Controversial Weymouth Road parking scheme withdrawn

THE controversial parking scheme on Weymouth Road has been withdrawn after Frome Town Council voted to remove the ‘fundamentally unfair’ initiative, following passionate debate from local residents.  

The decision came after an unprecedented move by Somerset Council, which delegated authority to the town council to make the final call on the scheme at a local level. 

The 18-month trial of parking restrictions on Weymouth Road was introduced in 2022 following concerns about road safety due to the high number of parked cars. Parking permits and meters were implemented as part of the trial in response to complaints from some residents about the road’s safety. However, the scheme quickly became controversial, with some residents arguing it displaced parking problems onto surrounding streets, leading to increased competition for spaces. 

Frome Neighbourhood Parking Group, which has campaigned for the scheme’s removal since its inception, claimed it left residents ‘fighting for spaces’. In response, Frome Town Council supported the group earlier this year and asked Somerset Council about amending or withdrawing the scheme. 

At the full council meeting on Wednesday 2nd October, residents both for and against the scheme spoke at length about their concerns.  Some residents suggested alternatives to scrapping the scheme, expressing fears that without parking permits but with restrictions like yellow lines remaining, the situation could worsen. Meanwhile, opponents reinforced the view that the scheme had pushed parking issues onto surrounding streets and cited the unfairness of one road’s problem being solved, at the expense of others.  

Many, including the assembled councillors, called for the town-wide parking and transport review that has been requested many times but not implemented to date. 

The motion to withdraw the scheme was supported by the majority of councillors, though the road markings introduced during the trial, such as additional double yellow lines, will remain. 

Somerset Councillor Martin Dimery described the parking scheme as the ‘single most contentious issue’ he had faced as a county councillor. He acknowledged that the decision would feel unfair to some, no matter the outcome, but noted the ‘unique’ opportunity Somerset Council had provided by allowing Frome Town Council to make the final decision. 

Cllr Mel Usher said, “Taking one street out of a scheme and giving them some preference is not going to work in any shape or form; you need a larger area than that.   

“It occurs to me that every now and then you come across a problem to which there is no one answer. There’s no right or wrong answer to this and everybody who’s spoken has got positive points to make and all of them have got validity. I for one would prefer to be part of a council that says ‘ok, we didn’t get everything right. We might not have made the right decision in the first place, but we’d like to put it right now, rather than hiding it. I’d prefer it if there was an answer this evening, and I’ll be voting for removal.”  

Cllr Polly Lamb echoed calls for further discussion, in the absence of a clear-cut answer. Cllr Nick Dove shared the frustrations of local businesses impacted by the scheme, repeated the need for a town-wide solution for traffic and parking and said he would vote against a scheme he judged ‘fundamentally unfair’.  

The recommendation to remove the residents’ parking permit scheme was agreed by a majority or councillors.