Lincoln Bailgate parking: Changes to permits dropped

Businesses in Lincoln's Bailgate are "elated" after planned changes to resident parking permits were dropped by the council at the 11th hour.

Councillors voted against proposals which would have allocated more parking to residents, but fewer spaces for shoppers.

Lincolnshire County Council chairman Ian Fleetwood called the historic area the "jewel in the crown" of the city.

He put forward the option of making no changes to parking at the last minute.

Nicola Lockwood, owner of Bells Tea Shop and chairwoman of the Bailgate Area Guild, said: "We can't believe it, we are in shock.

"I just feel for all the businesses and all our customers who supported us and have been behind us all the way through this."

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the changes would have seen the closure of businesses which had already been hit by online shopping and the Covid pandemic.

Josie Rossington, who has run Follie gift shop for 18 years, said she was "absolutely elated".

"We had so much support… far-ranging, all from the bottom of Steep Hill to Newport."

Carholme councillor Rob Parker, whose ward covers part of the area affected, said residents would be "disappointed" by the decision.

"They put forward a lot of good, sound arguments about the need for residents' parking in that part of the world, but unfortunately the planning committee didn't agree," he said.

"It's surprising because the needs of the residents need to be considered just as much as the needs of businesses."

He said there would need to be "some form of review"and that another case might be brought "to show how much residents are affected by not being able to park close to their own homes".

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