Poor paving affects everyone, but particularly blind and partially sighted people, wheelchair and mobility-aid users and older people. Residents have told the Society about trips and falls, sometimes resulting in injury. Information disclosed by WCC records 15 personal-injury claims arising from defects in Parade’s footways for incidents between February 2020 and November 2024, with £40,975 paid on accepted claims. In March 2026, the council said no maintenance works were planned for Parade. The council later confirmed it could not give the total cost of highway repairs on Parade since January 2024.
The Leamington Observer reported in 2014 that the problem had been ongoing since a £2.2 million improvement scheme in 2006. In 2008 it counted more than 250 damaged or uneven slabs on one side of upper Parade, as far as Regent Street, and in 2014 it reported that more than £36,000 had been spent on repairs over the previous three years. The Observer also reported that the 2008 damage was blamed on illegal pavement parking, which led to new restrictions and signs, yet the damage continued. Read the Observer’s report.
On pavement parking, from April 2024 to March 2026, WCC's FOI response recorded 20,905 enforcement officer visits to Parade and issued 10 penalty charge notices for footway parking.
What we’re asking WCC to do
We’re asking WCC to publish a funded Parade Footway Safety and Accessibility Action Plan, with clear lines of responsibility for delivery and a timetable residents can follow.
We welcome the Director of Highways’ agreement to walk Parade with us. We’d like WCC to use that visit to identify which stretches need attention first, what can be repaired promptly and where lifting and relaying the paving could give better value. WCC's threshold for investigating a raised paving edge is more than 20 mm. On the walkabout, we’ll ask how inspectors assess a slab that sits level until someone steps on it. The plan should also cover defective lighting, badly faded or missing parking signs and pavement parking.
A possible future transformation scheme is not a substitute for maintaining the footway people use today. Safe maintenance must continue until any long-term scheme is approved, funded and delivered. The current proposals for Parade would still allow limited access for service and delivery vehicles. Investigating whether vehicle loading contributes to repeated failures would help WCC choose repairs now and design paving that lasts.
We’re asking WCC to report back on what it has repaired, check whether those repairs last, and involve disabled and older people, including those who currently avoid Parade in assessing whether they can use it with confidence again.
👉 Sign the petition for a safer, more accessible Parade.
Anyone who lives, works or studies in Warwickshire can sign. The petition has passed the 50 signatures needed for a WCC response. At 1,000 it can be presented to a council meeting so please sign and share. The petition closes on 10 January 2027. WCC has confirmed that signatories’ names are not made public.
Already signed? Please share the petition with someone who uses Parade. On social media, use #SaferParade.
