A RESIDENTS only parking scheme to stop motorists leaving their cars outside people's houses and walking into town is to be enforced around Castle Street.

The experimental scheme and waiting restrictions are to be introduced on the square of streets from Dorset Street after years of complaints from residents who have struggled in the day time to find a space near their home.

Bolton Council will introduce the measures to ensure that "the streets do not become obstructed by parked vehicles" and there will be a zoned area for police officers to park their private vehicles without penalty while on duty.

Residents will be given a permit, one per car owner at an initial cost of £30, and visitor permits will be £20 for 20 each valid for 24 hours.

The move also follows years of campaigning by the late Burnden councillor Peter Birch. If successful, it could be extended to other parts of the town.

A parking survey will be undertaken throughout the rest of the Haulgh to see if the parking problem moves up the road.

Executive member for special projects, Cllr Michael Kilcoyne, says it is just a 12-month pilot for now and that other ideas are welcome.

"This is about allowing people who live in this area to be able to use their own parking space during the day. We do have other ideas such as having 20 minutes at 11am when no parking is allowed and anyone there will get a ticket.

"We will watch it very closely. People will park a considerable distance to get to their work place so the problem could just spill over to other areas."

The measures will be enforced in the next few months.