'Dangerous' parking outside sports facility branded 'accident waiting to happen'

Concerns have been raised over “dangerous” parking near a sports facility which is reportedly putting residents at risk.

Alan Reed, of Ashley Gardens, has been lobbying for action over inconsiderate parking which has been taking place outside nearby Grayfields Sports Pavilion on weekends. He said players from visiting teams coming to play at the site are parking on the pavement in Jesmond Gardens outside of the Hartlepool venue, instead of using dedicated car parking facilities.

The 66-year-old explained this leaves those using mobility scooters and crutches unable to safely get by using the paths, adding he has also seen an instance where an ambulance “couldn’t get past” due to where the cars were parked.

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The father-of-three said: “My main worry, along with people in wheelchairs and on crutches, is young kids running straight across the road in between parked cars. It’s an accident waiting to happen, but I don’t want that to happen.”

As well as the Grayfields car park, there is also parking available on weekends at Jesmond Gardens Primary School. There are currently single yellow lines in place for the majority of the road immediately outside Grayfields, with notices indicating no parking between 9am and 5pm Saturday and Sunday.

A small stretch of double yellow lines is also in place to the right of the main vehicle entrance. Mr Reed added staff at Grayfields, which is home to FC Hartlepool, share his concerns around players from away teams parking on the road.

The retired chemical industry worker continued: “It affects everybody really, they’re sick of all the car parking issues as well. It’s impacting all the streets around here, it’s dangerous and inconsiderate.”

Mr Reed claimed he first contacted the council about the issue “around a year” ago, and while there was one week in which an enforcement officer went out and ticketed the cars, the issue soon returned.

Kieran Bostock, Hartlepool Borough Council’s assistant director for neighbourhood services, said: “We recently received a request to consult on the conversion of the existing single yellow lines to double yellow lines (24-hour restrictions) and this is currently taking place. In the meantime, our enforcement team will continue to monitor the area and motorists who fail to adhere to the current restrictions run the risk of incurring a penalty charge notice.”

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