RESIDENTS of Penhill have taken to the internet to vent their frustrations at a lack of parking in the area.

A petition set up on the change.org website calling on Swindon Borough Council to improve parking conditions had attracted 125 supporters by Friday evening.

Nikki Wardle, 32, of Patney Walk, launched the petition on Thursday after receiving a letter from her housing officer informing her she could be charged for repairs after she took to parking on grass verges near her flat.

Nikki said: “There is a severe lack of parking in Penhill, my flat is accessed by a footpath and there is no parking anywhere near.

“In my row of four flats there are three blue badge holders, including me, my husband and my elderly neighbour.

“I have knee injuries and my husband has severe arthritis, we need to be able to park close to where we live.”

Although Nikki’s petition was clear in criticising the lack of parking in the area, it did not make any suggestions as to how the council might go about creating space for the parking that is being called for.

Parking in Penhill has been a recurring issue for many years, as far back as 2006 the council spent £130,000 dropping kerbs and creating driveways after complaints from residents about damage to grass verges.

A spokesperson for Swindon Borough Council said: “This area of Swindon was designed and built at a time when most people did not own cars, which is not the case now, and in fact some households in the area own two or three.

“We are well aware of the shortage of parking but there are no easy solutions, we have all sorts of issues to balance including safety.

“While some residents want to park their vehicles on verges, others contact us to insist we book them.

“We’re always open to ideas, but so far this has not been an easy problem to crack.”

Nikki posted her petition on a number of Swindon related Facebook pages, receiving a range of responses.

Tim Swinyard, Councillor for Lydiard and Freshbrook, wrote: “The petition does not say what you would like done, only that there is an issue.

“For this to be debated, a solution or idea would help.

“Unfortunately there are areas where there really isn’t a practical solution.”

Many residents signing the petition called on the council to install additional dropped kerbs with one resident, Sheena Collins, raising the idea of putting grids over the grass verges to allow them to take cars.

This approach has been used at the nearby doctor’s surgery on Penhill Drive, the curb has been dropped on either side of the driveway and a solid grid has been laid over the verge to allow for additional patient parking.

Although it has created additional space, it was at the cost of the grass which is now almost completely gone.