ELDERLY neighbours are angry that Brent Council employees are flouting regulations to park in their residents-only road.

They said civil servant motorists are avoiding the £10-a-day charge for the Brent Civic Centre car park in Engineers Way, Wembley, and instead are exploiting their council-issued essential user parking permit - which allows them to park in any CPZ for free while going about day-to-day official local government duties - to get away with leaving their cars in nearby Dagmar Avenue.

The £130-a-year special permits specifically prohibits drivers from parking within 1/2km of their usual place of work but the Dagmar Avenue complainants believe at least half the street lies within this distance to the council’s new HQ.

Ian Vogl, 40, is taking up the cause on behalf of his elderly neighbours, who unload their shopping on his driveway so they do not have so far to walk from alternative spaces they have been forced to find in other streets.

He said: “There are more than 30 cars on our road every day, and there have been since the Civic Centre opened.

“I have been told by someone at the council that the wardens have been told to ignore them.

“They are not allowed to park within 500 metres of the Civic Centre, but this is what they are doing.

“It is supposed to be for people going out on visits but most of them are here from 9am to 5 or 6pm.

“All my neighbours are elderly and they are struggling to get up and down the road as they have to park so far away.”

On the afternoon on which Mr Vogl contacted the Observer he had spoken to the council about the matter and soon after wardens arrived in the street and gave tickets to every car displaying an essential user permit in their windscreen.

Mr Vogl said the reason given to him by the council was that permits were not being used correctly.

He added: “I think the border for the 500 metre radius is about half way up the street but irrespective of whether they are allowed to park here, the fact that they take up 33 spaces on a daily basis means something should be done.”

The essential user parking permits are intended to allow council works to be able to visit highway maintenance works, premises or structures that are allegedly dangerous, carry out duties in connection health and safety of the community, conduct home visits to the sick and housebound.

It cannot be used in pay-and-display only bays, loading bays, doctor bays, taxi ranks, disabled bays, motorcycle bays, car club bays, yellow line restrictions, car parks, bus stops, a controlled parking zone operated by another borough or suspended bays.

Labour council leader Muhammed Butt said: "The council apologises to neighbours that have been inconvenienced. The permits are used by charitable organisations or public workers that undertake priority home visits or statutory services. They do not permit holders to park in bays reserved for residents, so they can get closer to the office. Penalty Control Notices were issued on Tuesday to around 30 vehicles parked in Dagmar Avenue and neighbouring roads displaying Essential User Permits. Brent Council will not tolerate any misuse of the permits and we will continue to issue PCNs in the coming days to such vehicles.”

The car park run by Brent Council under the Civic Centre charges £10 per day and employees of the council are offered no discount.