Residents are furious after a gate went up ‘overnight'(Image: StokeOnTrentLive)Residents are calling for the removal of a barrier that has left them stranded without access to parking outside their own homes. For decades, they have reached their Talke homes in Staffordshire via a private roadway.
However, Aspire Housing sold the Unity Way land four years ago, and a barrier has since been erected, preventing vehicle access to the private road and car park.
The obstruction means one resident is cut off from their own driveway, whilst another cannot get to their garage. Joe Wright, who moved to his Unity Way home in 1982, explained his frustration.
He said: “Aspire has suggested I contact a solicitor, which I did, but they charge £1,900 just to listen to me and I haven’t got that sort of money. The police have said they can’t do anything.”
The land was bought by the proprietor of Unity Way Convenience, reports Stoke on Trent Live.
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He explained: “There are so many illegal activities going on in the car park – that’s why I’ve put the barrier up.
“The second reason I had the gate was because I said to the neighbours they can use my road, it doesn’t matter, if they help to share the cost to tarmac, but they said they don’t want to share the cost of tarmacking the road.”
Residents are furious after a gate went up ‘overnight’ on a private road off (Image: StokeOnTrentLive)“A councillor spoke to me recently and told me that nobody should have driveways there and it’s illegal. People can walk through there, it’s just vehicles that can’t because people were driving on there all the time.
“Nobody is allowed to access their caravans or use their cars there because it damages my road.”
Newcastle Borough Council has acknowledged they are looking into a complaint about the erection of a barrier.
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Councillor Andrew Fear, cabinet member for strategic planning, said: “We have received a complaint regarding a possible breach of planning control and are investigating to see if this falls within the council’s jurisdiction. We will update the complainant as soon as possible.”
Aspire Housing is hoping an acceptable resolution can be reached.
The private road/ land(Image: StokeOnTrentLive)Head of assets and sustainability Mark Warburton said: “This site on Unity Way was sold in February 2021, which included the shops, the land at the rear of those shops, and the footpath through to Maple Avenue.
“Any formal access rights in place at the time of the sale will have been transferred as part of the sale or would have to be agreed with the owner following the sale.
“Our tenancy agreements do not include any specific provisions around parking or access to this site.
“We will support our customers where possible and advise that any concerns around access are also raised with the owner of this land, who we hope will listen to residents’ concerns and act reasonably in considering requests for access.”