Parking nightmare for residents of a Derry street: roads minister says he is 'aware' of the problem

A government minister has said that he is ‘aware’ of the parking problems facing residents of a Derry street.

It comes after the Derry News revealed last week how the new Minister for Infrastructure, Chris Hazzard, was asked to consider a residents’ parking scheme for both the Clarence Avenue and Lawrence Hill areas.

Residents living in both areas have complained about no longer being able to park outside their homes, with householders adding that the problem has worsened in recent years due to students leaving their cars in the street.

A number of residents also blamed the introduction of car parking charges at the University of Ulster’s Magee campus for worsening the problem.

The SDLP Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan has asked the newly appointed Minister if there were any plans for a residents’ parking scheme to be introduced in Lawrence Hill and Clarence Avenue (pictured above).

A spokesperson for the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) told the Derry News that the Minister will now be discussing ‘all issues’ relating to the parking.

“The Minister will soon be meeting officials to discuss all issues associated with Residents Parking, before any decisions regarding the way forward are taken,” the spokesperson said.

“The Minster is aware of local concerns and will of course consider these, alongside the impact of implementing any scheme on adjacent residential areas.”

Mr Durkan said that he would be ‘keeping the pressure’ on the Minister to ensure that residents’ concerns were addressed.