Dangerously parked day-trippers anger Frinton residents

The Frinton Residents’ Association is growing increasingly concerned about the influx of visitors descending on the popular and picturesque coastal town.

The society’s members are particularly worried about Frinton’s parking capacity and its ability to safely accommodate high volumes of vehicle owners.

Neil Churcher, chairman of the Frinton Residents’ Association says last weekend the town was inundated with visitors due to the scorching weather, which resulted in many car-owners parking on grass verges and obstructing private driveways.

“The town just isn’t big enough to accommodate the number of cars that come here when the weather is good,” added the 79-year-old.

“Frinton is not a seaside resort, it is just a very small town by the sea and the lack of control just makes it worse.

“The trouble is the roads are narrow and with cars parked either side, there just isn’t room to pass.”

Mr Churcher says the association’s members raised their concerns with the North Essex Parking Partnership, Tendring Council and Essex Police last winter but no action has been taken.

He is now calling for action to relieve the town’s congestion problem, which he believes could prevent emergency services from quickly reaching a casualty in need.

Mr Churcher added: "We were told, during the winter, that plans had been made to ensure a co-ordinated approach, by Tendring Council, NEPP and the police, in dealing with large visitor numbers to Frinton.

"The plan, as I understood it, was that when heavy numbers were expected enforcement staff numbers would be planned accordingly.

"But last weekend parking restrictions were unenforced, parking on council-maintained grass verges was unenforced, and obstruction of private driveways was unenforced.

"No tickets were issued and the parking was atrocious - lives could have been put at risk.

“The authorities must take responsibility for the safety of residents and consider restricting access when numbers are dangerously high.”

Responding to the concerns, the North Essex Parking Partnership said: “We have seen a steep rise in illegal and antisocial parking in Frinton.

“Motorists need to take responsibility and should be in no doubt that if they are caught parking where they shouldn’t, they will be issued with a Penalty Charge Notice.

“We urge everyone to play their part by only parking where it is safe and legal to do so, without causing an obstruction or nuisance to others, to ensure streets, roads and communities are safe and accessible to all road users.

“Our enforcement officers undertake daily patrols across the NEPP area, including Frinton, to help make streets safer for all users, and to ensure a fair allocation of resources.

"When we can, we will deploy additional staff to help enforce parking in areas where increased numbers of day-trippers can be expected.

"However, this might also be in places where NEPP cannot act, where parking is not against a restriction or prohibition, and, in those places, enforcement will be a matter for the police."

Carlo Guglielmi, Tendring Council's deputy Leader and lead member for enforcement, said the authority had a put a lot of work in to tackle this sort of issue.

“In anticipation of an exceptionally busy summer right along our coastline, due to the ongoing Covid-19 travel restrictions, we have put in place a Summertime Plan to ensure we are doing everything we can to support NEPP and prevent such problems happening, and respond if they do,” he said.

“This includes the work of our Ambassador team, a communications campaign which includes specific messaging around responsible parking and is being sent out to those out of the area before they arrive and to those based locally, and engaging with our partners at the North Essex Parking Partnership to ensure they step up their response too.

“Ultimately we always welcome responsible visitors to the Essex Sunshine Coast, and ask everyone who visits – whether they come from near or afar – to respect our local residents, protect our beautiful district, and enjoy the surroundings.”