SAMARITANS in Southend are demanding their dire car parking situation is sorted out so they can carry on saving lives.

The Samaritans, based in York Road, were granted permission to purchase extra parking permits for its volunteers by Southend Council after a residential allowance was introduced. However they have now told how the council has since reneged on this allowance, leaving the charity facing a lack of parking spaces.

The centre has its own very small car park, however this is inadequate for larger meetings and training sessions, which have been threatened by the lack of access to parking facilities.

Southend Samaritans director Colin Hill said: “The council help us in many ways, but as long as the parking permit row continues it will be a distraction to what we are trying to achieve. It is completely detrimental to treat us as a residential property when we have volunteers around continuously, all of whom need to park somewhere and don’t want to be walking around the area late at night.

“If it can’t be resolved it will ultimately end up meaning we will have to hire somewhere with better access for bigger meetings, which will directly impact the money we can put into our services. “

Ex-chairman of the Southend Samaritans, Andy Crow, has been closely involved with the issue since the permits were introduced. He said: “It shouldn’t be the case that people who volunteer and who perform a vital role in the community then have to pay out for parking every time or face a fine. Especially at a time where issues such as mental health are such a focus, and Samaritans are actively trying to help, it is absolutely nonsensical. It’s never being about getting something something for free, we’ve always been happy to pay for permits just like everybody else.”.

Councillor Andrew Moring, cabinet member for infrastructure, said: “The Samaritans are issued with two free parking permits, these are not registration specific so they can be shared among volunteers. In addition to this, they are also able to purchase vouchers up to a limit of 100 per year. The Samaritans also have their own car park which can be utilised for their own purposes. We have also advised The Samaritans recently that we propose to end the operational hours of the scheme at 6pm.”