Abandoned cars near Bluebell Woods ‘show a lack of respect’
St Peter Port parish officials have joined calls for action and parking limitations above the Bluebell Woods, as they try to help residents.
The officials met Fermain Road residents to discuss problems with vehicles left in the area, some of which have been there for years, after the matter was highlighted in the Guernsey Press.
The road is close to Bluebell Woods and as well as causing a problem for walkers and other visitors, the cars have angered residents as they have made accessing properties difficult, blocked access to a field and made it hard for visitors to find somewhere to park.
Constables Zoe Lihou and Jenny Tasker and douzenier Phil Smith spoke to the residents the day after the issue was discussed at a douzaine meeting, and several ideas were put forward.
‘The community is disheartened at the lack of respect,’ said Mrs Lihou.
The officials heard how people often wanted to park along the stretch of road to take a walk in Bluebell Woods, or to access the German cemetery in Fort George, but found it difficult due to the number of abandoned cars.
There are no parking restrictions in the road, but while the residents had originally thought that a 23-hour zone would be the answer, Mrs Lihou thought another option would be a ‘hybrid’ approach of having part of the road as a one- or two-hour zone, with the rest at five hours. That would allow people to enjoy a walk, or have a longer period to go down to Fermain Bay. It is not just Fermain Road and Becquet Road that have issues with vehicles being left for long periods, and nearby Rue du Putron also has its share of apparently abandoned cars.
Mrs Lihou thought that insurance companies needed to be told if a vehicle was being left on a public highway overnight and Mrs Tasker wondered if the insurance discs were all properly genuine or if policies might have been subsequently cancelled.
Some cars had been left unlocked.
‘One of them is full of creepy-crawlies,’ said Mrs Lihou.
‘So there’s an environmental issue.’
Resident Tory Russell owns the field opposite her home and often finds cars blocking access to it. She had asked about having a yellow line painted across the gate, but without success.
She said that because of the parked vehicles she cannot access overgrown grass verges to cut them back, and has not been able to do so for the past two years.
It emerged that one owner appeared to be leaving cars in the road prior to ‘doing them up’ to sell, possibly for autocross races, and Mrs Lihou wondered if that would constitute running a business on a public highway.
She recommended that as well as contacting Traffic & Highway Services, the Fire & Rescue Service could be approached to see if there were concerns about a potential fire hazard from the stale fuel or old batteries.
A Guernsey Police spokesman said that after it was approached by the constables, traffic wardens were now monitoring the area and it was working with Traffic to review parking there.
