Hand painted double yellow lines on a Brighouse street are NOT illegal, the council has confirmed.
Bosses at RD Haigh at Oakhill Road caused a stir last week when they took it upon themselves to paint parking restrictions on the road outside their premises.
Company partner Andrew Haigh said he had painted the lines, used by local councils to prohibit parking, after struggling with people blocking the road outside his firm.
Most people on community Facebook forum Brighouse Banter, dubbed the work as “illegal”.
But Mr Haigh said the street close to Brighouse town centre was a private road and so he was within his rights to paint the land by his premises.
Calderdale Council has now confirmed he is correct.
Steven Lee, Calderdale Council’s Head of Highways and Transportation, said: “We have visited the site and can confirm that the double yellow lines which have been painted on Oakhill Road are on private land.
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“Consequently we have no involvement in the matter.”
Technically most of Oakhill Road is “unadopted” by the council.
That means property owners on the street are liable for repairing potholes and maintaining the street scene.
It also means the council has no responsibility for road markings.
While the double yellow lines are allowed by law, no one can be fined for ignoring them.
Mr Haigh, who left a gap in the yellow lines close to his firm’s entrance, told the Examiner that he suffered problems with people blocking the gates to his premises and problems with shoppers and commuters to Brighouse town centre using the road.
But one resident of Oakhill Road told the Examiner the whole debacle was over a parking row between RD Haigh and adjacent firm Highbury Homes.
Tara Sweeney, who lives in one of the eight homes on the street behind Tesco, said parking wasn’t an issue most of the time.
“No one parks on this road to go shopping in the town centre,” she said.
“We get the odd dog walker who is using the park at the other end but I never have a problem parking by my house.”
The Examiner asked Highbury Homes for its views on the yellow lines but no one responded.
