Parking update - Princes Way, Little Bispham.

[gjh]

I've just received the following message from Brian Flower at Blackpool Council and am passing it on as he asked.

Just a little bit of news regarding Princes Way at Little Bispham.
You may be aware, this area has just recently re-opened to public use after multi-million pound seawall defence work.
The end result has seen the road level raised approximately 10 meters, re-surfaced road, and Pay & Display bays added.
This last item is the one I am updating you about and hope you can help spread-the-word.
Princes Way has now become a Pay & Display area for cars and a few coaches. This means Motorhomes of any size are not allowed to park within this area, even with disabled driver blue-badges.
This was a popular area with Motorhome users before the closure and it’s likely they would be expecting to be able to return, so we’d like to inform as many as possible about this important change to avoid visitors being issued a PCN.
Our decision to open up Motorhome use on all of our off-street coach sites was very well received last year and we appreciate there is still a need to provide more capacity in differing locations. This is something we are actively looking into.
We hope this news regarding Princes Way won’t be received too negatively.

Brian didn't specifically mention it but the change is in line with existing P&D on street parking policy in Blackpool in that motorhomes aren't allowed.

Graham

 

[TonyJones]

Thanks for the update Graham.
"Motorhomes of any size" seems pretty all-embracing, and means that even someone who uses (say) a Romahome HiLo as an everyday car can't park it there!
I do wonder how councils come to the conclusion that something like this makes sense. Whatever their particular "nut" is, this looks like a sledgehammer to crack it!

 

[gjh]

I don't think it is a sledgehammer Tony. Blackpool Council has put a lot of work into making parking available for motorhomes in recent years and, as Brian said, last year not only extended usage of coach parks during the day but also allowed overnight camping in them.
At the same time they have to cater for the needs of users of other types of vehicle, something which can be a delicate balancing act. They have successfully done that by not allowing motorhomes to park in on street parking bays for some years.