RESIDENTS have reacted with anger over an extension to the permit-only parking scheme in Shear Brow.

The scheme will limit households in several streets, including Bicknell Street, Charlotte Street, and Oswald Street, to buy one resident’s permit for £30 per year, and one visitor’s permit for £15 per year.

Residents have admitted that parking in the area is a problem, with town centre workers, students and shoppers parking in the area.

But they have complained that the new measures will be ineffective, as once the permits are introduced many motorists will instead park in other areas of Shear Brow where the scheme is not in effect.

Residents have also complained that the consultation was not carried out fairly due to a lack of effective communication from the council, and have criticised councillors for failing to inform them about how much the scheme will cost or how much income it is expected to generate. Many residents also feel that they are being financially penalised for traffic problems caused by people who do not live in the area.

After receiving permit application forms from Blackburn with Darwen Council, which they say was the first notification they received that the scheme was to go ahead, a group of residents have joined together to collect petition signatures and raise a dispute against the parking scheme’s application in the lower part of Shear Brow.

Juber Umarji, 39, who lives in Oswald Street said: “There was no proper consultation, and they’ve not taken our objections into consideration. It may not sound like a lot of money but it will be going up every year.

“There was no proper consultation with local mosques and schools, meetings were arranged at very short notice, nobody knew because they weren’t publicised correctly, so nobody was able to attend.”

A council spokesman said: “We are looking into the complaint and the representations made regarding this matter.”