Mother’s battle for parking space
THE MOTHER of a three-year-old boy with cerebral palsy was refused a disabled parking space – in case it set a precedent.
Carly Moss, 29, of Marigold Drive, Red Lodge, has been struggling with the lack of parking near her home for more than a year.
Her house does not have a driveway and the 11 parking spaces adjacant to the cul-de-sac where she lives are insufficient to meet residents’ needs.
This means she often has to park more than 150ft from her front door and carry her son Eliot and the equipment required to maintain his health from her door to the car.
Carly said that Eliot’s housing occupational therapist, who was concerned about the situation, had approached Suffolk County Council more than a year ago to ask that one of the bays be designated for disabled use – but she had been told that while Suffolk County Council had no objections, the parish council had blocked the change as it was concerned it would set a precedent.
Angela Sewell, chairman of Red Lodge Parish Council, could not recall the first time the request came before the parish coucil, however the case was raised at a meeting in May and similar concerns were expressed.
Cllr Sewell said: “We thought we would have them springing up all over the shop. We cannot guarantee that the person can park there as you can’t enforce them and we said some time back that we did not want to set a precedent.”
Carly and her family have decided to move away from Red Lodge, while this decision was not a result of the lack of disabled parking Carly said that it had been a contributary factor.
She said: “People should be aware of buying a house around here as the parking in Red Lodge is really bad and if you have a disabled child or are disabled yourself it makes things a lot harder.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Bury St Edmunds
Monday 20 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 9 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 6 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: North
