Crisis in UK seaside town as tourists park on roundabouts with locals facing £70 charge

A local authority is considering forcing residents to pay £70 to park outside their homes in a desperate bid to tackle the UK seaside town's growing parking crisis. The extent of the issue was laid bare when hoards of visitors descended on the stretch of Dorset coastline during the recent heatwave. Over 1,000 people received fines for illegal parking last weekend, as temperatures shot up to 30C and beachgoers abandoned their vehicles "on roundabouts, grass verges, driveways and the pavement" in a rush to get down to the sea.

Liberal Democrat-run Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council criticised the careless tourists, who reportedly blocked emergency vehicles from reaching their destinations on Saturday and Sunday, and unveiled proposals to tackle the rise in illegal parking near the seafront.

The controversial measures would see parking meters installed on roads within one mile of the coast, with residents offered parking permits at a rate of £70 - replacing the current scheme of free on-street parking in the affected zones.

The council said the funds from the new parking meters would go towards paying for tow trucks to move illegally-parked vehicles.

But frustrated locals have accused the local authority of exacerbating the problem themselves, through roadworks enabling the installation of nearly 50 miles of new cycle lanes and the sale of two seafront car parks.

Peter Schroeder, chairman of the Branksome Park Residents Association, told The Telegraph: "This proposal comes from the same council that is selling off key car parks. It is hypocrisy. We say no to residents paying to park their own cars on their own streets.

"We already have some of the highest council tax charges in the area. Charging residents and their guests and tradespeople doing work in houses and flats is a stupid idea."

The proposals come after huge numbers of tourists descended on Bournemouth beach last weekend - with officials handing out 1,300 fines of £70, or £35 for early payment.

Resident Victoria Vix told the Bournemouth Echo that she had "never seen anything like it", with "cars parked on roundabouts, grass verges, in driveways and on the pavement".

"I saw a couple of ambulances who couldn't get through the traffic," she added. "It was chaos."

Councillor Richard Herrett said: "We welcome more than 10 million visitors annually to our seafront.

"We know at busy times we have a significant issue with illegal or inconsiderate parking. This significantly impacts road safety and can affect the quality of life for local residents.

"These proposals to extend seafront paid-for parking could generate revenue for additional parking enforcement and give us the ability to better enforce illegal parking across a wider area including increasing the number of vehicles which could be towed away in the worst parking instances."