BOURNEMOUTH MPs and the leader of BCP Council are calling for motorists to be hit with harsher fines for parking illegally near the seafront.

MP Tobias Ellwood yesterday proposed in Parliament that higher parking fines would deter visitors from parking on double yellow lines.

However, BCP council leader, Vikki Slade, and MP for Bournemouth West, Conor Burns, argue they have already been working on the increased fines since 2019.

Bournemouth Echo:

The MP for Bournemouth East told transport questions in the Commons: “Seventy-five per cent of visitors to Bournemouth travel by car and they are most welcome, particularly when they don’t park on double yellow lines.

“But some are choosing to do so for a great day by the sea but willing to pay the £35 charge, and that does obstruct local traffic and indeed the emergency services.”

He has called for a £65 charge for parking on double yellow lines, which is already in place in London.

Bournemouth Echo:

Cllr Slade and Mr Burns have since met with Richard Holden, minister for roads and traffic, to highlight the traffic issues in Bournemouth and suggest solutions.

Bournemouth Echo: MP Conor Burns and Cllr Vikki Slade at a meeting with transport minister Richard Holden

Cllr Slade said: “It’s really good Tobias is joining our campaign and know the fact that myself and Conor have already met with the minister.

“We hope that if we’re able to get it in, that he will continue to support.”

Bournemouth Echo: MP Conor Burns

Mr Burns said that at peak times during summer months, areas around the seafront become ‘extremely congested’ to the point it becomes dangerous to traffic and to emergency vehicles.

“The reality is, the way the fine system works, if people pay the fine within 14 days it’s halved, which is not much more than a day’s parking would be.”

He said that in areas where parking pressure is high, an increased fine should be introduced, that is ‘considerably more’ than the cost of parking and acts as a deterrent.

Mr Burns is continuing to work with the transport department to discuss a pilot within parts of BCP, to trial the higher fine rate.

He said he had ‘no prior notice’ of Mr Ellwood’s proposal in the Commons yesterday morning.

Richard Wade, Morebus general manager, said: "We routinely have issues - particularly when the weather is sunny - due to inconsiderate parking across the region. This often results in significant delays to our services.

“It is also worth noting that, if buses can’t access roads where cars are parked in this way, neither can some emergency vehicles.”