Agenda item

Councillors Doug Mills and Mike Cox attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillors. 

Concerns and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

• Residents expressed concern that the introduction of a ‘Stop & Shop’ scheme in Ruislip Manor Town Centre would affect the area by ‘clogging it up’ for staff, customers and residents;
• Petitioners advised that Ruislip Manor was very different from Ruislip as it had a much lower footfall and did not have any banks.  The businesses that did operate in Ruislip Manor were reliant on residents being able to access their services as easily as possible.  It was thought that the introduction of a ‘Stop & Shop’ scheme would have a detrimental impact on the traders;
• Councillor Cox had undertaken his own survey in the area which had shown a clear objection to the introduction of this scheme;
• Members of the Chamber of Commerce were keen to work with the Council to identify a solution to the parking problems;
• It was suggested by residents that the introduction of a ‘Stop & Shop’ scheme would hinder the though-flow of traffic (including buses) and would not prevent commuter parking;
• Traders were finding that commuters were parking outside the shops preventing customers from parking there; and
• Business owners suggested that the 4.30pm-6.30pm parking restrictions be withdrawn as this would enable traders to compete with Tesco whilst also deterring commuter parking.

Councillor Keith Burrows listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised.  It was noted that a petition requesting a ‘Stop & Shop’ scheme in Ruislip Manor had been considered by Councillor Burrows in 2009.  Since the scheme proposals had been published, it appeared that there was no longer a general consensus supporting the scheme. 

Officers advised that Transport for London (TfL) was developing proposals for town centre improvements in Ruislip Manor.  It was agreed that further consideration be given to the parking issues experienced in the area once the TfL proposals had been published.  Traders were reassured that the comments of Councillors’, residents’ and traders’ would feed into the TfL proposals.  The withdrawal of the 4.30pm-6.30pm parking restrictions would be considered as part of this consultation. 

It was noted that the banks had been contacted but that they were not currently planning to open branches in Ruislip Manor.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Member:

1. met and discussed with petitioners their concerns with the proposed “Stop & Shop” parking scheme.
2. asked officers to take the petition into account, including relevant points raised by the petitioners at the petition evening, with all other representations from the public in the forthcoming town centre improvements and any consultation results from this.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION

The Council has given Public Notice of the proposals for a “Stop & Shop” parking scheme in Ruislip Manor town centre.  It is a requirement that all objections must be considered by the Council before making a final decision on proposals.  The petitioner’s objections should be considered along with all other representations submitted to the Council before it makes a final decision.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED

None at this stage, as the Cabinet Member when considering the report containing all other objections can decide to either approve the scheme or modify it or take no further action.