An open letter to all property owners, their tenants, letting agents and contractors
Bigbury Parish Council is aware of a number of problems in Bigbury-on-Sea related to congestion and obstruction caused by on-street parking.
The current trend to permit the replacement of single dwellings with two or more properties, sometimes with four or more bedrooms, but with inadequate on-site parking has resulted in the frequent overflow of vehicles on to the narrow public roads and grass verges. This situation causes distress and considerable nuisance to other residents. The problems presented include:
- South West Water’s tankers are unable to reach the sewerage plant.
- The four separate re-cycling lorries, including industrial waste collection from holiday homes, have difficulty passing.
- The passage of emergency vehicles has been obstructed on occasion.
Furthermore, during construction work the narrow roads are frequently used for parking contractors’ lorries and vans.
Bigbury-on-Sea contains a very high proportion of holiday- or second homes which are often used to entertain large parties of people, particularly at peak times in summer. At such times, up to five vehicles, have been observed in association with one house over extended periods! The road, parking and sewerage infrastructure of Bigbury on Sea was never designed to cope with this sort of population pressure.
The Parish Council hopes that all property owners and any tenants will show due consideration to their neighbours when parking vehicles. Specifically, please
- Observe the road signs about turning and parking
- Avoid parking on the verges or causing damage by turning
- Do not obstruct the passage of emergency vehicles and other traffic.
Where a property is frequently occupied by visitors from outside the parish, please ask them to respect the community they are visiting. Please help us by displaying this note in a prominent position, informing your letting agents about its contents and asking any contractors and builders working on your property to park thoughtfully.
Thank you for your help and consideration.
Bigbury Parish Council
In relation to this, I would also like to remind holiday makers and second home owners that this is a village with no pedestrian paths,or street lighting hence speeding is not acceptable!! I go to work early and finish late and have had to jump in the hedge’s on many occasion. I also have children who are emerging from a concealed driveway. Most of the residents in BOS have little or no vision when pulling out of their driveways, but as locals we are aware of this and act accordingly, people visiting our lovely village should be made aware! I would be more than willing to get together with like minded villagers and put together a leaflet that could be handed out to Holiday letting agents and second home owners, as I feel that this is becoming a major problem.
This is a separate issue from parking and I’m sure we’d all agree that everybody should drive both within the law and with due consideration for other road users. Possibly the biggest group of road users in Bigbury-on-Sea, especially in summer, is day-visitors to the fantastic beaches in our parish. Your generous offer of preparing a leaflet directed at holiday letting agents and second home owners would be unlikely to reach this group, in my view.