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Grass verge parking - Protecting grass verges in Adur
Introduction
Driving over, or parking on, a grass verge is a widespread issue in Adur. It often damages the verge, which not only spoils the appearance of the street, but involves the council in unnecessary additional expense on making good the damage.
Parking on verges and margins can also obstruct pedestrians from using the footway and be hazardous to other road users, especially if vehicles obstruct entrances, or park on a bends or junctions.
Who is responsible for verges?
Grass verges form part of the Public Highway. The Highway Authority (West Sussex County Council) has a statutory duty to maintain and keep them in a basic safe and accessible condition. The county council are also responsible for cutting the grass.
The district council are responsible for removing litter, abandoned vehicles and other items from verges. They also have the power to make byelaws prohibiting parking on the verge.
The Law
The council is aware that parking is an issue in some communities and is keen to work with residents to resolve issues rather than use its legal powers.
It is an offence however to park on a grass verge in Adur and where there is a sign on the verge stating 'No Parking' under the byelaw for the good rule and government of the district of Adur made under section 235 of the Local Government Act 1972 drivers may be prosecuted and on summary conviction be liable to a fine of up to £500.
It is also an offence under the Highways Act (1980) to place anything on the highway that causes damage including cars on the grass verge.
Protection
The district council has been working with West Sussex County Council to develop a range of options for deterring verge parking. Currently complaints are assessed and prioritised. Each complaint is looked at and assessed separately to see what the best course of action might be. The worst cases, usually those where emergency access and/or refuse/recycling vehicles are restricted, are dealt with as a priority.
Options include:
- White plastic posts
West Sussex County Council will purchase and install white posts for residents. There is a small cost to the house owner / occupier but they will be purchased and installed by the county council. To arrange the installation outside your property you will need to contact the county council’s Customer Services Officer on telephone: 01243 642105 - Dropped kerbs / crossovers
It is an offence to drive across a public footway without an authorised vehicular crossing as it may cause damage to the footway or the services underneath. To apply for a vehicular crossing, please contact your local area highways office to request permission
- see : West Sussex County Council website - Dropped kerbs or crossovers (http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/leisure/getting_around_west_sussex/roads_and_pathways/highway_licences/dropped_kerbs_or_crossovers.aspx) - Tree planting
The district council works with the county council to plant small trees to help prevent nuisance parking on verges. - Signage
Signs can be placed to enforce the byelaw for the good rule and government of the district of Adur made under section 235 of the Local Government Act 1972. These signs will be installed following complaints and can only be installed on the new green metal lampposts. - Parking improvements
Where it can be shown that parking is restricting access to emergency vehicles, the county council in-partnership with the district has undertaken capital scheme to harden verges for parking, install 'grasscrete' (concrete or plastic grid that allows grass to grow through voids) to create additional parking bays. - Note: Funding for all these options is limited and is not guaranteed.
Reporting a problem
For more information or to report a problem please either use the :
or call the Adur District Council on :
- Tel : (01273) 263047, or send an e-mail about grass verge parking
You will need to provide the following information (the more details you can provide the better) :
- Precise location of vehicle when the offence occurred and the date and
time
(ie, "outside no. 123 London Road, at 4:00pm on 5 June") - Description of vehicle, including make, model, colour and registration number (and description and/or name of the driver if known)
- Your name and contact details - please provide your details so that if there is a query with your comment we can contact you - this may help us to resolve the problem quicker. We will keep your details confidential.
