A DECADE-LONG parking dispute between Leigh residents and shoppers may soon be settled – though some residents are unhappy with the proposed solution.

The row centres on Southsea Avenue, a residential street close to busy shops in Rectory Grove and Broadway West.

Residents, traders and Southend Council have spent almost 12 years looking for a way to accommodate the parking needs of residents and shoppers.

Last March the council launched an experimental scheme, removing double yellow lines from the eastern side of Southsea Avenue, between Rectory Grove and Glendale Gardens.

Parking was already allowed on the western side, except for one layby, used as a passing point in the narrow street. The original plan was to make it a one-way street with parking on both sides.

Now councillors have decided to make the experimental scheme permanent, much to the annoyance of Mike Dolby, 76, who lives by the layby.

He spoke out at a recent Leigh Town Council planning committee meeting, suggesting the previous set-up had worked better for residents.

He said: “We were quite happy with what we had.

“It meant the shopkeepers weren’t able to park on the road – there was never any room – but now they can park there all day, whereas, in Rectory Grove, they can only park for two hours.”

Rob Dejean, 45, told the meeting the residents’ original 2002 proposal, with parking banned on the eastern side of the road during the day, had been consistently ignored.

He added: “In consultations we’ve never been asked if we want single yellow lines.

“While the current scheme benefits residents in the evening, in the day, it’s quite a busy road with people wanting to go to London Road and Broadway. The amount of congestion and the number of stand-offs, with people switching engines off and getting out of their cars, is ridiculous.”

However Leigh borough councillor Peter Wexham, said he felt the current scheme was the best solution.

He added: “We’re trying to get as many parking spaces as possible in Leigh, as the shops need them and the residents need them.

“My gut feeling is to leave it as it is now, because it means there is good parking on both sides.

“Having one side of the street empty doesn’t help keep the Broadway viable.”