Formby is the 'Goose that lays the Golden Eggs' for Sefton
The Formby Parish Council in their "Community and Parish Plan May 2010" stated as follows "We are aware of the poor parking facilities for visitors, tourists and residents in the centre of Formby. there are only 500 parking places (FOR 15,000 RESIDENTS CARS! ) and street parking is often chaotic, causing immense difficulties for local residents, business and property owners.
There are over 1750 blue badge holders registered in Formby whose access to parking is severely limited. PLANS TO DEMAND PAYMENT FOR CAR PARKING AT THE RAILWAY STATIONS WILL ONLY MAKE MATTERS WORSE. We plan to a) Improve the village centre parking facilities and b) To demand action by Sefton and Mersey Travel to co-ordinate the approach to Railway Station and street parking".
Six years later, Sefton Council, who chose to ignore this report, has done precisely nothing to deal with a growing problem. This is infuriating residents. Formby was literally gridlocked during the recent hot, sunny August 2016 when, with all schools on holiday, day trippers and visitors poured into the village, occupying every available parking place. Typically. cars were queueing to get into the Cloisters car park, the Waitrose car park was 100% occupied with cars constantly circulating, and Sumner Road had chronic queueing. Both station car parks were jam packed as they always are. On 31 August, we arrived at Freshfield station to find not one parking slot was free and the side road was nose to tail. We sat for 30 mins. hoping a commuter would alight and provide a slot. But no. (Every road around Freshfield station is single or double yellow lined - as all residents will know).
On two previous occasions we have been forced to drive to Hightown to park My wife had her 14th scheduled chemo. appointment at Linda McCartney Hospital on that day so we had little choice but to park around the corner of the station range of shops on a pavement 25feet wide, parking right up against the fence leaving 19feet for folks on the footpath. On returning from Liverpool, there was a £70 parking fine attached to the car.
Sefton Council is not interested in sorting out the Formby parking problems here and is focussing on squeezing out every red cent from parking fine revenue it can from Formby motorists.
We are truly the "Goose that lays the Golden Eggs" for Sefton. Is it any wonder that residents would dearly love to get out of this wretched Borough and join up with Southport, Ormskirk and Maghull as originally proposed by me to the Boundary Commission for example?
Again, if "obstruction" is a problem in Formby, why will the Council not deal with around 20 cars stuck on the pavement, often double parked, along Rosemary Lane forcing mums with prams, and the disabled, to walk in the road and face speeding cars?
