A SILSDEN newsagent has renewed demands for yellow lines to be removed from the street alongside his shop.

Martin Twigg claims customers need to be able to park near his shop in Kirkgate but they are stopped by “needless” single-yellow lines in adjacent New Road.

In recent weeks many customers who have parked on the stretch of road regardless have been fined by Bradford Council’s team of enforcement officers.

Mr Twigg is angry that the parking wardens even swooped on Silsden the day before Christmas – catching several unwitting drivers including himself.

He said: “I parked there because I get to the shop at 5am and forgot about the car, I didn’t think the wardens would be out on Christmas Eve.

“They’re swamping Silsden with wardens – they come mob-handed every day. It’s just an excuse to make money, there’s no safety problem.

“The yellow lines in New Road have been down a long time but it’s a needless stretch. I brought it up with the council last summer, but Highways said it wasn’t suitable for parking.

“People can’t park in Silsden. From a business point of view, everything is against us. The council stopped free parking in local car parks. They’re talking about stopping parking on the main street but that will be just another nail in the coffin for the businesses.”

District and town councillor Rebecca Whitaker last year also unsuccessfully requested parking spaces on the yellow lines in New Road.

She said: “There are double yellow lines on both sides of New Road near the junction with Kirkgate, which are needed for safety, but when you go up a little there is a single yellow line where you could fit three parking spaces and still allow cars to drive past.

“I’m trying to get the council to remove parking fees in the car park. Quite a few local people don’t want to pay parking to visit their local shops, and park on residential streets or in an inconsiderate manner.

“Enforcement teams have been going out because people are parking where they shouldn’t, or for longer than they should. Some people aren’t happy about enforcement and some people are.”

Cllr Whitaker last autumn took the council’s principal highways engineer Simon D’Vali on a walkabout in Silsden to highlight parking and road safety problems, and is inviting him to attend the town council to hear other members’ concerns.

A Bradford Council spokesman said there had not been an increase in the number of visits by parking wardens to Silsden recently.

She said: “They are out across the whole of the district on a daily basis to make sure people are parking legally and not causing an obstruction to traffic.

“If Mr Twigg would like to request the removal of these single yellow lines, he can contact his local councillor and our Highways Department who will look at his request in more detail to determine the nature of the restriction and why the restriction was introduced initially.”