29/4/2008

Local News in Aldershot

‘They’re public roads – why can’t I park here?’

A COMMUTER has called for action after she and her boyfriend were threatened for parking their car on a housing estate in Ash Vale.

The couple, who drive from Camberley to commute from Ash Vale station to London, were parked in Northcote Road on the Avondale estate at 7.30am last week when a resident leaned into the open window of their car, swore at them and told them to park somewhere else.

The incident, reported to the police, was the latest of several the couple said they had suffered since they started travelling from the station three years ago.

Both their cars have been vandalised so many times they have bought a cheaper vehicle specifically to drive to the station.

The woman, who does not wish to be named for fear of retribution, wrote to her councillors about the ordeal after her partner was left feeling scared for his safety when estate residents watched him walk back to his car when he collected it late one night.

Car scratched

She said: “The station is getting busier every year and there is no adequate parking for the amount of people that use it, which means commuters are forced to park in the Avondale estate. This is not ideal but we have no other option.

“Residents have now decided to take matters into their own hands by keying and ripping wing mirrors off cars and threatening people who park there.

“My car has been scratched and my wing mirrors knocked off, which has cost a lot to repair, but my boyfriend’s car has been damaged far worse.

“His was scratched so badly he had to have it re-sprayed, which cost about £300.

“I’ve come back to find my car covered in brown muck and other commuters have had eggs thrown at their cars.

“The last straw came a few days ago when one of the residents from the estate who was having a cigarette watched my boyfriend walk all the way back to his car.  That is when we started to feel intimidated.”

The 25-year-old said the pair were not always able to travel together because they worked different hours, while higher fares from other stations ruled out commuting from one with parking.

She added: “Both of us are worried what could happen to me if I come back alone at night.

“I can’t afford the higher fare from somewhere like Farnborough.

“Although there would be parking that would be an extra £600 on top.

“Whether it is residents or kids it is not acceptable and nobody should have to put up with this kind of behaviour.

“I understand from the residents’ point of view it must be frustrating people parking on the estate, but I don’t have any other place to park.

“I am considerate with how I park, so from my point of view I am not doing anything wrong.

“Something has got to be done about this ridiculous situation. I’ve reached the end of my tether.”

"Visible deterrent"

No parking facilities for rail users are available at Ash Vale station, although a small pay and display car park owned by Guildford Borough Council is located opposite.

A South West Trains spokeswoman said it had no respon-sibility to provide parking and there was no car park at Ash Vale station as there was no land around it where one could be built.

She added: “There are two parking spaces for staff at the station and two for Network Rail workers.

“Where we can, we buy parcels of land next to a station to build car parks, but if there is none available there is not a lot we can do about it.”

Speaking on behalf of Guildford Borough Council, Ash Parish Council chairman Nigel Manning said the borough council was not bound to provide parking for commuters.

He advised anyone threatened or who had their car vandalised to call the police to ensure extra police were deployed to deal with the problem.

Ash Vale PCSO Leanne Huddy said: “We are aware of the parking problems and damage to cars around the Avondale estate and it has been identified as a neighbourhood issue which we are tackling.

“The situation has improved recently and one person was arrested for criminal damage.

“We would like to reassure residents that the neighbourhood team is stepping up patrols in the area to act as a visible deterrent.

“In addition we have been leafleting residents in the surrounding area asking them to report anyone they see

acting suspiciously and to let us know about any vehicle damage.  We have also been working closely with Guildford Borough Council and its CCTV van has been patrolling the area at key times.”

The Mail was advised by Surrey Police to submit a written request via the Freedom of Information Act to obtain figures for the number of incidents of car vandalism on the Avondale estate in the last year. This has been done.

A director of the Fifth Avondale Residents' Association, a group that acts on behalf of residents living in the area of the estate that includes Northcote Road, declined to comment.

First printed in: Aldershot News and Mail