Action is demanded over North Bersted layby car sales

The elected members of parish, district and county councils were furious that more than three years of talking had failed to produce an effective solution to the problem in Chalcraft Lane.

The only result of their frequent debates, which have reached a peak in the past nine months, has been a small sign erected by the county council at the layby which is the hotspot for the illegal deals.

This notice meekly warns the dealers that vehicles left in the layby will be removed if they are considered to be causing an obstruction or trespassing on the publically-owned land.

The deadline for that to take effect is 21 days, though this is not even stated on the sign. It also, remarkably, omits any mention of selling vehicles.

The notice is supposed to act as a template for cracking down on roadside car sales around the Arun district.

County councillor Christina Freeman (Middleton) vowed to take the matter to the top of the county council. The anger was focused on the lack of action since nearby residents began to complain about the level of car sales in the layby on the road's northern side.

Cllr Simon McDougall (Bersted) said a log kept by one of the householders had shown 215 vehicles for sale there in the past year.

The selling took place around the clock to cause disruption to the lives of those who lived in the area. It was unacceptable to any civilised human being, he stressed.

He fumed: "I am fed-up to the back teeth with this situation. I have spent three-and-a-half years as a county councillor trying to get this sorted.

"The sign might have been legally agreed by the council's solicitors but the law is not fair and adequate for my residents. It gives 21 days for traders to do what they like and use the layby as a glorified forecourt. What they are doing is unsocial behaviour.

"No consideration has been given to residents at all. It's wrong to have a vehicle outside your house for 21 days for people to look into."

Cllr Gill Brown, Arun's leader, said: "This is a totally unacceptable situation. It has taken nine months to get a notice put up, which it has been acknowledged is inadequate.

"I know local government works in a slow fashion but this is an absolute nonsense.

"If we can't get it right in Chalcraft Lane, we have no chance of having an impact in the rest of the district."

Cllr Paul English, a parish and district councillor for Felpham, said: "Every councillor around this table is appalled at the county council's sluggishness."

Taking the flak was Tracey Webb, the county highways and transport area manager for Bognor Regis. She acknowledged the councillors were right to feel frustrated.

"I don't think the wording is as good as it could be," she said. "The wording we have got allows us to enforce the law but I don't think it explains to other members of the public exactly what we want them to do.

"Another sign at the layby will explain to them we don't want to sell vehicles there.

I am working with the legal team to ensure that the wording we want can't be challenged. That is taking longer than I would want."

The county council is working to devolve its powers to tackle parking in such sites to the district council. But even this may not be due to take effect until next year.

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