PEOPLE living in an upmarket housing estate have slammed the agent looking after their homes after a plan to charge visitors for parking.

The residents at Diglis Water say charging visitors is unfair because they already pay a service charge to Mainstay Group property managers.

However, the agent says the charges were suggested after complaints that people were abusing the allocated parking spaces scheme to park extra cars in empty spaces.

Emma Lampitt, 27, said: “The day before yesterday we received an email from Mainstay. It stated we may have to pay for visitors to park in our car park. They are also thought to be imposing a 40 visitor limit per year. That is less than one visitor per week.

“I am currently on maternity leave and have lots of visitors come to see me and my children. Expecting them to pay is ridiculous and may mean I end up isolated from my loved ones.”

Craig Sagar, 37, added: “There have been a series of issues with Mainstay Group and we are very unhappy with how we have been treated.

“I pay £400 a year to Mainstay specifically for the carpark and general maintenance. I just can't see where the money is going. The proposed parking charges are the nail in the coffin for me.”

The private car park, on Woodhouse Drive, contains 64 spaces and residents say it is “rarely full.”

A spokesman for Mainstay Group said: "Residents have expressed annoyance at other occupiers parking in spaces not allocated to them; using empty spaces for a second or third vehicle; and guests of residents parking in spaces which do not belong to them.

"In order to help mitigate this, Mainstay has issued a survey to all residents asking for feedback and suggestions, in the hopes that a solution could be come to which would be agreeable for all parties involved. It is important to emphasise that no action has been taken as yet with regards to parking spaces at Woodhouse Close or the wider Diglis estate, and none will be until all the survey results have been returned and each resident has had a chance to express their opinion directly to Mainstay.""

He added: “Nothing is confirmed or set in stone at this stage.”