Long-awaited parking restrictions are being put in place in many residential roads in Redhill which for years have effectively been used as car parks by commuters and office workers.

Signs for the new restrictions have been put up in most roads and Reigate and Banstead Borough Council has said the yellow lines will follow.

The restrictions come after years of complaints and campaigning by local residents, as well as calls for action from the emergency services and councillors.

The roads covered by the new restrictions include Hurstleigh Drive, Carlton Road, Ringwood Avenue and North Street.

Most of the new controls will apply for one hour during the day - so-called “curfew” parking - to deter all-day commuter parking whilst minimising the impact on residents.

Some of the restrictions, such as at the junction of Ringwood Avenue and London Road, and along North Street, are new double yellow lines to improve motorist and pedestrian sight-lines and safety.

Once the yellow lines have been put down, the borough council’s enforcement officers will start to monitor them and issue tickets to those breaking the restrictions.

Arthur Lambert, who has lived in Hurstleigh Drive for 40 years, said the constant parking down his road made it very difficult for him to get in and out of his drive, and impossible for emergency services to get through.

He said: “Hurstleigh Drive is quite narrow and with cars parked completely down the length of it on one side.

“What we used to do was put notes on the cars asking them to refrain from parking there, and for a long, long time, it did work.

“But it has got so intense for the last ten years, there's no way it would work.”

He added that nearby Park Road never got swept because a roadsweeping vehicle could not get through, and turning out into Park Road was a safety “nightmare” because of cars parking right up to the corner.

Now the new parking restrictions have cured his road from being a parking blackspot.

He said: “It's quite eery now because there's no cars parked outside at all. It's like there's been a plague or something.”

But he also added: “As a motorist, I'm a bit sorry for them. I think offices should provide parking for their employees.”

Julian Ellacott, borough councillor for Redhill West ward, said: “These restrictions are long overdue in many cases, and after many years of fighting to get them installed, I am glad that they are now happening.”

Coun Ellacott said: “Many local roads have basically been turned into car parks for commuters, causing misery for residents.

“In the medium term, I hope the county council will look at residents’ parking schemes, but these restrictions are a solid first step to improve the situation.”

Parking controls across the county are designed and installed by Surrey County Council's Parking Strategy and Implementation Group.

The yellow lines are expected to be completed within the next two weeks, and the borough council will then carry out full enforcement of the restrictions a week later.

The parking controls were first drawn up in early 2008 and were based on a list of sites where dangerous or obstructive parking had been flagged up as a problem.

Talks with residents’ associations followed and county and borough councillors also consulted with people living in Ravens Close, Ridgeway Road, Upper Bridge Road, Garlands Road, Lynwood Road, Carlton Road, Vandyke Road, and Carlton Green.

The county council's Local Committee for Reigate and Banstead agreed the restrictions proposals in December 2008 and detailed design work and draft changes to the legal Traffic Regulation Orders was completed.

The proposals were advertised, street notices put up and letters sent out to raise public awareness of them, with the objection period extended through to last January, before county councillors agreed their introduction.

However, it was only in June that it became clear there would be enough funding for the scheme, which has led to a delay in the restrictions being put in place.