Cones to control parking removed from Old Hunstanton

Old Hunstanton Parish Council says a highways officer removed the cones after the authority previously agreed to deploy them on Wodehouse Road and Hamilton Road.

More than 20 locals complained to the coastal hamlet's parish clerk within days of the cones being taken away last month.

Cars parked on Hamilton Road, in Old Hunstanton (Image: Chris Bishop)

One well-placed source said: "They're furious about the arbitrary manner in which one person at NCC Highways has behaved in ordering the removal of cones.

"He sent his inspector out in July to remove the cones in Wodehouse Road and Hamilton Road, notwithstanding cones were placed with their authority in the summers of 2021, 2022 and 2023 and the same and more seasonal parking restrictions are in a Traffic Regulation Order we hope will be implemented before the 2025 season."

The county council said it had agreed to cones being placed as an "interim measure" in areas agreed with the parish council to "encourage visitors to avoid inappropriate parking in the area".

Picturesque dunes and beach huts at Old Hunstanton (Image: Ian Burt)

But a spokesperson added: "There have been a number of instances of cones being moved or placed along other roads that do not have permission to be there.

"While we understand residents’ frustrations, any traffic cones placed outside the agreed areas are in breach of the Highways Act 1980 and we are obliged to remove them.”

A Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) covering changes to seasonal parking in Old Hunstanton is being drawn up.

Some areas of Old Hunstanton are already covered by seasonal parking restriction (Image: Chris Bishop)

It includes the introduction of double yellow lines around a number of junctions, and an extension to the existing single yellow lines in the village.

"These plans are progressing through the required design and legal processes with a view to introducing the measures next year," the spokesperson said.

WHAT DOES THE PARISH COUNCIL SAY ABOUT IT?

Cars parked on Wodehouse Road at Old Hunstanton (Image: Chris Bishop)

Old Hunstanton Parish Council's latest minutes say: "It was confirmed that Damien Jeffries at NCC Highways had instructed his visiting inspector to remove the cones from Wodehouse and Hamilton Roads.

"It was explained that this was not in line with the practice over the past three summers (NCC Highways authorised) or the draft TRO plan which NCC Highways presented to the public at the Village Hall.

"It appears that the complaint of one resident to a director at NCC last August had occasioned this change of policy. Villagers who wish to complain this summer about parking issues on roads where there are no cones, were advised to make complaints directly to NCC Highways and the police.

Tourists flock to old Hunstanton in the summer, causing parking issues in the leafy village (Image: Mike Page)

"The parish clerk has already received more than 20 complaints since the cones were removed."

WHAT WOULD JEEVES SAY ABOUT THE VILLAGE'S LATEST PICKLE?

Old Hunstanton was rocked by a row over abusive calls to parish councillors last month about a planning row on a street named after Jeeves and Wooster author PG Wodehouse.

Much-loved manservant Jeeves would struggle to find anywhere to park Bertie's Aston Martin on a summer's day.

Jeeves and Wooster, played by (left) Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, whose author PG Wodehouse frequently spent time in Old Hunstanton (Image: Archive)

Visitors swoop on on-street parking rather than use West Norfolk Council's nearby pay and display car park, where drivers face a charge of £10 if they stay for more than three hours during peak season, or the car park at the nearby Le Strange Hotel, where charges vary.

Old Hunstanton, with its picturesque beach and sand dunes, is not the only village to suffer parking woes over the summer.

Parking has also been an issue at Brancaster in recent summers (Image: Ian Burt)

An ongoing row over gridlock in nearby Brancaster saw locals step in to become volunteer parking wardens, while measures to control on-street parking have yet to materialise.

Norfolk County Council has ditched plans for double yellow lines on parts of the main A149 through the village and is now consulting on proposals for seasonal controls.