SURGERIES ON PARKING PLANS

The events on January Friday and Saturday will give people the opportunity to talk one-to-one with East Sussex County Council officers.

A county council statement said: 'Earlier consultations found that residents in Seaford town centre supported, in principle, the introduction of controlled parking, while further out from the town centre, opinion was more divided.'

Controlled parking would see the introduction of on-street charges and permits for residents and priority users such as tradespeople and care workers.

Based on a street-by-street analysis of the results, the council's consultants have now put together a specific draft package of proposals for further consideration.

East Sussex County Councillor Matthew Lock, Lead Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, said: 'Our consultants have recommended that we consider a controlled zone that goes quite a long way out because, if controls are introduced in the centre of a town, it always tends to push parking further out.

'We are not sure whether people living in some of the streets slightly further from the town centre and the seafront will want controls. There are pros and cons and we particularly want to know what people living in those streets think. We will not introduce controls in those streets unless people living there want them.

'We also want to discuss the proposals with the town council and local businesses before any decisions are made. If we decide to go ahead, it would be on an experimental basis to give us the chance to fine tune the controls before anything becomes permanent".

The surgeries are to be held at the St James Volunteer Centre in Blatchington Road on January 12 (3pm to 8pm) and January 13 (10am to 4pm). Appointments are not necessary.