Ash Residents have rejected the proposed parking changes, Surrey Highways has confirmed it will not be proceeding following the consultation. However they concluded that they will proceed with extending the double yellow lines on the north side of Ash Hill Road (outside the Ash centre Car park) in order to further protect the grass verge. This means the amount of on street parking in Ash is not reducing.
Residents concern
In August 2022, Surrey Highways began a consultation as part of the parking review process. The process considered requests made by residents, businesses and government organisations. The list is reviewed by Surrey Highways and scored according to the potential safety impacts. Those scoring highest make it to the consultation stage. Following the announcements of the consultation, many local residents contacted their local councillors and commented on social media to complain, rejecting these proposals as unnecessary. The residents explained that they have used these locations for parking for many years as they have no off-street parking of their own. If these proposals were implemented, it would surely move the problem elsewhere and leave vulnerable households displaced from their vehicle, on which they may heavily rely.
Cllr John Tonks contacted Lisa Waterfall (Project Manager Parking Service Delivery Directorate), who had written to residents asking for their participation in this consultation. She said that “The consultation will provide a valuable insight into whether the controls are required or not. Obviously, we want to balance the needs of different user groups including the businesses but this will all be considered in the decision-making process.”
Result ofthe consultation
The formal decision reports have yet to be published, however Cllr John Tonks told Ash Parish News that his conversations with Surrey Highways had indicated that the residents sentiment was mostly against. Since the conclusion of the consultation, the Guildford Joint Committee, to which Guildford Borough Council’s Parking team reported, has been dissolved. Now Surrey County Council (SCC) has overall responsibility of managing parking reviews. Lisa Waterfall in her new role at SCC confirmed to Cllr John Tonks that SCC “will not be progressing with the changes apart from the small extension of double yellow line at the top of Ash Hill Road to further protect the verge”. She also added that the SCC website will be updated with the decision reports soon.
Can you park on the grass verge behind double yellow lines?
No, waiting restrictions apply from the centre of the carriageway to the back of the pavement (building line). Even if it’s a seemingly harmless grass verge, you can still receive a parking ticket. For more information visit Surrey County Councils website.