ANGRY residents have called for action to stop commuters filling up Hamworthy Park’s car park.

Neighbours and park-users say the surface car park, which is currently free to use, is almost always packed out by 7am daily - meaning people coming to enjoy the open space have nowhere to park.

The suspicion is that nearby workers from businesses in and around the port are using the car park, neighbours told the Echo.

Truda Clarke, assistant manager of The Old Rope Walk sheltered housing complex, Blandford Road, said: “We have 45 elderly residents. I take them down to Hamworthy Park regularly, and I just cannot park - even at 8am there is not one space available, not one. Many of our residents cannot walk very far so I have to take them in the car. A lot of my friends who have beach huts and kids cannot park there either, it is so frustrating.”

Resident Joy Marks said: “When is this going to stop? Children and families are not able to use the car park.”

Meanwhile, Hamside Residents Association chairman, Ann Smeaton, said she hoped the issue would be solved once new pay and display machines are installed.

Hamworthy Park is one of a number of Poole parks which are in the process of switching from free parking to pay and display - an issue that sparked a wave of controversy when it was first proposed.

Mrs Smeaton said: “We are being told these machines should go in sometime in May. Hopefully this will help with the parking, which is a real problem at Hamworthy Park and has been since the council stopped operating the barrier.”

Borough of Poole (BOP) stopped operating a barrier system at the park, which was raised at 10.30am, towards the end of last year. Since then, the car park has filled daily with early morning commuter vehicles.

One of the companies whose employees are regularly mentioned is Sunseeker.

Friends of Hamworthy Park chairman Pat Bullock said: “You can understand it - the guys from Sunseeker clocked onto the fact they’d be able to park for free. They are not the only workers parking there - there are also builders working locally that park there.”

Currently, it remains unclear if - when the pay and display is introduced next month - there will be a four-hour maximum limit on parking at Hamworhty Park.

Mrs Bullock said: “We don’t quite know what is happening about the four-hour limit, it will not be good for beach hut owners if it is introduced though.

“But if the four-hour limit is dropped the current situation may not really change. It could still be cheaper for nearby workers to buy a permit and park here all day, rather than pay to park elsewhere.”

Ward councillor Mike White, Hamworthy East, says he understands the four hour maximum will not be implemented.

He added: “The fact that we will shortly be introducing parking charges, hopefully, will have some affect on the commuter parking issue.

“However, until we’ve had a season of the charges running, we won’t quite know what the effect will be.”

A Sunseeker spokesman said: “Sunseeker International is aware there is a shortage of parking in the area around its shipyards which has been exacerbated by the temporary closure of the old bridge, encouraging more to travel to work by car than normal. “The 900 spaces of free parking Sunseeker provides for its staff have now become stretched and, as a result, we have implemented several initiatives to help resolve the problems.” The company also said it reminds employees to be respectful when parking in the area and was working on a long-term parking solution.

“We have already invested in additional parking spaces on the Port of Poole, established a cycle to work scheme and are actively promoting car sharing to reduce the demand for spaces, added the spokesman.“We will continue to work on a long-term parking solution with the local authority, but in the meantime we regularly remind employees to be respectful of local residents and the community when parking their cars in the area.”