Traffic crusader promises to 'keep right on' to end long and winding road to freeing up Atherstone town centre

Atherstone has been warned it could take 10 years to free the town centre from its "nightmare" traffic congestion without decriminalising certain parking.

Campaigning Councillor Harry Blackburn presented the town council with more damning evidence of a situation that has reached the stage where motorists "park where they like".

His one-man crusade to end the gridlock by alerting area and county forums has already taken up seven years of his life.

In his report, backed by photographs showing in some cases examples of triple parking and vehicles taking to the pavements to avoid the double yellow lines, he urged Atherstone councillors to make sure borough and county authorities acted together.

"I fear it will only get worse as more housing comes into the town," said the Mancetter parish councillor.

Atherstone Town Council chairman David Wright sympathised with the parish councillor but insisted all the councils "care about this issue".

Councillor Wright said: "It the most frustrating thing.

"We all know what a nightmare it is. When people park indiscriminately at the bottom of Market Street, it brings the whole town to a standstill.

"We need to decriminalise parking," said Cllr Wright, adding that Brexit had "held things up" but he was hopeful the matter would be resolved in 2020.

He accepted that sorting out off-street parking cannot happen until decisions over on-street parking is resolved.

PC Lloyd Walton told the town council on Wednesday night he would "do his damnedest" to assist with the parking problem by way of ticketing guilty motorists.

He said there was a need to "decriminalise" but for now it was a case of "slapping and dashing", adding: "I'll do my best."

Cllr Blackburn accepted that he couldn't expect the police to "walk up and down Long Street all day", adding that his seven-year hitch could turn into a decade of waiting for relief for the town.

He conceded: "I do appreciate it could take another two to three year to address this.

"I intend to keep on it until it is done.

"But actions should be started now for future planning."