BUSINESSES with premises at Omega Park in Alton are experiencing what they believe to be unacceptable and damaging problems with on-street parking – and they are challenging the authorities to come up with a solution.

Having lobbied for so long for improvements, business owners are “deeply disappointed” after double yellow lines were installed in the area of Hampshire County Council’s household waste recycling centre but nowhere else on the park.

It is, they claim, a “nightmare” trying to get into and out of work, especially for large delivery lorries trying to negotiate their way down a single track between parked cars. And the same applies to those trying to access the council tip.

The failure of the local authorities to do a proper job in restricting on-street parking has, according to David Toombes of Red Scientific, resulted in the parking of yet more vehicles along the main entrance road into the site.

It is, he says, causing “gridlock” with workers parking on both sides on the road, including bends and junctions, to leave a precariously narrow single lane which is too tight for delivery lorries and emergency vehicles.

While Mr Toombes, and others with units in the Oriel Court area of Omega Park, has a designated car parking area, the access to what is a thriving business community is giving rise to concern over health and safety issues.

Together with others, he has been fighting for the past 18 months to get double yellow lines painted along at least one side of the road servicing the site, to limit on-street parking, some of which, he believes, is down to businesses whose staffing level exceeds the amount of off-road delegated parking provided, and some due to rail commuters leaving their vehicles and walking down the hill to the station.

David Hitch, of neighbouring Ex-Eltronics (UK) Ltd, talks of delivery drivers having to reverse out between parked cars, of lorries jack-knifing, and of log jamming.

Parked vehicles regularly have wing mirrors clipped, especially those forced further into the carriageway due to trees and hedgerows which are overhanging the roads and footpaths. He believes they have not been cut for the past six years.

Johanne Cameron, of Concurrent Design Group, says that while Omega Park is a popular place to have a business, with more generous car parking provision than sites in other towns, access is becoming a problem – and it has not been helped by “a job half done”.

She also points out that the “big jump in car parking charges in Alton” is doing nothing to encourage workers to use the town centre car parks, and that Omega Park’s problem is a reflection of what is happening elsewhere with on-street parking spreading throughout the town.

They all drew attention to increased parking on Wilsom Road, which is causing its own problem for vehicles leaving Omega Park and for drivers using the B3004 into and out of town.

Their suggestion is not only to complete the painting of double yellow lines throughout Omega Park but to look at the provision of an overspill car park for the site.

Commenting on the situation, county councillor Andrew Joy explained that the roads on Omega Park have all been adopted by Hampshire County Council, which retains overall responsibility as the Highway Authority, but that East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) is responsible for parking control and associated line painting and enforcement.

Also a ward councillor on EHDC, Mr Joy added that district council officers were “on the case” but will be conscious of the need for spaces “somewhere” to accommodate worker parking.

On the suggestion of an overflow car park, Mr Joy confirmed that this had been raised with the county council’s economic development department but it would be a question of who pays.

“Local authorities have no statutory responsibility to provide commercial parking. Even if, say, EHDC ‘invested’ in land to provide one, who is going to pay to build it and how would one prevent drivers from still parking almost anywhere to avoid charges?” asked Mr Joy.

He continued: “Blanket yellow lining isn’t really an option. I suspect the only practical option is for the landowner(s) to invest themselves at an ongoing cost to business tenants.”

And on the issue of overgrown vegetation, Mr Joy said that unless the offending trees and hedgerows are growing on highway land it is the responsibility of landowners to cut them back, adding: Highways may well require landowners to take action and enforce accordingly, but this is always a challenge.”