A PILOT plan to relieve parking mayhem in residential areas has moved an important step closer.

A list of seven roads has been agreed by members of the environment overview committee at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council after a row that has lasted 17 months.

Roads on the list are:

Stukeley Road, Hamelyn Road, Hamelyn Close, Longmoor Road, Bowyer Close (Kings Furlong and Brookvale ward)

Holst Close (Brighton Hill South ward)

Bow Drive, Sherfield-on-Loddon (Calleva ward)

Measures which may be employed include creating brand-new parking bays, making access to residents' own parking areas easier, using white lines to mark out designated parking areas and even using green spaces for parking.

However, some committee members were still unhappy. Councillor Gerry Traynor was outraged that Margaret Road in South Ham was not on the list.

He said: "When I read through this report by officers, I was absolutely astounded to find the recommendations they had made. I just cannot understand how one of the worst roads for parking in the borough - Margaret Road in South Ham - can have fallen through the net."

Cllr Stuart Parker, Cabinet member for environmental sustainability, said it was impossible to please everyone.

Councillors agreed to accept the proposals for the seven roads to be included in the pilot plan and this will now be passed to full council for approval.

The plan was halted last October when councillors used the call-in procedure to have the scheme reconsidered.

Each of the 375 roads originally identified as having parking problems has since been ranked in a league table according to factors such as the number of parking spaces already in the street and ease of access to the road.

First published: Wednesday, March 22, 2006