Demands for action to be taken to overcome serious parking issues in Colyton have reached a crescendo in recent months, with some residents saying life has become intolerable.

During the busy summer months, some streets became impassable to an extent where emergency vehicles could not gain access.

The parish council held a special meeting to discuss the issues earlier this month, ahead of a a November consultation with Devon Highways.

The emerging Colyton Neighbourhood Plan (NP) highlights on-street parking in narrow streets as a major problem for Colyton.

The NP commits the parish council to consulting further on improvements while ensuring that new developments do not exacerbate the problem.

The plan says the town is short of town centre parking spaces and that visitors would not be greatly inconvenienced by a car park on the perimeter of the town if pedestrian links were good.

One of the NP's key policies is supportive of the provision of additional public car parking spaces as long as the design and layout of the area is sensitive to its surroundings.

Meanwhile in Colyford…

Neighbouring Colyford has its own range of traffic issues with the A3052 running through the centre of the village, which is at its busiest through the summer months when an estimated 12,000 cars a day pass through.

The sheer weight of traffic makes crossing the road a hazard, especially for older residents. 

Concerned local people have operated a Community Speed Watch scheme for the past six years and recently installed vehicle-activated alert signs.

One in ten cars have been shown to be driving at 25% above the speed limit and many do over 45mph in a 30mph zone, including at Swan Hill, Seaton and Coly Roads. 

The problems are compounded during the morning and afternoon periods when buses park on the A3052 while delivering and collecting Colyton Grammar School pupils.

Negotiating some ten parked buses creates a further hazard for other traffic.

Although the parish council agreed a request from the Speed Watch team to purchase a £10,500 trailer speed camera,  the police have since advised that it would not be acceptable as it would flood them with too much information and contravene GDPR rules.

Solutions 'need local buy-in'

County councillor Marcus Hartnell, who represents Seaton & Colyton, said that road safety and highways issues are high on the list of current concerns across the parish.

In Colyford, he says that any proposed scheme would need to have buy-in from all corners of the community, recognising the need to provide safe crossing points whilst also keeping traffic flow moving and without impacting on businesses where customers rely on roadside parking.

In Colyton, Cllr Hartnell said limited parking in Market Place should be considered to keep spaces turning over.

"Double yellow lines aren't always the solution as their implementation can often just move parking problems elsewhere," he said.

"The importance of any changes to highways is to consult widely with all the community, and this is something I have already started to do." 

With thanks to Colyton Community Newsletter