Don’t miss a thing! Sign up to the Daily Star’s newsletter
Fed-up residents claim they are suffering from "traffic misery" in the area of Sky's new state-of-the-art film studios dubbed "British Hollywood" due to "selfish" construction workers who have reportedly been stealing their parking spaces.
Work is underway for Sky Studios Elstree, which was granted planning permission at the height of the pandemic in 2020, but locals in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, say what was meant to be an "asset" to the area has turned their homes into the "wild west".
Residents claim the last few months have been a living "nightmare" after Sky's plans to introduce a temporary car park for workers, to help minimise traffic disruption during the build, was put to a halt.
It comes after Contractor BAM reviewed the use of the temporary area and ruled it would be unsafe for parking.
Now, vulnerable residents and families claim they have had to endure a daily "obstacle course" outside of their homes while suffering from noise disturbance when trying to sleep.
Local resident Karen, who is visually impaired and uses a cane, told the Daily Star: "This is a general daily hazard for all disabled people, wheelchair users and pram pushers.
"They park early and slam doors. Sometimes they leave their rubbish behind."
Resident Elaine Rosenthal says the past few months have been "dangerous" and "chaotic" but said the issues have become increasingly worse in the last two weeks.
"As a resident of the small area that is Well End I felt that the arrival of Sky Studios would be an asset and bring prestige and a buzz back to Borehamwood," she said.
Dramatic moment drunk ladette smashes up car with pickaxe in row over parking
"Very often the motorist's view is restricted and it can be like an obstacle course.
"Residents' concerns have fallen on deaf ears and what was a quiet country road is now a serious accident waiting to happen. I fear the worst!"
Elderly couple Etty, 70, and Harry, 75, said their "peaceful retirement appears to be in doubt" and said they have been forced to contact the police over the ongoing disturbance.
They said: "Three weeks ago, cars began to be parked on Rowley Lane ( opposite Sky ) alongside the new construction, which is a rural two-lane road with a 30 m.p.h limit, and which at some point was a declared clearway, but somehow the road sign had disappeared.
"This has led to congestion and dangerous driving by frustrated drivers, in particular during the morning rush hour. In effect, almost a one-lane thoroughfare."
Fears Putin will unleash plague as WHO urges Ukraine to destroy deadly lab diseases
As part of Hertsmere Council's Draft Local Plan, a cluster of land was established to support the entertainment industry. This specific site was proposed to be removed from Green Belt land but the plan is currently on hold.
The couple added: "In addition, new plans have been proposed for more studios to be built on Green Belt land surrounding the area, although these have been 'shelved' at present due to massive objections by our community, but doesn't bode well for the future."
Sky confirmed the planning permission granted by the council for the project does include a temporary car park / temporary storage area.
However, plans had to be re-considered for the car park after BAM identified health and safety concerns during major works after conducting a review of the temporary area.
World's longest car stretches over 100ft and even has swimming pool and helipad inside
In response, BAM formed an agreement with a local hotel chain to provide parking spaces for their workers.
Borehamwood Kenilworth ward councillors Dan Ozarow and Rebecca Challice said BAM have tried to stop their employees from using unauthorised spaces but said the problem has continued to disrupt residents.
Mr Ozarow commented: "What was once a tranquil and picturesque corner of Borehamwood has been turned into the Wild West.
"Construction workers are parking wherever they want with complete impunity, regardless of the dangers posed and the upset this is causing residents.
'Putin planning terror attack at Chernobyl nuclear power plant' warns Ukraine
"But the council leadership is also seemingly to blame for this mayhem."
He went on to say the council didn't inform residents about work being carried out at night and questioned what their role was to ensure that the Traffic Regulation Orders were updated so powers could be enforced against the issues, which the council have said they are not responsible for.
Councillor Rebecca Challice said: "It is very disappointing that Sky and their contractors BAM have not taken better care to ensure the impact on the community is minimised.
"It is time that they demonstrated that they intend to be good neighbours if they want to be welcomed here."
It is believed that BAM have introduced a series of measures to try and prevent their workers from parking on residential roads including a security team patrolling local streets, issuing weekly reminders and subcontractors bringing teams in mini vans where possible.
Plane crash horror as door burst open mid-flight and pilots couldn't close it
A spokesperson for Sky Studios Elstree said: “Throughout the build, we’ve put in place a range of measures – including providing 150 dedicated parking spaces – to help ease traffic in the local area and this week we’ve added a further 150 spaces for site workers.
"We understand the frustration and inconvenience caused to local residents, drivers and pedestrians whose safety remains our key priority.”
A spokesperson for Hertsmere Council said: “We’re sorry to hear that some residents are being affected by the development of Sky Studios Elstree.
“Under national regulations, a planning application for the temporary car park at the site was not required, because this particular part of the works is considered permitted development.
To stay up to date with all the latest news, make sure you sign up for one of our newsletters here
“We would advise any residents who feel parking regulations are not being observed to get in touch with our parking department, however we can only enforce regulations where Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) are active.
“TROs for areas outside of our controlled parking zones are processed by Hertfordshire County Council, as the authority responsible for highways management.
“Currently we are waiting for TROs in Rowley Lane, from the junction of York Crescent to Studio Way, Clear Way and York Crescent to be processed and reviewed.”
Hertfordshire County Council have also been contacted for comment.
- Exclusives
Source: Read Full Article