A businessman is not happy with his local council after he came home from work to find double yellow lines painted around his wife’s car.
Hamid Beheshti had submitted an objection about the lines being introduced to the street where he lives.
He says he was given the impression that the council would speak to him about the issue before making a decision – but realised that wasn’t the case when he saw they had already been painted on the road.
Now the 58-year-old management consulting company director says he feels ‘bullied’ by the council’s actions.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council has responsibility for the street in Christchurch, Dorset, where he has lived for 24 years.
He claims they have acted unfairly and ignored his pleas for a meeting to discuss the plans.
They began painting double yellow lines down Norfolk Avenue, a dead end road, to reduce car presence with an aim to make it safer for cyclists, pedestrians and elderly users.
But Mr Beheshti says the problem is heavy goods vehicles and vans parking on the opposite pavement, arguing that bollards on the pavement would reduce congestion better than yellow lines.
He said: ‘In January 2020 I emailed and objected to this double yellow line implementation.
‘I followed all the correct protocol and suggested that they should consult me as someone who has lived here for almost 25 years.
‘They said that they would do that, however they’ve gone ahead and put these lines down.
‘Here’s the punchline – on the 17th of September I was called by a BCP Council representative who left me a voicemail categorically saying that they would not paint the yellow lines until they investigated and would come back to me.
‘Less than a month later, I leave for work and they come and paint double yellow lines right outside my home.
‘My wife’s car was parked in its usual space and they’ve actually painted around her car. It’s laughable.
‘I’ve been writing to them since January 2020 and everything that I’ve said as a good citizen has been ignored.
‘They have not achieved their goal by putting yellow lines outside my house.
‘We struggled to sleep last night because we feel bullied. We feel a lot of unfairness here and someone 20 miles away sits in an office and does this without visiting us.
‘I’m a business owner, I contribute to the town, we have a great relationship with neighbours, do you really need to add to people’s burdens BCP?
‘It is a ridiculous situation and a disastrous decision. I’m trying to be a good citizen here by talking with them and offering to help and I’ve been left with egg on my face.
‘I just want to know why is it that my objections were clearly not considered?
‘Also, can BCP please explain what they have achieved by putting these yellow lines down alongside my home, despite having been parking there for 24 years, when the problem is on the opposite pavement?’
A BCP Council spokesperson said: ‘The proposed traffic regulation order (TRO) for the new double yellow lines was advertised so that the public could comment on it.
‘The purpose of the lines was to keep a cycle route clear for cyclists.
‘Two objections were received and considered in May 2020 as part of the legal and democratic process, it was then decided to proceed with the TRO and the lines have been subsequently marked following a further review.’
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