Urgent action is being explored to stop drivers using a new public square as a free unofficial car park.
Land to the south of St Peter’s Church was transformed into an events space during the Valley Gardens works between 2019 and 2020, with the car park that used to be there moved to the other side of the church.
Since then, it has been used to host events including last year’s Christmas Market.
But in recent weeks, drivers have started parking there – with many spotted popping into the North Laine.
It is generally true that any public space you make accessible will eventually turn into a car park
This area in Brighton had been greenery but was changed as part of a (v successful) transformation of the area. It was intended to house events be used for public activities pic.twitter.com/z5g8Q4flJ3
— Martin Farley🔰💚 (@martin_farley) October 25, 2023
This week, Brighton and Hove City Council said it would be putting up No Parking signs and urgently exploring ways of enforcing this.
It’s believed the parking started after a mobile unit used by the NHS for lung health checks set up opposite the square last month.
However once drivers saw it being used by one or two cars, more started to take advantage and it’s now used by about a dozen every day.
To get to the square, they must drive over a pavement and a cycle lane, turning off a lane of moving traffic.
Resident Martin Farley said: “There are no signs saying it’s a car park and I watched two drivers park up and then walk into the North Laine area (so nothing to do with the church or the temporary NHS centre next door).
“It started a few weeks ago and I think more people have noticed cars parking there and just decided to join in.”
Lead councillor for the environment Tim Rowkins said: “The council is the freeholder of the land in question, and parking is not permitted at this location.
“We are looking at options as a matter of urgency for enforcing against drivers who are parking there.
“In the meantime we have ordered No Parking signs that we will put up as soon as we can. We are also exploring physical measures to prevent access.”
Cars cars cars. Cars everywhere.
When this space first opened it came alive with skaters and rollerbladers, and provided a great city centre space for a really diverse crowd. As well as becoming a carpark, there are now signs up which ban rollerblading and skating and all of the seating has been removed.
It was such a success – attracting positive and inclusive harmless public fun. The sort of thing most authorities would be overjoyed to create. If sitting and public activities are banned, what is the space for? That it has become a carpark is just an added disappointment.
I second this! I recently learned surfskating as a 26yo. It makes me healthy physically and mentally which is really what the govt wants from us all. Yet this space says “no skating”. There are no other areas in town where an adult can safely learn how to skate on a flat, smooth surface that’s not also used as a pavement or cycle lane. What damage do I create? I’m a 26yo woman with knee and elbow pads on…
I didn’t notice when walking by the collection of vehicles parked, that seating had been removed – typical of Brighton right now. Is there someone in the council massively bench phobic?
I liked the space being utilised by fresh air activities such as skating and skateboarding. It brought a nice vibe to the area.
What’s going on with our City? It’s becoming so much less about people.
We need more green, safe spaces, with the nearby Level prone to ASB, drugs, assaults etc. And they often give that space up to money making funfairs, ruining the grass.
As for skateboarders using it, we the ratepayers built them a fine park on the Level. Doesn’t keep them off the ruddy pavements, though. Don’t get me started on e-scooters! Illegal, my a***!!
‘We the ratepayers’
Shut up
Bar humbug. How dare people have innocent fun hobbies. How dare people use e scooters that are not affecting your life in the slightest. Get back under the rock you crawled out from
Skaters are also tax payers. Not all skaters can go to the skate park because you don’t go from hopping on a skate to using ramps and bowls in a matter of a day. I will probably never get to that level because I started skating quite late in life and I cannot afford to get any serious injuries as a full time worker with almost no sick pay. I need flat, smooth surfaces, possibly away from pedestrians and bikes. St Peter’s offers that. The vast majority of skaters using St Peters are considerate of people walking through it. Everyone has their own pet peeves in life, but if we start banning everything we might as well hand our democracy in. What’s next? No runners on the promenade? No children using scooters through town?
Let me help the “lead councillor for the environment “ – pop down a nearby post office, buy a big piece of cardboard and a marker pen and write No Parking on it. Option 2: employ a man in a uniform at the entrance and save some money by replacing whichever lead councillor wasn’t bright enough to see this coming
Yeah…that minimalistic version takes a few weeks to put in properly to the point it can be legally enforceable.
Nah we need more parking space either free or at reasonable cost. Stop persecution of motorists!
Totally agree Chris.
I agree with the low-cost parking aspect. But that doesn’t mean you can simply go around parking where you please because of that.
Parking should be more expensive. The value of land on Brighton is extremely high, sorting personal property on it should be levied at the market rate
Just park on pavements. It seems that’s legit given the number of cars that do with wardens ignoring it
If it’s illegal to obstruct pavements but cafes are allowed to obstruct pavements with their tables and chairs, that makes a nonsense of the law.
Because the council charges them to use the pavement
Yes, you’re not wrong there.
Wardens can’t enforce something that is not on the road, unfortunately, unless it’s in a specified enforcement area.
Good for them. Brighton and Hove City Council are not providing a fit-for-purpose legitimate and fair parking system.
Why isn’t it legitimate and fair, Barry? Where can’t you park that you would like to, and what’s unfair about it?
I agree Barry. The issue is that parking is extremely challenging in this city. I don’t blame people trying to park in an empty space for free.
Unless the car is behind double yellow lines or a bus stop it’s currently unenforceable. Cafes buy licences to put tables and chairs on the pavement.
For the most part, that’s true. You have to enact an enforcement area and give due notice. Personally, it was the only way we managed to deal with the issue in our area on our green zones.
This has nothing to do with “challenging parking” in the city, there’s a perfectly good mostly empty parking building only 5 minutes walk away off London Road.
This is simply the entitlement of car drivers, who think they can park wherever they please if they can get away with it, with total disregard for other people in the city.
Fucking moronic motorists ruin things for everyone
What’s been ruined for whom?
I solved my own parking issues about 10 years ago – I don’t go to Brighton. Everyone wins.
By the sounds of it you not coming to Brighton is everybody winning!
That’s what he said, also means he doesn’t deal with stupid people repeating what was said
Quite bizarre to continue to haunt the B&H local press. Have you nothing better to do?
Especially us, Paula.
Let’s get a few van lifers and homeless people in tents down there. The council would soon put some signs up. Let’s have as a area for skateboards and office workers to have their lunch.
YOU Dont need a car in Brighton or many places the bus servcie there is very good. Car use MUST reduce and also stop making so many Bulbasaur cars too[BUV/GUV/MUV/REV] they are NOT Servcie Users Vehicles like buses but many are Supreme Ugly Vehicles,, Car use must reduce worldwide [and world peace and rejoin EU too]
The way we dealt with it was heavy-handed fining and organic blocking of routes. Nothing else has worked historically for my area.
Enjoy the freebie for a few weeks, it’ll soon catch the council a few extra quid!
I can’t believe the council haven’t sorted this yet. Surely they can just wack a bunch of concrete blocks across the entrance for the time being.