Plans to Change Parking Permit Zones in Barry Following Complaints

THERE are plans to change parking permit zones in Barry after complaints were made by residents and visitors about how clear they are.
Vale of Glamorgan Council’s cabinet members were presented with a report on Thursday, March 21, which showed that thousands of penalty charge notices (PCNs) were handed to drivers at Barry Island last year.
Since the residents-only parking permit scheme was introduced to the area, people have criticised what they see as a lack of clarity on where permit zones are.
Residents of the Glan Hafren flats at the Knap have also complained about not being included in the Maes Y Coed permit zone.
The council is now proposing to include these flats in the Knap permit scheme and a revised traffic regulation order is set to be prepared and consulted on.
A revised residential permit scheme for Barry Island will also go through a redesign and consultation process, and includes proposals to simplify permit zones, have more limited waiting areas for visitors, and painted white lines on the road to delineate residential parking zones.
The residential parking permit scheme was brought to Barry Island, along with Cosmeston, Cowbridge, the Knap and Ogmore in 2021.
Other complaints made by visitors to Barry Island include the signage indicating entry into a residential permit zone not being clear enough.
The council received a letter from a business on Redbrink Crescent, regarding this issue.
A council report on proposals to revise its parking scheme states: “Extraneous parking is not just curtailed to the limited waiting bays, it takes place throughout Redbrink Crescent.
“Furthermore, the limitations on the numbers of permits that can be issued, augmented with limited parking opportunities, makes it problematic for customers and staff to park.
“A reply was sent in April 2022 outlining that the operation of the resident
parking zone will be monitored and any decisions on how to improve these
schemes will be taken in the future.”
Council data shows that in the 2021-22, 1,220 PCNs were issued. In 2022-23, this rose to 1,897.
The council said this level of PCNs is “many more” than what it would expect for a permit zone of this size.
The report went on to state: “This could be because the area is visited by tourists who may not regularly come to Barry Island or visitors just taking a risk to avoid paying for charges in the nearby car parks or that Barry Island’s other parking is just full which is usually the case on a sunny day or when there are events on.”
A further report on the proposals is expected to be brought before cabinet members in August before going to the environment and regeneration scrutiny committee for consideration.
If no further comments are received from the scrutiny committee, recommendations to alter the parking permit zones as proposed will go ahead. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​