OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND: DERBY LIB DEMS' HALF-BAKED SOLUTION TO STUDENT PARKING PROBLEM

STUDENTS in Derby fear they are being put at risk after being allocated parking in an unlit, unsupervised city car park.

Derby City Council and the University of Derby have moved the students to Markeaton Park car park following complaints about on-street parking.

But the winter nights and lack of lighting at the site mean the students are expected to traipse through the pitch black to find their vehicles, often after finishing lectures and seminars late into the evening.

I have written to the Council and the University to demand that temporary lighting is installed and, if the parking arrangements become permanent, a longer term fix is found. He also wants a shelter erecting so that when students are waiting for the shuttle bus to arrive they are not exposed to the elements.

There was a problem with on-street parking that demanded a proper solution, but this half-baked effort has been thrown together and has put the students in a vulnerable position.

What was needed was a well-thought out answer to the problems, not a botch job like this. It's a case of out-of-sight, out-of-mind - and the students are certainly out of sight here.

I've been up there with NUS Student Rights Officer, Josh Eades, to have a look and it's absolutely ridiculous. I wouldn't want to find my car in those conditions, and nor would the Liberal Democrats who've made this decision - so why should the students?