FIRST MEETING HELD – 11TH AUGUST 2026

Hi everyone,

At our April 2026 Full Council meeting we (Romanby Parish Council – RPC) formally agreed to take the lead in calling together a multi-agency meeting (like we did back in 2017) to discuss the wide-ranging issues around car parking in the Parish, exacerbated since the closure of the 60-space car park on the Arla land on Ainderby Road.

It has taken some considerable time to get all the agencies together, but we were finally able to host our first meeting on the 11th of August 2026 at the parish office.  In attendance were representatives from North Yorkshire Police, North Yorkshire Council, Highways and TransPennine Express (who manage the railway station).

The aim of this first meeting was to allow everyone present to get a fuller understanding of the issues, and for the representatives to articulate the true art of the possible (rather than just opinion, hearsay and conjecture) when it comes to what can be done to improve the situation of car parking across the Parish.  We (RPC) explained the background to all of the issues, and why we were leading on bringing parties together – not least because we are more often than not, the organisation that residents turn to (quite rightly) as the first tier of local government, with concerns, complaints and frustrations over these parking issues in Romanby.

The key points and take-aways (many for further action/follow up) were as follows:

• Agreement and acknowledgement from all agencies that insufficient parking at the railway station and the closure of the 60-space car park on the Arla land (the subject of a planning application for houses/care home) has generated even more poor/inconsiderate/sometimes unlawful (but often not) parking on the public highway in the surrounding areas of Romanby. Although not a new issue (connect to our 2017 meeting on the same issue), it has become noticeably worse in the last few months.
• TransPennine Express (TPE), as the managing company of the station has long aspired to “deck” the current car park to provide additional level(s) of car parking for rail users – however this comes at a cost premium (circa £5M) and TPE are keen to find funding partners to take this forward. This plan would also take some 18-24 months to complete if and when ever agreed.  TPE have upcoming meetings this month with North Yorkshire Council (NYC) and the mayoral authority to seek possible solutions to this. Further update to follow.
• NYC Highways explained that NYC Parking Services are launching a series of parking reviews to capture and document the problems/issues – we (RPC) will be contributing to this with evidence, including that provided to us by residents. Further update when we have details of the dates/scope of the review.
• NYC Highways explained that traffic regulation changes (including for example additional yellow/double yellow lines) take anywhere between 6-18 months to be delivered, and there is a burden of proof to highlight the need for such changes, which often have a cost. We (RPC) will look to use results from the official Parking Review and advice from North Yorkshire Police (see previous bullet point) to inform any formal requests for more double yellow lines (for example at junctions/mini roundabouts).
• NYC Highways also confirmed the long-standing position that they will not directly sanction any new resident parking scheme in Romanby – not least because the enforcement of them would have significant additional costs. There is currently no funding allocated to assess or implement new residents' parking schemes. Any proposed schemes would need to be assessed, implemented and fully funded by a third party.  We (RPC) are currently not in a position to fund and manage any assessment/consultation scheme and we will revisit this once the NYC Parking Services Parking Review reports.
• North Yorkshire Police (NYP) provide as much policing of this broad issue as they are able – it is always a question of priorities/other task for the police. They have and will continue to challenge and educate any road users who are committing a parking offence on the public highway, from discussions and verbal warnings to more formal action if merited.  Residents are urged NOT to take the law into their own hands on these parking issues, no matter how frustrating – reporting to NYP on 101 is the best, and lawful course of action.

There was full agreement to meet again (in September/October 2026) once the TPE/NYC meetings had taken place; we would also invite the NYC Head of Parking Services to the meeting to clarify details of the upcoming Parking Review.

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I would like to emphasise to all our residents, that we (RPC) are really trying to be proactive here around an issue that we (and you) have little or no direct control over.  I could tell there is clearly a real genuine desire from those we met with, to improve/resolve this very thorny and long-standing issue.  We will continue to pursue this on behalf of all our residents to the very best of our ability.  Thank you all for your patience and understanding.

More when we have it,

Stuart Bradnam, Chairman RPC,

On behalf of your Parish Council Team.

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