The loss of about 20 parking spaces will have serious consequences, according to Teddington residents and business owners.

Double yellow lines were painted over parking spaces in Waldegrave Road last week as a traffic island was moved to accommodate access to the newly built London Square development.

Brian Holder, of the Teddington Society, said removing the spaces would cause serious disruption to nearby side roads.

He said: “People have been able to park opposite the London Square development forever, with no restrictions.

Richmond and Twickenham Times:

“It is about 20 spaces lost and what will happen now is people who would park there are going to use the side roads, and the people who park in the side roads – who have already suffered with the London Square builders parking there – will have extra vehicles on the road.

“There is also now a completely clear route with no cars parked up or in the process of parking, so vehicles are going through much faster.”

Rikke Greenway, practice director at the Waldegrave Clinic, said the removal of parking spaces will create problems for patients driving to the clinic, some of whom have limited mobility.

The clinic, which has operated in the road since 1989, has a small car park, but Ms Greenway said it is unsuitable for public use.

She added that a petition signed by many of the clinic’s patients, who she said often only parked on the road for half an hour, and submitted to the council had been “ignored.”

Ms Greenway said: “We don’t want to fall out with the residents at all. I am happy to work with the council and the residents, I am just worried we won’t get heard.”

Richmond and Twickenham Times:

Teddington councillor Stephen Knight said the changes came as a surprise to him and his ward colleagues, as the only indication they had received was in an email relating to a different matter that made no reference to the double-yellow lines in the body of the message.

He said: “We have raised the question and asked what is the justification to doing this, as it does seem to be a large amount of road space previously used for parking."

Council cabinet member for highways, Stephen Speak, said the three ward councillors were emailed about the proposed lines in February and residents were sent letters about the proposed lines, which were a safety requirement.

He said: "The Council seeks to remove unnecessary yellow lines when possible and there is absolutely no desire to inconvenience residents by taking away parking in an area that is already very intensively parked. 

"In this case the length of lines was dictated by a safety requirement to ensure that people wanting to cross the road can see oncoming traffic and judge if it is safe to do so."

A spokesman from Richmond Council said it was necessary to install the double-yellow lines in order to accommodate access to London Square.

He said: “As a result of these changes there has been a loss of some parking spaces. During a three-week statutory consultation local residents were informed of these changes and we received eight representations from residents against the proposals.

“These were given due consideration.

"However, for the island to operate safely and for motorists to see the pedestrian crossing, it was essential to install double yellow lines to prevent motorists from parking in the sightlines of the new crossing.”