We’re stuck in 10-year battle with students blocking driveways – our angry notes are ignored… we can’t cut our grass
LOCALS are stuck in a 10-year battle with students blocking their driveways.
Residents in Ipswich, Suffolk, have been leaving the pupils angry notes as they can’t cut their grass or have friends and family over.
The students are from One Suffolk Sixth Form College and they use the suburban street to park their motors while at school.
One local who asked to not be named said students had been parking on the street and stealing parking spaces for nearly 10 years.
They told the Daily Mail: “We pay to live there and can’t have anyone visit us because we haven’t got any spaces for them.”
The local said they were forced to walk their dog on the road as the students parked the cars on the footpath.
Residents have also been leaving angry notes for the students, telling them “Do not park here”.
Others have had much stronger language: “Yet again, you f****** a******* decide to park here. You are a disrespectful p******* s***.”
Another resident said the students have zero respect for the people that live in their street.
They said: “I confronted one of them and said they couldn’t do that and he just pointed at my driveway and said there was enough room to ‘squeeze through’ and complained it was really difficult for him too.”
One parent said the behaviour directed toward their child from residents was unacceptable.
They said a park and ride option for students was a 20 minute walk away, which is why many of them were parking in the street.
The letters, they said, the angry letters were left regularly and were abusive and contained bad language.
She said: “However, the nature of the anonymous notes that are being left is just disgusting and far from polite.”
Suffolk county councillor Christopher Hudson, whose electoral division covers the affected area, said: “This is a really long-standing issue. I do think we need to try and mitigate the problem.”
He said the notes the residents were leaving were “unedifying”, but they did have a point.
“The way to do that, I think, would be for students who go to the school to sign a contract along the lines of following parking guidance from the school as to where they can park.
“It’s causing real aggro with the ratepayers and residents in the area. Students are parking very unreasonably and I am shocked and appalled at the way it’s gone on for too long and it’s rising again. We have to nip it in the bud.”
A spokesperson for One Sixth Form College said: “We are very proud we are playing a vital role in supporting the local economy, putting Ipswich on the map for all the right reasons.
“With this success, and the fact our numbers have grown significantly since we first opened, we have been continuously working closely with the borough, district and county councils – and we are constantly looking for – and finding solutions to – parking in and around One.
“Thanks to support from Suffolk County Council, students can park for free at the London Road park and ride facility.
“As part of this, we have increased our bus routes, providing our student community with affordable and convenient travel options.
“We have carefully analysed the travel habits of our current and prospective students to target our transport options to be accessible across south and east Suffolk and north Essex.
“By partnering with a transport supplier, we will be offering additional routes and stops in the future, with the aim of making One reachable to those who may struggle to get to and from our educational establishments.
“We continue to emphasise local park and (st)ride facilities as a travel option and encourage walking, cycling and rail options wherever applicable.
“We have always engaged with the local community and we welcome further conversations and engagement with them. Our students are keen to play a central part in local life and we encourage them to contribute to a cleaner and more sustainable environment.
“And whenever the need arises, our staff work with our students to ensure they continue to be mindful citizens who show care and consideration to others around them.”
‘Merry Christmas you Grinch’, note declares as parking row explodes
A PARKING row has erupted on a quiet residential street after a ticked-off local sent a letter to neighbours saying “Merry Christmas you Grinch.”
Wayne Whitehead and his wife Lorna came home to find the “aggressive” note had been put through their letterbox.
The couple found themselves entangled in a spat over parking that erupted when a “fussy” resident asked neighbours not to leave their vehicles on the grass.
The original note, written in capitals and placed on windscreens, asked drivers to “please kindly refrain from parking on the verge” as it would make it look “unsightly”.
However the row escalated when an unknown resident added their own furious reply that they posted to the entire street.
The letter declared they can “park where they want” as they pay their road tax and warned they would “double park so you can’t get out” next time, before signing off the angry note “Merry Christmas you Grinch!”