With the introduction of pay-and-display parking controls inching ever closer in an attempt to manage Rye’s parking, Rye News thought it timely to look at the planned changes in detail – from the location of the parking meters to the introduction to new disabled and loading bays.
It is expected that there will be 16 parking meters dotted around the town. There will be four along the High Street and one each on Hilders Cliff, East Street and Market Street. These will serve the inner core of the Citadel with additional machines on Market Road, Wish Ward, Strand, Cyprus Place, Tower Street, Landgate, Rope Walk and the final two on Cinque Ports Street.
What is not clear from the map is whether the machines will be up against the wall of a building (see picture) or out in the pavement and next to the kerb (see main picture). In a number of locations, such as along the High Street, the pavements are already very narrow so locating a machine there is likely to restrict pedestrian movement even more.
If you look carefully, the map of the proposed parking bays also reveals subtle changes. These include the introduction of two disabled bays for Blue Badge holders – they will be located at either end of the High Street at the bottom of East and West Streets. The loading bay outside the George on the High Street will be joined by two further loading bays at either end of Cinque Ports Street – one will be outside Sweet Williams and the other outside Cinque Ports Antiques.
In addition, a number of roads that currently have double yellow lines will be designated for pay-and-display parking. These include the spaces outside the Rye Club on Market Road and additional new pay-and-display parking spaces in Cyprus Place and along Wish Ward.
You can download a detailed map of the locations of each pay-and-display machine here.
As part of the FAQs on the introduction of Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE), East Sussex County Council (ESCC) has confirmed that NSL is the appointed contractor that will manage the scheme across Rye and Rother. NSL currently oversees dozens of parking schemes across the UK including those in Eastbourne, Lewes and Hastings on behalf of ESCC.
ESCC has confirmed that the pay-and-display machines will accept cash payments as well as credit and debit cards. Payment can also be made online, by text or by using the app RingGo – though it’s worth bearing in mind that payments using RingGo carry an additional processing charge of 20p.
For those people living in the current permit-only zone along Watchbell Street and around Church Square, ESCC has said that the annual charge for a parking permit will remain at £25 (for now) and you can get a second parking permit for an additional £75. In addition, daily parking permits can be purchased by residents of the permit-only area to allow visitors to park. Residents can apply for up to 100 visitor vouchers a year at a cost of 50p per voucher while housebound residents can apply for up to 150 visitor vouchers per year at a discounted cost of 25p per voucher.
ESCC plans to introduce CPE at some point in 2020, subject to approval granted by the Department for Transport. They have confirmed that the Civil Enforcement Officers (more commonly known as traffic wardens) will work throughout the day, when the majority of parking restrictions apply, as well as in the mornings and evenings to tackle people parking on double yellow lines and those parking on pavements.
