Littlehampton residents have a say on future parking needs

West Sussex County Council will this month be launching a public consultation to see if people living in the town would like to see any changes to parking regulations.

Letters with pre-paid reply slips will be delivered to around 4,500 homes and businesses in the town centre asking if they have any particular parking problems and want to see proposals for further scrutiny.

The county council is working with Mott Macdonald Consultancy on a consultation which includes the option of drawing up plans for a residents’ parking scheme.

The idea behind the scheme is to have an area in the town where parking is controlled throughout the day. Homeowners, local businesses and their visitors are given priority to park by purchasing permits or vouchers.

This in turn can prevent obstructions to private driveways by removing indiscriminate parking, improve road safety and reduce congestion.

Other choices include making minor changes to existing restrictions, like extending yellow lines, or simply doing nothing at all.

County council leader of the Joint Eastern Arun Area Committee, Graham Tyler, said: “The county council is very keen to stress that this is only an initial consultation. As yet, there are no proposals to speak of, and no final decisions have been taken by the committee.”

The closing date for the council to receive comments is Friday, August 10.

If there is support for investigating the proposals further, a more detailed consultation and exhibition will be held either later in the year or early next year.

If any changes do go ahead, it is likely these would be introduced in the end of 2013.