After nearly two years of confusion, contradictory messages, and delay, residents of Lambridge in Bath have finally been told they can buy parking permits under the Residential Parking Zone (RPZ) scheme in Walcot.
The confirmation, which came via email on 31st March 2025, ends a long and frustrating battle for residents of Eastville, Eastville Lodge and Vale View Place – homes that were inexplicably excluded when RPZ Zone 27 was rolled out in July 2023.
Despite multiple emails, calls, and even a public meeting, B&NES Council repeatedly told residents that no formal requests had been made during consultations – a claim disputed by both residents and ward councillors, who had written to the council on their behalf as early as June 2023.
While nearby streets in Walcot, Snow Hill and Claremont Road were included in the new parking scheme, Eastville residents were left in limbo, with the only on-street parking provision in front of their homes now only available for others to use.
Leader of the BaNES Green councillors Joanna Wright, who supported residents throughout the saga, commented:
“This has been a textbook case of shifting goalposts. People were asking to be included from the start, and were repeatedly told it wasn’t possible. Now, nearly two years later, the council has finally confirmed it is possible after all.”
Over 20 months, the issue was raised with council officers, Cabinet Members, and the local MP.
Alongside the issue of exclusion of residents, the dangerous chicane design on Claremont Road was also raised by residents and ward councillors. A traffic study was undertaken and the design was reversed, at significant cost to the council.
The council’s own Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) reviews – the official process for amending parking restrictions – were cited as the only route for change. Yet even when TRO reviews came and went, Eastville residents remained excluded. The breakthrough came just days before Easter, when a council officer finally confirmed in writing that residents of Eastville and neighbouring homes would now be eligible to purchase RPZ permits.
The broader review of RPZs across North East Bath is due to begin this summer While ward councillors welcome this work, they are relieved the residents of Eastville don’t have to wait until the outcome of this review which is probably going to be mid-late 2026 at the earliest.
“This simple change shouldn’t have taken two years,” said Green councillor for Lambridge, Saskia Heijltjes, “It’s a basic issue of fairness – and people deserve a council that listens.”