Sazzad Miah, who lives in a small cul-de-sac in Green Lane, has described his “immense frustration” at plans to introduce parking permits in surrounding roads.
Under current plans, a single yellow line would cover most of his street once a wider CPZ is created in his area towards the end of May.
One resident permit bay and one disabled blue badge bay would also be provided in the cul-de-sac.
Sazzad, who has lived in the area for the last five years, says that this represents a “drastic reduction” in parking spaces, claiming that up to eight cars are typically parked in his street at the moment.
Barking and Dagenham Council has told neighbours that this number of vehicles “causes an obstruction” that could hinder emergency services.
But Sazzad claims this is not true, and that there has never been “any issues with access” in the past.
“Ambulances have come for residents before and they can park inside the cul-de-sac easily – we haven’t had any complaints about access,” he said.
“The binmen also collect every Wednesday without any problem. There is no missed collection because there are too many parked cars.
“They are making things up just to justify why we shouldn’t have parking there.
“I wasn’t against the CPZ. They can do the CPZ but they need to make sure there are the same number of parking spaces available.”
He added that employees at businesses who park in his cul-de-sac will also be impacted by the changes, and claimed that pollution will increase in the area as motorists drive around looking for a space.
Sazzad is also concerned that the council is still allowing applications for dropped kerbs in Green Lane, potentially further reducing the number of parking bays that can be provided.
Neighbours in the cul-de-sac have even offered to contribute towards the costs of ripping out the green in front of their homes to make space for more parking bays, he claimed, adding that the local authority has refused to consider their proposal.
The CPZ will be in operation on weekdays between 8.30am and 5.30pm, when only permit holders can park in marked bays. Those with a permit can park in any bay within the wider zone.
A spokesperson for Barking and Dagenham Council said that the local authority had responded directly to Sazzad about his concerns “during the consultation period”.
They added: “When designing a parking scheme, we always aim to maximise parking availability but can only install parking bays where there is available space in the area.
“As an authority, we have a responsibility and duty of care to promote parking only where it is legal to do so and does not cause obstruction or compromise safety.
“We acknowledge that this may impact the number of parking bays that can be installed within this section of Green Lane, but safety is our priority.
“Whilst the resident advises that historically there have been no issues in the past for emergency services, this is not to say that there won’t be in the future.”
