Sainsbury’s parking row - end in sight for Colne residents?

For over two years, midwife Emma Bateman has been representing people living in Norfolk Street to try and stop wagon drivers and shoppers from using their road as a point of access to the store.

While designated car parking spaces are available, off Windy Bank or Windsor Street, many visitors were opting to use the residential road instead. Previously, Mrs Bateman put this down to drivers being “too lazy” to sit in heavy North Valley traffic.

Now, following a recent meeting involving Lancashire County Council, police, Mrs Bateman, local councillors and Sainsbury’s, various ways of clamping down on illegal parking have been looked into.

While it is apparently not possible to extend the zig-zag line markings in the area, Alan Capstick, public realm manager for Pendle, has said that it should be possible to introduce double yellow lines to part of Norfolk Street.

He said: “This should mean that delivery wagons can use the preferred route via Windy Bank to make deliveries to the nearby Sainsbury’s rather than driving through the residential area.

“Before this scheme is finalised we will consult local residents to give them the chance to have their say.”

A Sainsbury’s spokesman added: “We had a constructive meeting with the council and local residents about the parking and access situation in Norfolk Street.

“We always aim to be a good neighbour and we hope that by working together we can get the issue resolved as quickly as possible.”

Mrs Bateman, who has lived in Norfolk Street for 11 years, believes introducing waiting restrictions will be a “positive step”.

She is pleased to see that Sainsbury’s are already putting notices on cars parking on Norfolk Street, but does fear that blue badge holders may be exempt from the restrictions.

The mum-of-six, who said that concerns were raised during the supermarket’s planning process, said: “It is easy to talk about. It’s actual implementation is another thing.

“The only way to fully improve the situation is to make it no parking for everybody.”

And Coun. Ann Kerrigan, who has supported Mrs Bateman throughout her campaign, said: “I think that we are lucky to have Emma who is brilliant at keeping this on the agenda and equally brilliant at monitoring the situation.

“I hope that this is the end of it now. If not then hopefully we will all be kept informed.”