WORK has begun to help ease the problem of parking in Penhill.

New driveways and dropped kerbs are being installed in the Penhill Drive area of the estate as part of a joint initiative between Swindon Council's highways and housing departments.

The work is being carried out by Swindon Services after ward councillors David Glaholm (Lab, Penhill) and Andy Harrison (Ind, Penhill) secured £130,000 of funding from the council's revenue account.

Both councillors have recently campaigned for more parking to be made available after extensive damage to grass verges on the estate.

Residents have complained for many years about the number of people parking illegally and Coun Glaholm says parking is a common problem across the borough.

"Parking is an absolute nightmare in Penhill," said Coun Glaholm.

"People have been complaining for years about the damage to the grass verges and the danger and safety issues associated with it.

"My colleague Andy Harrison and myself have been pressing for something to be done for a long time and this work will go some way to partly ease the problem.

"It will make a great difference and the feedback we have received from residents has been positive."

The current work to improve the parking situation in Penhill is phase four of seven and work on further areas is expected to be completed in the coming months.

Council tenants are having the work outside their homes paid for by the council, while owner-occupiers are funding the work themselves.

And although the work to date has been hailed as a success, Coun Glaholm wants to see the scheme embraced by all Penhill residents.

He added: "The problem we have had is that there are some owner-occupiers who would not come on board. We will do all we can to persuade people to join the scheme but if we can't then the council will have to look into what action they can take against them."