Bracher Close residents say they are being unfairly treated by Test Valley Borough Council’s parking team and have launched a bid to seize back control of their cul-de-sac.

Bracher Close residents say they are being unfairly treated by Test Valley Borough Council’s parking team and have launched a bid to seize back control of their cul-de-sac.

The pensioners, led by resident representative Alan Couzins, are hoping to extinguish the highway rights on the road, meaning it will be up to them to police their own parking.

The move could cost upward of £3,500 in fees and admin charges.

But for retired licensee Mr Couzins, 72, the chance to be free of parking wardens is worth every penny.

He said: “We’ve had dozens of cars unfairly booked.

“It’s mainly family members who come to visit us or when residents park close to their house so they can take their shopping upstairs.

“But carers and work vans have also been booked too.

“We should be able to park by our own houses. It’s diabolical.”

One couple, Ray and Daphne Moore, had their daughter visit with her new baby when she was was ticketed by a parking warden.

Mrs Moore, 69, said: “They came up from Devon and they parked outside quickly to show us their new little baby.

“I said to them that you better watch the car and, as soon as I did, they came along and gave them a ticket.

“It was the first time we had seen the baby but all we ended up doing was worrying about the car.”

A group of around 14 residents met last week to discuss their concerns in a small summer house within the warden-managed estate.

TVBC’s senior transport engineer, Ray Alborough, attended with borough councillor Iris Andersen and Hampshire County Councillor Tim Rolt.

Mr Alborough told residents that they could push forward with their plans to extinguish the cul-de-sac’s highway rights.

He added that once the HCC-led process had been completed, then TVBC would be able to remove the road from its traffic warden patrols.

Mr Couzins says that if the scheme is given the green light, the residents hope to convert part of the cul-de-sac into their own parking area.

He hopes that this will solve the current parking issues on Bracher Close, which he claims is already overcrowded.

One potential stumbling block to the plans is that the land itself is owned by the residents’ housing provider Hanover Homes.

However Hanover say they are behind the scheme.

A spokesperson said: “We are currently working with the local council to explore a viable and suitable solution which will not only enable residents to park their cars closer to their homes, but that also would allow for the likes of doctors, carers and other health professionals to visit our elderly residents without the threat of parking fines.”

TVBC say the matter is between the residents and HCC, but has warned removing the rights could create more issues if members of the public attempt to park in the cul-de-sac.