Norman Road Parking: letter to Council
The following letter has been sent to Hastings Borough Council by SBA, regarding parking in Norman Road, (West side), and Crystal Square car park.
S.B.A.
St Leonards on Sea Business Association
Chairman- Bill Orton
Ortons The Butcher
11 Norman Road
St Leonards-on-Sea
East Sussex TN37 6NH
01424 420322
www.sba-online.co.uk
18th November 2009
Rasoul Shahilow
Head of Parking & Highways Aquila House
Breeds Place
Hastings
East Sussex TN34 3UY
Dear Rasoul
Parking in St Leonards – West Side Norman Road Si Crystal Square
On behalf of the St Leonards Business Association I have been asked to request that the one hour parking restriction on the west side of Norman Road be reviewed and adjusted to a two hour no return limit
Generally the one hour restriction on the eastern side of London Road including the east side of Norman Road is working well for businesses and customers alike. Silchester Road at two hours is also satisfactory, however the majority of the customers of the businesses in the west side of Norman Road need time to browse and find the one hour insufficient. The antique shops located here are gaining a wide reputation for the quality of their offer and attract customers to St Leonards from far afield. There have been numerous cases of these customers receiving fixed penalty notices which is a deterrent to them but these are exactly the type of customer the regeneration programme was designed to attract.
I believe that during various discussions with you on parking issues we have reached a consensus that parking is a vital element in creating a climate where business can flourish and therefore I hope you will be favourably responsive to this request.
At a meeting of the Business Association last evening concern was also expressed that Crystal Square car park is underutilised; this we believe is in part due to poor signage directing motorists to this amenity and there also seems to be confusion about the route to leave the car park. There have been cases of drivers trying to use South Street to access London Road. When the proposals to close the junction of Cross Street and London Road we did request that this needed more thought, but unfortunately the closure has happened without any further discussion with the Association.
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss the above issues with as a matter of urgency or at least your response to this letter as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely
Bill Orton Chairman
Cc Pranesh Data
The St Leonards Business Association welcomes new members. We are a voluntary group of local business people who want to further improve St Leonards for everyone, business, residents and visitors. If you would like to join, and become involved please use
Why did this letter not include Kings Road. We have got a petition with signatures from customers requesting the one hour limit to be increased to 2 hours for the same reasons. I shall be sending a covering letter today to the parking manager detailing our position. It is very short-sighted to expect shoppers to execute all their business within such a short time.