HOUSEHOLDS have accused the council of turning their road into a car park over a plan to introduce parking meters.

The authority hopes to introduce the measure in Winns Terrace, Walthamstow, ahead of the reopening of Lloyd Park adjacent to the street following a multi-million pound refurbishment.

But families claim the council is placing potential visitors before residents, who have started a petition against the move.

People in the street have been at loggerheads with the council over parking since 2002.

Their first successful campaign was for a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) permit scheme to be introduced, followed by another fight in 2010 against plans to reduce the scheme's hours - which they also won.

James Pitman, chair of The Winns Terrace Residents' Association (WTRA), said: "It seems the council have still not got the message. We don't want our road to be a car park for Lloyd Park.

"They say they want to encourage people to use public transport but this type of scheme goes completely against that policy."

Mr Pitman said the council had suggested in a meeting with residents that the parking meters could be installed along one side of the road and operate between 9am and 4.30pm seven days a week, with free parking at other hours.

He said families in nearly every one of the street's 67 homes had now signed a petition against the proposal, amid fears of disruption and the impact on their own parking.

He added: "I think this is all about revenue. While we only have houses along one side of the street, many of them are divided in two, so we have the same amount of people and cars as other roads."

The park is due to reopen in phases from this month and the £4.6million refurbishment is due to be fully completed by July.

Cllr Clyde Loakes, the council's cabinet member for environment, said: "The council is looking at launching a consultation in the next couple of months to review parking arrangements in light of what is happening in Lloyd Park.

"As always, no decisions will be made until the consultation has been carried out and residents have had their chance to have their say."

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