CAR parking space in Bracknell Forest is among the most stretched in the country as the number of vehicles parking in the borough's streets steadily rises, new research has found. 

The average amount of space per car in residential areas has shrunk by four per cent over the last ten years, with just 7.49m of space available to cars to park in on average in Bracknell and one in six people in the south east saying they struggle to park in their street. 

It places Bracknell Forest as the fifteenth worst local authority for parking space in England and Wales. 

The data, released by car insurance firm esure, shows car ownership has grown at twice the rate of residential parking spaces in the UK since 2011, Bracknell Forest has seen the number of cars per household grow by two per cent since 2006.

They put the squeeze on parking down to the hike in the number of cars as well as the number of new apartment developments with no off-street parking provision.

However Bracknell Forest Council say they are addressing the issue in the borough.

Cllr Chris Turrell, executive member for planning and transport, said: "Clearly, increasing car ownership levels are a key factor in residential parking pressures, but this is difficult to address when the extent of public highway is often limited.

"That said, the council continues to take steps towards improving those locations most under pressure by exploring and delivering additional on-street parking bays, operating a modern Resident Parking Scheme within the areas most at risk from non-residential parking, applying updated Parking Standards for New Development to ensure adequate parking provision and the avoidance of impacts, wherever possible, on surrounding areas.

"We are also making changes to existing parking restrictions to ease residential parking pressures, facilitating residents who wish to pursue dropped kerbs and on-plot parking, and supporting walking, cycling and public transport initiatives to lessen the reliance on car ownership."

Residents living near Bracknell town centre have already been subject to a two-year trial of parking permits designed to help alleviate pressure on parking spaces, the scheme looks set to be made permanent and could be rolled out across the borough in the coming years. 

Slough performed even worse in the research and is the sixth worst place in the country to park with just 7.1m of space per car, a five per cent drop in ten years. 

Jon Wilshire, chief underwriting officer at esure, said: "Drivers are not imagining it – it really is harder to find a parking spot for your car. Over the past two decades the number of vehicles on the road in Britain increased by 10 million, going up from 21 million in 1995 to 31 million in 2015, but the space available for parking in residential areas has not kept up."