening with the help of their local councillors and HBC.”

Mark Freeman said: “Exactly why the high street is dead. Just hit everyone with another tax on top of council tax, road tax, and tax on fuel.”

Jaques Alston said: “Our council tax is very high. I feel strongly that those who pay this tax should receive a permit to park freely within their own town.”

Phil Casey said: “What about fixing the roads? This is just crazy.”

Marc Hunt said: “Paying to park outside your own home yet again another tax on local people . Fix the roads.”

However, Martin Butler said: “I live in one of the roads that's going to be affected by this new scheme. Something does need to be done. Residents can't find space to park in their own road because of people taking advantage of free parking and they start to park up soon after 8am, and their cars are still there at 6pm. It's not fair for residents. The road should be residents only, it should be a permit only zone, there are car parks close by.”

A county council spokesperson said: “The high-level consultation follows requests for changes to existing parking controls or where local residents or businesses want new controls to be introduced.

“We are continually reviewing our parking schemes to make sure they meet the changing needs of local communities.

“To address parking issues, we are considering a new parking scheme. It would introduce shared parking bays that can be used by permit holders or by people who pay to park. These bays would be in operation every day from 9am to 8pm.

“Some bays would have a time limit of four hours for the paid parking aspect, permit holders would be able to park all day. Outside the operating hours, anyone would be able to park in these bays.

“The aim of this proposal is to increase the turnover of parking spaces. It would also prevent people without permits from parking all day in high demand areas.”

The county council said each eligible household will be able to buy up to two resident permits.

It added that households can also buy up to 100 visitor permits each year, even if they do not have a resident permit.

Visitor permits, which a physical scratchcards, are available to buy in two or five-hour periods.

Businesses that need to use their vehicles throughout the day can buy business user permits.

The spokesperson said: “There will be no free all‑day parking for people without a permit on the days the scheme operates.

“The total number of parking spaces may be reduced because yellow lines may be needed near junctions and across dropped kerbs.

“Permit and time limits will only apply during the control hours. The number of permits will be limited, and a waiting list may be used if demand is high.

“Having a permit does not guarantee a parking space. Some properties will not be able to get permits, such as homes on private roads and developments with off‑street parking.”

Residents can comment by visiting https://consultation.eastsussex.gov.uk/economy-transport-environment/hastings-newpermitzones-2026.