A petition launched to stop non residents parking in a cul de sac in Warminster after a resident died when an ambulance was delayed due to the road being partially blocked has been approved by town councillors.

Around 80 per cent of the residents of Newport and The Mews attended the town development meeting on December 4 in support of a petition they had submitted asking for a permit parking scheme for the cul de sac, which every resident has signed.

Speaking on behalf of the homeowners, resident Jeremy Mahoney detailed the problems that were mounting daily with non residents in search of free parking, blocking the pavements and creating a health and safety hazard.

Mr Mahoney gave an example of an incident during the summer when an ambulance was called in the middle of the night for a very ill resident.

He said: “The ambulance was not able to get past the parked cars and as the owners were not residents of Newport so they could not be traced.

“It took the ambulance a considerable time to get a matter of 50 yards and the resident involved sadly died later.”

Mr Mahoney stressed that a similar situation could arise in the case of a fire, with risk to life and property.

The residents had considered possible solutions and had reached agreement that the best option would be to zone Newport and The Mews as a residents’ parking area, and they were prepared to pay the necessary charge for administering the scheme.

The councillors recognised that parking was an issue throughout the town and there were many areas suffering similar problems.

Cllr Dennis Brett said: “We must listen sincerely to the voice of residents and address this matter with urgency. There are health and safety issues involved.”

Speaking after the meeting Cllr Andrew Davis said: “Although I fully support the action of this recommendation, I don’t think the committee took enough heed of my concerns that this type of parking problem occurs in every side street and estate around the town centre and it would have been better and more cost effective to consider the these areas as a whole.”

Councillors asked for their support for the petition to be reinforced at the next community area transport group meeting in February, and to ask for the costs of the permit scheme to be established, as it was acknowledged that all residents would need to be willing to contribute towards the cost of implementation and maintenance of the scheme.

The figures will then be reported back to the residents.