DEVON County Council is urging Devon MPs to back a bill to help end the blight of parking on pavements.

The Pavement Parking (Protection of Vulnerable Pedestrians) Bill is scheduled for its second reading in the House of Commons on December 4.

Earlier this month, we reported on the recurring problems on Fore Street, Kingsbridge, with delivery drivers parking on pavements when loading bays are occupied by cars.

The private members bill, presented by North Dorset MP Simon Hoare, received its first reading in June.

The bill aims to ‘make powers available to highway authorities to make further provision for the safety, convenience and free movement on pavements for disabled people, people accompanying young children and other vulnerable pedestrians.’

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council highway management spokesman, has now written to Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin MP and Devon’s local MPs, appealing for them to support the bill.

In September and October alone, Devon County received 68 complaints of parking on pavements.

Councillor Hughes said: ‘This issue needs dealing with because bad practices adopted by motorists have become widespread.

Pavement parking remains a dilemma for local authorities, as there are no specific powers for our civil parking enforcement officers to enforce ’obstruction’ of highways, or, footways.

‘It’s vital that this bill is supported to permit local authorities to address inconsiderate and dangerous behaviour.’

But County and district Councillor Julian Brazil questioned the enforcement of the law, should it be passed: ‘It’s one thing to pass a law, but another thing to enforce it.

‘We have to make sure that we’re even-handed, but I think this would potentially a good thing for Kingsbridge.

For more on this story, see this week’s Kingsbridge & Salcombe Gazette