Nailsea inconsiderate parking gripe

A BUS company owner has hit out at drivers who park illegally, often blocking streets in Nailsea town centre.

In an email to the town council, David Fricker, of North Somerset Coaches, said he was ‘quite alarmed at how the parking free-for-all in the High Street had suddenly got much worse’ while he was covering the Nailsea town service on Thursday morning.

He said: “Each time I was held up for between three and eight minutes waiting for someone to move so I could get the bus through.

“Opposite the pet-shop on Station Road, the corner by Waitrose and the official bus stop were all blocked by parked cars, vans or minibuses and this really needs some urgent attention.

“We rely on the reputation of providing a reliable punctual service to maintain our passenger numbers and any damage to that punctuality by selfish individuals, or van drivers ‘just going to be a minute’, who should be making deliveries to back entrances or out-of-hours, will see the service suffer and could lead to its eventual loss.

“It is not as if the town doesn’t have enough car parks.”

He also said the company will struggle to cope with a 20 percent cut in fuel duty rebate from April 1, which will mean a 32p per gallon rise in fuel prices.

He added: “This means now more than ever we need people to use their local buses as much as possible to ensure their survival.

“Any help you can offer in finding a way of getting consistently clear access through the High Street would be very much appreciated.”

Nailsea town clerk Ian Morrell told Mr Fricker his concerns had been passed on to police.