The grace period for residents parking permits is being extended to a fortnight following delays in new ones being issued.
Residents have been complaining of lengthy waits after applying to renew their permits – with some waiting as long as three weeks for a new one to arrive.
Brighton and Hove City Council said the delay was due to more applications being processed online since the permit centre at Hove Town Hall closed due to covid restrictions.
The problem has been a regular complaint on Twitter. One resident complained today: “I have been waiting over 3 weeks for my residents permit. No answer to email or phone line. Can someone help please?”
Another said: “What is happening with parking permit renewals? Mine haven’t arrived in 2 weeks/ No answer from email. Waiting in queue on phone for 30mins. Permit ran out today.”
A council spokesman said: “”Staff are working hard to renew and issue permits, but it is taking longer than normal.
“The usual ‘grace’ period after a permit has expired is seven days. However, we are applying a 14-day grace period this month.
“This means if someone parks in their zone displaying their permit, within 14 days of it expiring, they will not receive a penalty charge notice.
“Applications for new parking permits are being processed online for the first time, and these are being processed in 10 to 14 days.
“All our processes are being kept under constant review and we thank people for their patience and understanding.
“Enquiries can be emailed to parking@brighton-hove.gov.uk and the parking services phone lines are open between 9am and 1pm on 01273 29 66 22.
“There’s more information on our website: https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/parking-and-travel/parking/resident-parking-permit.”
