WAYS of solving the ever-increasing problem of resident parking is being looked at by Swindon Council.

It is a problem which has existed for many years, predominantly in areas where the houses were built before the level of car ownership increased.

As a result, residents are parking on the grass verges outside their homes which creates a number of problems.

It makes the ground more dangerous for people who are disabled or have a visual impairment, while the weight of the car can risk damaging any cables underneath the surface.

On top of that, the grass gets destroyed so the neighbourhood becomes unsightly. The recent wet winters have exacerbated the problem.

A report went before the cabinet outlining possible solutions and while council chiefs said they would not change their policy towards the issue, they will try to make limited improvements.

Garry Perkins (Con, Haydon Wick), the cabinet member for the economy, said that due to limited budgets it is not possible to introduce a town-wide solution.

He said: “This is a problem which has been around for many years and is in fact getting worse.

“As more family homes are becoming mulitiple occupancy houses we are seeing more cars on streets with already limited space.

“We recognise there is a big problem. We don’t really want people parking on verges but we won’t be jumping up and down on them if they do.

“We can’t create a solution across the whole town because we have very limited funds but we will look for solutions in small areas. There are some areas where we can put some material down to protect the grass underneath.

“Where residents want to work with us to try and create more parking spaces then we will try and help them.

“There is no quick-fix solution to this issue but we are doing what we can.”

The issue exists right across Swindon but is predominant in Penhill, Pinehurst, Park North and Moredon.

Ward councillor Jim Grant (Lab, Rodbourne Cheney) believes it is a problem which the council need to address.

“Messy grass verges are a blight in many parts of the town and over the years hundreds of residents have contacted councillors about this issue,” he said.

“The problem is that there are not enough parking spaces in local neighbourhoods and therefore residents have to park on grass verges in order to park their cars. That is why grass verges have become so messy and that is why we feel the council needs to look at improving grass verges in areas that people would like this, either by concreting over the verge or they could be turned in to grass-cretes (a mixed grass and concrete area).

“The Cabinet said they have sympathy with our argument but that they would not allocate any additional money in order to make this happen.

“I think that allocating additional money could be justified as an invest-to-save scheme as if the grass verges are removed, then it would mean they would no longer need maintaining.”