Rose Street residents in Wokingham were astounded to find out their visitor parking permit scheme had changed, with no consultation or notice, in September last year.

The virtual parking permit system forces residents to link their permit to a vehicle registration number, leaving those without vehicles, and older people with regular care visits, at a loss. Many residents had been using a ‘paper’ permit system where the permits could be used for any vehicle, meaning they could easily be transferred between visitors’ vehicles. For many residents in Rose Street, the new vehicle-specific system is virtually un-usable.

“Regular parking permits are linked to a single registration number”, said Cllr Rachel Burgess, ward councillor for Norreys, “and residents are instructed to go online and change the registration number every time someone visits. This might work well for some – but how is someone with high care needs who receives five carer visits each day, with no knowledge of who will be visiting, when, or what vehicle they are in, realistically supposed to do this?”

The permit system relies on residents owning, and therefore running, a car. “We are rightly encouraging less car use across the borough, so to actually make it more difficult for non-drivers to have visitors in their homes than car owners is counter-intuitive,” said Cllr Burgess.

Paper permits as well as carer permits are available, however they are both linked to an individual registration number, which many feel is totally impracticable. There are visitor bays in the street but they are limited to 30 minutes, which is often not enough for some care visits and for many other visitors.

One Rose Street resident, was appalled at the change to what she felt was a workable system.

“Residents are encouraged to retain their independence and live in their own homes. The new parking permit regime makes this extremely difficult and leaves many feeling vulnerable in their own homes, worried that they will not be able to easily access carers, nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals. But it is not just those with high care needs that this affects – many of us need help with cleaning or gardening or from other tradespeople, some of whom won’t take on the job unless they are assured of a parking space. And we all know that visitors can be crucial to people’s own health and wellbeing.”

Cllr Marie-Louise Weighill, who represents Norreys ward, said: “The Council recently publicly pledged to support Social Care Future, a movement that is committed, among other things, to people living in the place they call home and living the lives they want to live.  The Council must translate their warm words into actions, such as the reinstatement of non-vehicle specific parking permits in Rose Street. Please sign our petition today.”