TALKS have begun to try to ease the pressures on parking spaces in Stogursey, which the parish council has described as being ‘at full capacity’.

Parking spaces have been at a premium since work started on nearby Hinkley Point C nuclear power station and workers began ‘fly-parking’ on the roads.

Increased housing development has added to the problems, with new families and their cars moving into the village.

Parish council chairman Cllr Chris Morgan said: “Residents have endured damage to personal property, threats of violence, and damage to property. The police have a record of this.

“The problem has arisen because the village has a growing population, children grow up, and they need transport because there is no public transport.

“In some cases, there are households that have five cars.”

Cllr Morgan said the parking issues would only become worse because Somerset West and Taunton Council had given planning permission for five more dwellings to be built on the high street, in addition to 27 houses in Lime Street/Shurton Lane.

A further 26 houses were under construction to the east of the village.

Cllr Morgan said Hinkley C owners EDF had worked hard to stop the long-standing ‘fly-parking’ problem, and the parish council had been offered a £75,000 grant towards parking solutions.

He said the grant had been welcomed by the parish council which had identified an area with potential to accommodate extra parking in Burgage Road/Vicarage Road.

However, the land belonged to social landlord Magna Housing and the work would have to be carried out by Somerset County Council highways engineers, neither of which had responded.

A ‘lively’ public meeting to discuss the project and how to move it forward was held in the village’s Victory Hall, following which Magna said customer and community support head Christine Boland was now talking with Cllr Morgan about the parking improvement proposals and the local housing officer and surveyor would also arrange to meet him.

A Somerset County Council spokesperson told the Free Press: “If the parish council has identified solutions that the highway authority are able to support them with, we are more than happy to have a discussion.”