A STRUGGLE for parking spaces which has turned neighbour against neighbour looks set to continue after a decision to make temporary parking restrictions permanent.

People living in part of Roding Lane South in Woodford Green between Redbridge station and Roding Hospital have had to pay to park their cars outside their homes since a controlled parking zone (CPZ) was brought in a year ago.

Yearly permits for the zone cost £55 for the first car, with further charges for each subsequent car but resident Chris Simmons, 46, said the situation on his stretch of the road had worsened since the charges were brought in.

He said: “People used to park in the turning just off the road, with their cars pointing nose-on to the row of houses.

“Then one of the houses got their kerb dropped so they could park on the front. Then everyone else along that row got one, and people living nearby lost at least eight parking spaces.

It used to be a nice little turning around here. Whenever you went down to get in your car in the mornings you'd bump into someone and have a little chat. That doesn't happen any more, there's too much bad feeling.”

Neighbour Janet Nightingale said Redbridge Council should look to make money from charging commuters to park at nearby Redbridge Underground Station, rather than make residents pay.

She added: “You can’t park at many Tube stations for free, so why don’t they make their money that way and let us park outside our own homes for nothing? At our house we’ve got my car, my husband’s and our son’s, so that’s a couple of hundred pounds a year.

"We’re having our cars scraped, our lights broken, our wing mirrors snapped off – and paying for the privilege.”

A spokeswoman for Redbridge Council said: “The CPZ was introduced following a number of complaints about parking demand in the area from local residents, commuters and workers.

All residents were consulted on the principles of permit parking with 80 per cent supporting the introduction of parking controls.”