'This is a problem all over Northampton': Chron readers share their own parking troubles after Semilong complaints

Parking seems to be an issue in many residential areas of Northampton, according to readers reacting to complaints in one neighbourhood.

Vehicles left inappropriately or even dangerously in the unrestricted roads in Semilong is getting worse, according to residents and a councillor.

But Facebook users believe the problem can be found in other terraced streets across Northampton as well as places near schools or walkable to the town centre.

Far Cotton, Spring Boroughs, Rectory Farm, Queens Park and Abington have all been reported as having issues with double-parking, parking on pavements and blocking driveways.

Mark Kennedy wrote: "This is an issue in most, if not all, terraced areas of Northampton. We have the same issues around the Mounts."

Ivor Rigsby Richards added: "This is a problem all over Northampton, not just Semilong.

"Try Ivy Road and Holly Road areas where cars and vans are double parked or just parked on the street corners making it doubly hard to get onto Abington Ave or round by Henry Street."

And Chelsea Lewis commented: "Southfield Avenue for example, in the day time people that work in town will park on this street and walk up to work and this gives residents nowhere to park.

"Also cans that don’t belong to anyone on this street just parking up taking space."

In Semilong, houses in multiple occupancy (HMOs) were among the reasons suggested for the lack of spaces and increasing numbers of cars.

Many on Facebook believed HMOs, where traditional homes are converted to house more people, were to blame for the problems in their neighbourhoods.

Claire Mann posted: "It’s a problem that won’t be fixed, most of the streets where there are problems are were homes were built when people didn’t have cars.

"Now it’s easy for a family home to have two or three cars - older children tend to not move out until later in life due to housing costs so they are likely to have a car and their parents likely to have a car each.

"Yes HMOs and the quantity of them don’t help, parking should be taken into consideration when planning permission is granted, but I’ve lived in areas with none or very little HMOs and still the same problem.

"I just don’t think that people in the past when they built houses realised that cars would be such a huge thing and more then one per household."

Maria Smith wrote: "Just as bad on Rectory Farm we're in a close so limited spaces anyway and we have HMOs here too.

"Some houses have three or four cars as grown up children still live at home."

Permits were suggested to restrict parking on roads that are currently a free-for-all but there are doubts that work.

Natalie Frost commented: "Permits are not the answer as the car or the people aren’t going away, and with the population growth it’s online going to get worse."

Sue Garner added: "We have parking permits in Spring Boroughs but you can't park at school times as parents park in the spaces despite not having permits.

"They park on the corners of roads, yellow lines etc - it's so annoying and they just don't give a damn either!"

Whatever the reason might be, parking is an issue a lot of people felt passionately about.

Sally Spatcher summed things up: "We have the same problem on my street and unfortunately the surrounding streets.

"No one can park I think they should make it parking permit only on all side streets if you have garages of course you put a car in there.

"Some households have two or three cars, which would stop people parking in your street."