ENFORCEMENT action could be taken to stop a car salesman flogging second-hand motors from a residents’ parking area.
The council is looking to take action following complaints from residents on Park Road, Barnsley, about designated parking opposite their homes being abused by someone who is selling used cars.
The vehicles are lined up on a grass verge on Park Road that runs from the crossroads at the Park Road junction with Sheffield Road, up to Duke Street.
Residents are allowed to use the verge as double yellow lines prevent them from parking on the main road and there is no parking available at the back of the terraced houses.
The council even forked out £78,000 a couple of years ago to install rubber mesh grid to protect the ground so residents could park there without churning it up. Fencing was also put up to stop people pulling onto the area from the main road.
But residents have complained to the council saying a large portion of it has been taken over and turned into a ‘car salesman’s yard’.
The council has said it is taking residents’ concerns seriously and looking into what can be done - with enforcement action a possibility to get shut of the motors.
Walker Armit, who has lived on Park Road for 16 years, told the Chronicle that every time he looks out of his window all he sees is cars for sale.
Mr Armit, 70, said: “It started off with two or three and it’s getting out of hand now and the cars come halfway down (the grass verge).
“At the top end there are about nine. Now they are parking them opposite our house which is further down. It’s council land, how are they allowed to use it to sell cars like that?
“It’s getting to the stage now where everyone is ranting and raving about it. They are there all the time, 24/7.
“One gets sold and another is in its place.
“Residents are still parking there but are having to park further away. We’re getting fed up of it now.”
Mr Armit raised the issue with Coun Martin Dyson at a councillors’ surgery meeting and he took the matter to council officers. It has also been made a policing priority by the community safety team that covers the area.
Coun Dyson told the Chronicle: “The problem is that someone selling second-hand cars is using the green area opposite where the residents live.
“I have raised it with Paul Brannan (who heads up the council’s community safety team) and the sergeant for the local police neighbourhood team so they can liaise to get some enforcement strategy together and hopefully remove the cars for sale.”
Coun Jenny Platts, cabinet spokeswoman for communities, confirmed officers are looking into what can be done to resolve the issue.
She said: “We are investigating this and will take enforcement action against the car salesman to prevent him using that land, if appropriate.
“Cars parked up in this way can lead to the unwanted effect of drivers slowing down to look at the details of these cars, which is a potential hazard for other road users.
“In addition, there is no protection for the consumer when purchasing a car from the roadside and people thinking of buying such a vehicle need to seriously consider the risk they are taking.”
