Sudbury councillor says new parking enforcement measures must have local involvement to be effective

A town councillor has raised concerns over plans to outsource parking enforcement in Sudbury, claiming a lack of local knowledge may reduce its effectiveness.

A scheme to crack down on illegal parking in the county will see civil parking enforcement powers transferred from police to councils next year, which will enable local authorities to employ their own wardens to tackle the problem.

Babergh and Mid Suffolk district councils have appointed Ipswich and West Suffolk councils to carry out parking enforcement on their behalf.

Reflecting on this arrangement at Tuesday’s full town council meeting, Oliver Forder voiced concerns over the impact it would have.

“There won’t be enough interfacing in order to make the enforcement officers aware of what the actual issues in Sudbury are,” he said. “And that’s why I was hoping there would be a much greater local involvement.”

In response, Jack Owen stated that the new measures would allow the town’s community wardens to enforce parking in the town in conjunction with the wardens.

He added that further details of the project are expected to be confirmed before coming into effect next year.

Conservative councillor Jenny Antill questioned whether banning illegal parking from Market Hill would impact other areas of the town, and asked if a recent survey would be updated.

Town and district councillor Jan Osborne confirmed that an in-depth assessment of parking provision in Sudbury would be explored as part of an upcoming review of parking in the district.