Road signs and line parking 'chaos' sparks row

A council leader said it was "shocking" that another local authority had allowed road signs and lines in the area to "fall into such a state of disrepair and of illegality".

Fenland District Council is hoping to bring in civil parking enforcement, amidst what the authority's Conservative leader, Chris Boden, said was "parking chaos" in certain parts of the area.

A highways survey conducted in November 2021 found 86% of all signs and lines associated with traffic regulation orders in Fenland were not in a condition suitable for enforcement.

Cambridgeshire County Council said road safety was "a key priority" and denied that the signs and lines on Fenland's roads were "unsafe".

Plans to implement council parking enforcement in Fenland date back to the late 1980s.

A survey five years ago found that across the district there were 294 sign defects, along with 743 line defects.

A report to the Conservative-run council's cabinet said: "The corrective sign and line works calculated in 2023 were estimated to cost in the region of £538,539.39.

"Certainly inflationary construction price increases over the last two years will now apply, and in addition the scope of works will have increased due to further sign and line wear and deterioration."

Boden told a meeting on Monday it was "quite outrageous that we at Fenland District Council are in this position, being held over a barrel by Cambridgeshire County Council", with the authority facing having to pay for work on improving signs and lines.

The county council is responsible for highways maintenance across the county, except trunk roads and motorways.

"The fact that they [county council] have allowed the signs and the lines to fall into such a state of disrepair and of illegality is shocking. And they have no intention of putting any money into this at all," said Boden.

"I only wish that we could force them to do it, but I've taken advice and apparently we can't force them to carry out what I would believe is their duty to carry out."

The cabinet agreed to proceed with civil parking enforcement "on the condition that no off-street or on-street car parking charges are introduced, with a proposed application date of June 2027 for Parliamentary approval in December 2027 and with lining and signing work being carried out from April 2027".

However, the meeting heard the council faced a £865,111 shortfall in bringing in the parking enforcement.

The Liberal Democrat-run county council said it had supported Fenland council with an application to government for Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) over a number of years, having previously helped South Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire councils.

"Road safety is a key priority for us. It's not the case that our current signs and lines on Fenland roads are unsafe," a spokesperson said.

"The Department for Transport has specific standards for the introduction of CPE which traffic regulation orders, traffic signs and road markings have to meet. This is essential to supporting any CPE application. As in South Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire, we have always been clear that FDC [Fenland District Council] would be primarily responsible for funding any necessary works.

"We continue to work collaboratively with FDC to ensure the project is ready to progress should they agree funding."

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