Closed
Ford Transit flat bed sharp edges parked on pavement
Sent to West Northamptonshire Council less than a minute later. ref: 7863410.
Dear Northampton Borough Council,
I am writing to urgently report a hazardous vehicle obstruction on [Chartwell Venue] that poses a significant risk to public safety, particularly to children and pedestrians.
Issue Details: A **Ford Transit flatbed van** picture attached he'd has been parked: 1. **Blocking the pavement entirely**, forcing pedestrians (including children/pushchairs) into the road. 2. **Positioned with sharp, unguarded edges** (e.g., exposed metal corners/loading equipment), creating a physical hazard. 3. **Parked without lights at night**, rendering it nearly invisible and increasing collision risks.
Concerns: - **Child Safety**: Sharp edges at head/body height could cause serious injury, especially in low light. - **Nighttime Danger**: Lack of lighting violates the **Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989** (mandating parking lights on roads with speed limits >30mph). - **Obstruction**: This constitutes an offence under **Section 137 of the Highways Act 1980** (willful obstruction of the highway). - **Pavement Parking**: Contravenes **Highway Code Rule 244**, prohibiting parking on pavements in a manner endangering pedestrians.
Requested Action: 1. Investigate and relocate/secure the vehicle immediately. 2. Issue a warning or penalty to the owner. 3. Assess long-term measures (e.g., signage/enforcement) to prevent recurrence.
**Location**: Chartwell Venue opposite 12 Chartwell Avenue. Persistent issue, all day.
I have attached photos. This situation requires urgent attention to prevent injury. Please advise on steps taken.
Yours sincerely,
Updates
-
This is a national problem, and the Department for Transport has been looking into this issue for some time and we are waiting the outcome of the consultation that they carried out for us to consider this matter further as currently parking on the pavement is not illegal outside of London, unless specifically prohibited by a local authority (either street-by-street or zonally); the prohibition requiring a formal Traffic Regulation Order (TRO), although we do fully understand the concerns that this has within the local community. The following link is the most up to date information that is available Managing pavement parking - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Unless there are parking restrictions in place which have a valid Traffic Regulation Order, there is unfortunately very little that we are currently able to do to resolve this matter but in the interim, should someone feel that an obstruction is happening, this can be reported to the Police who can judge whether this is dangerous or causing an unnecessary obstruction of the road, they could look to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice
In January 2024 we extended our parking enforcement to include parking in front of dropped kerbs, so our Civil Enforcement Officers are now issuing Penalty Charge Notices to any vehicles that are found to be parking in this way.
For our Civil Enforcement Officers to issue a Penalty Charge Notice they would need to be present and observe the vehicles parking for longer than 20 minutes. Regrettably, due to the geographical area that our Enforcement Officer’s cover it is not possible to remain in one location for a prolonged period, therefore there will unfortunately always be occasions where vehicles will park in contravention of the restrictions in place without receiving a Penalty Charge Notice.
Our enforcement officers cannot be at this location every week to monitor the vehicles so you may wish to contact the police as they would have the ability to decide on taking appropriate action against drivers that may be breaking road traffic laws and parking in a way that causes obstruction.
I do appreciate that this does not resolve the issue but until we get confirmation from the Government review, we can only enforce areas that have a valid Traffic Regulation Order in place.
This report is now closed to updates from the public. You can make a new report in the same location.