COUNCILLORS are calling on Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to take more action against pavement parking.

In the Kings Furlong area of the borough, councillors have had reports of on-street parking causing a “menace” for residents and putting them in dangerous situations.

In 2017 the borough council launched its ‘Think before you park’ campaign, which aimed to clampdown on motorists parking on pavements which can force those with wheelchairs and pushchairs into the path of traffic.

However, Brookvale and King’s Furlong ward councillors Michael Westbrook and Jack Cousens say the issue has got worse.

In a joint statement, the councillors said: “After a short spell of issuing warning notices to cars, it seems all efforts to tackle the problem have stopped.

“One of the worst and shockingly most frequent examples of pavement parking can be seen en route to and outside our schools.

“In a world where we want to encourage children to walk to school, those who choose to park on pavements force young children, parents with pushchairs, wheelchair users and those with a visual impairment to venture into the road.

“The council will no doubt argue that it is a national problem that needs a national solution. But we say it’s a local problem for our residents and the time is right to clampdown hard on this problem.”

The councillors are calling for the borough to outlaw pavement parking.

Cabinet member for communities and community safety, Cllr Simon Bound said: “Our ‘Think before you park’ campaign with Hampshire Constabulary raised awareness of the impact of inconsiderate drivers by educating and highlighting to drivers how their parking could be affecting pedestrians and other road users.“I understand that poor parking is frustrating and where areas of concern are highlighted to us our parking officers and our community safety patrol officers will consider the options available to help address the issue. This includes further leafleting on vehicles and visiting the area to alert residents to the potential dangers of poor parking such as reducing visibility at junctions and the impact on the safety of schoolchildren.”