“Awful response” from council abour parking

A town councillor has accused Shropshire Council of providing “an awful response” about parking issues in Oswestry.

Last November, Arren Roberts, the clerk at Oswestry Town Council, contacted the local authority about the issues, including whether phase 4 (Oswestry) of the Shropshire Council Parking Strategy Framework (Part 2 Residents Parking Policy) could be expedited. This was after residents raised concerns about parking during business hours.

Andy Wilde, assistant director for infrastructure at Shropshire Council, said the work required for new zones ‘is disproportionate to that for a tariff change’.

“Together, with the reducing staffing levels within parking services, it has not been possible to meet this level of coordination,” said Mr Wilde.

“Initial investigation of road layouts in Oswestry have been carried out, but progress is not expected until earlier phases are complete.”

However, Councillor James Owen – who tabled a motion for the town council to look into parking issues in Oswestry – was not happy with the response.

“They’re basically saying they never really promised it in Oswestry, it was just mentioned in a footnote at the bottom of a report,” said Cllr Owen.

“Frankly, that’s insulting to Oswestry. I still think we need this reviewed. It’s a problem that does come up. The fact that we’re just being ignored when they [residents] have asked us directly to ask the relevant people is ridiculous.

“To bring in staffing issues is an internal Shropshire Council decision, so to use that as an excuse about why they can’t do their own job is frankly insulting.”

Councillor Mike Insherwood, the Mayor of Oswestry, added that parking issues in the town has been an issue since he became a councillor and something he pushed.

“I was repeatedly promised it was just around the corner by several officers,” said Cllr Isherwood.

“There may be perfectly valid reasons [the delays] but that does nothing for the residents who are experiencing the issue at the sharp end.”

Councillor Jay Moore, however, said that the reduction in staff at Shropshire Council is impacting how services are being delivered.

“I know we get frustrated sometimes with officers at Shropshire Council, but there is one full-time staff member for the entire county,” said Cllr Moore.

“I don’t want to be too mean to them because they work very hard.”

Members voted for a meeting to be held with a Shropshire Council officer to understand the possibilities of delegation and see where it goes from there.