Question 05/18

Question:

Hello, I have just watched a news item on Meridian TV tonight, and am deeply upset as to why a legally parked camper is likely to be victimised by Either for parking overnight. I have lived in Bexhill for 30 years and have watched the area especially Bexhill go down hill and become uncared for. My main point at this moment in time is the amount of illegally parked vehicles in and around the town, at any time of the day and night, they are parked on the pavement, on double yellow lines, on the corners of the streets. They are a danger to other vehicles and pedestrians, yet day after day nothing is done about them, that’s why I am baffled that the council is thinking of taking action against a couple living in their camper not causing any problems. I hope you find time to respond. (15/01/2018)

Answer:

Thank you for your question regarding overnight sleeping in campervans and illegal parking in Bexhill.

Firstly, the Council was consulting on making a Public Spaces Protection Order which included prohibiting sleeping in vehicles overnight. This would give the Council the power to issue a fixed penalty notice of £100 as an alternative to applying to the Court for an Order, which is time-consuming. If granted we would normally use this power if we received a complaint from a resident. The decision to include overnight stays in camper vans in the consultation was taken in response to concerns raised by residents about the resultant disturbance and effect on the area.

No decision has been made yet and it will be for councillors to decide in due course which types of behaviours to include in any Public Space Protection Orders and which geographical areas they would apply to.

Secondly, the responsibility of controlling and enforcing on-street parking is the responsibility of the Police in conjunction with East Sussex County Council. The Police have advised they no longer have the resources to enforce parking unless dangerous therefore Rother District Council has been asked by East Sussex County Council whether we would support them putting in a request to the Secretary of State for Transport for East Sussex County Council to adopt Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) rather than it being a Police criminal matter. Rother’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee is currently considering this and will complete their work by Spring 2018. However, the decision whether to apply for CPE lies with East Sussex County Council. (22/01/2018)

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