Parking woe for Huntingdon residents as officials point finger of blame at each other

Huntingdon residents say confusion over who is responsible for tackling parking problems in and around the town is leaving them with nowhere to turn.

Homeowners say contacting Cambridgeshire County Council and the county’s police force has proven increasingly frustrating as each agency is claiming the other is responsible.

From parking on driveways to double yellow lines, residents contacting The Hunts Post say the situation is becoming a nuisance in the town as residents don’t know where to turn.

Heather Wenn, of Avenue Road, is among those who have encountered difficulties in recent weeks.

On July 7, she found herself trapped on her own driveway after a motorist had decided to leave their car blocking the family in.

The 48–year-old said: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw that the car had trapped us in.”

And it wasn’t the first time that Mrs Wenn had found a car blocking her drive. Earlier this year she was amazed to find that someone had actually parked on her driveway.

She said: “My neighbours and I have had people park on our driveways, we have called the police and they ask us if we know the drivers – it is an absolute nightmare and it’s getting worse.

“Many people who work in town leave their cars here, a number of times I’ve had trouble being able to get out of my drive so now I’ve had to get a bigger car.

“No one will take responsibility for this, we just want something to be done about the parking problem.”

According to the county council, parking is not decriminalised in the town and the authority has urged those with issues to contact Cambridgeshire police, but this has been denied by the force.

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire police told The Hunts Post: “Obstructing a driveway was decriminalised and is now dealt with by the council. We would only get involved if it was a dangerous obstruction as we have powers to remove it.”

After contacting the district council, Cambridgeshire County Council’s highways department and the police a number of times, Mrs Wenn was able to persuade officers to track down the driver who eventually moved the car.