Lack of consultation on parking charges

I write to express Fairlight Parish Council’s objection to the proposed car parking charges in Hastings Country Park and to the lack of consultation and communication with this Parish council.

As the parish not only bordering the Firehills area of the country park, but with parts of it within the Parish, we would have expected to be notified in writing of your proposals. Instead we learned of it only through the press. No notices were placed in the park itself. We have no information from Hastings about how the scheme would work.

The existing free parking system works well, providing recreation and pleasure to local people and visitors alike. This is the purpose of a Country Park and it is entirely counter-productive to deter its use by charging.

A very serious objection is the knock-on effect of parking charges on Fairlight residents living nearby. The roads and lanes are not suitable for on-street parking. We are concerned that motorists seeking to avoid the charge will park in our lanes causing obstruction and loss of amenity. Fairlight Parish Church would face problems with improper use of its own car park. Access to the Coastguards Tea Rooms (one of the few businesses here and a local asset) would be made difficult and expensive. These issues should be of mutual concern to both our authorities.

Rod Tice

Clerk to Fairlight Parish Council