Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED:  That all items be considered in public.

Concerns and suggestions raised by petitioners included the following:

• Despite having a 24ft wide entrance, large delivery vehicles accessing the business/industrial units on Moor Lane often struggled to get in and out of the site due to vehicles parking on the road outside, often inconsiderately.  It was thought that this parking could also prevent emergency vehicle access;
• It was thought that the majority of vehicles parked on Moor Lane belonged to British Airways staff.  However, petitioners advised that a s106 agreement had been drawn up between British Airways and the Council in relation to staff parking in the village.  Furthermore, the petitioners had a copy of a letter from British Airways which it had previously circulated to its staff advising that they should not be parking in the village – little notice now appeared to be taken of this instruction;
• In addition to the British Airways staff, holiday makers often left their cars in Moor Lane and went off to Heathrow Airport, not returning for one or two weeks;
• Petitioners requested the implementation of yellow lines from the bend in Moor Lane;
• It was suggested that, as British Airways owned approximately 10 acres of land at a site along the road, this area should be converted into parking for the organisation’s staff;
• Concern was expressed that there was no footpath for pedestrians, particularly pupils of Harmondsworth Primary School, and that this posed a safety risk; and
• Allotment holders had also been struggling to park in the area.

Councillor Keith Burrows listened to the concerns of petitioners and responded to the points raised.  It was noted that, as there was currently no parking scheme in place, as long as their vehicles were legal, drivers were able to park where they liked along Moor Lane and the Police were powerless to do anything about it. 

Petitioners were advised that the 10 acres of land they mentioned which was owned by British Airways was unlikely to gain planning permission to be used a parking for the company’s staff.  It was noted that the yellow lines in Harmondsworth village had been implemented as a result of the parking nuisance caused by British Airways staff to local residents.  This intervention had caused a knock on effect as the drivers were now parking in Moor Lane and the surrounding roads which were unrestricted. 

Councillor Burrows advised that, when planning applications from large companies were approved by the Council, the organisations would often be required to produce green travel plans.  This then meant that companies provided fewer parking spaces on site so that staff had to make alternative arrangements to get to work (e.g., car sharing schemes, 4 day parking, etc).  However, in reality, this frequently resulted in staff still driving to work but parking a little further away from the workplace in the surrounding residential roads.

Officers advised that the area was currently the subject of a parking management consultation exercise which included Moor Lane and the surrounding roads.  Individuals were encouraged to submit their  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

Councillor Eddie Lavery attended the meeting and spoke as a Ward Councillor.  He stated that he supported the consultation proposal if that is what residents wanted.  However, he suggested that residents in Myrtle Avenue and Acacia Avenue be included in any consultation that was undertaken. 

Concerns and suggestions raised by petitioners included the following:

• The implementation of a parking scheme in Hawthorne Avenue and Morford Way had displaced the parking into Lime Grove, particularly the southern end.  This had been compounded by the new housing estate that had been built at the top of Lime Grove;
• Commuters were frequently parking in Lime Grove and leaving their vehicles there all day;
• Petitioners noted that an ambulance had recently experienced difficulties getting down Lime Grove and elderly pedestrians had struggled to cross the road as a result of the parking;
• Concern was expressed that, on 30 January 2012, a pupil from Bishop Ramsay school had been hit by a vehicle in Lime Grove when he had exited Warrender Park.  It was thought that a reduction in the number of vehicles parking in Lime Grove would improve the sight lines for pedestrians so would help to prevent incidents like this from happening in the future; and
• Petitioners suggested that a residents’ permit scheme be implemented from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday.  However, they would prefer to have residents’ permit parking from 10am to 11am or 11am to 12pm as this would allow more flexibility for deliveries, etc, whilst also preventing non-residents from parking there all day.

Councillor Keith Burrows listened to the concerns of petitioners and responded to the points raised.  He advised that he had received an email from the Eastcote Residents Association (ERA) in support of the petition and which also raised a number of other issues.  Officers would ensure that this information was taken into account when looking at the consultation. 

RESOLVED:  That the Cabinet Member:

1. met and discussed with petitioners their concerns with parking on Lime Grove, Ruislip.

2. asked officers to add the request to the Council’s overall parking programme for subsequent investigation.

Reasons for recommendation

To give the Cabinet Member the opportunity to discuss in detail the petitioners’ concerns.

Alternative options considered

None at this stage.

Concerns and suggestions raised by petitioners included the following:

• Petitioners were keen to state that they were not anti-parents but that they wanted to keep Boundary Road and Boldmere Road safe for everyone;
• Concern was expressed that drivers often parked over residents’ driveways whilst they dropped their children off at school which then caused a nuisance for local people;
• The preferred option for petitioners was the installation of zigzag yellow lines at the rear pedestrian entrance of the school on the junction of Boundary Road and Boldmere Road.  It was acknowledged that this would then restrict parking at certain times on certain days;
• It was noted that there was only one small road sign in Boldmere Road which indicated that there was a school entrance in the vicinity.  Petitioners requested that additional signage be installed to raise awareness;  
• Petitioners showed the Cabinet Member recent photographs that they taken of the inconsiderate parking that had been witnessed in Boundary Road and Boldmere Road; and
• The parking issues were prevalent during the times that parents were dropping off their children in the morning or picking them up in the afternoon – there was not a problem at lunch time.

Councillor Keith Burrows listened to the concerns of petitioners and responded to the points raised.  He advised that the Council was supportive of road safety measures and it had a duty of care to its residents. 

Officers were asked to ensure that they made inconspicuous visits to the site on more than one occasion once the schools returned in September to monitor the parking and driving behaviour of road users in Boundary Road and Boldmere Road.  They would then report back with their findings to Councillor Burrows at one of his weekly meetings.  If consideration was then given to installing waiting restrictions, the Council would need to undertake a consultation on the issue and ensure that the proposals were advertised in the local press.  Petitioners were advised that this process would not happen overnight. 

Councillor Burrows confirmed that, if parking restrictions were implemented, enforcement officers would patrol the area every day for the first couple of weeks and then return on a regular, but less frequent, basis. If the parking issues were not resolved, the enforcement officers would undertake further enforcement patrols until the problem was resolved.

RESOLVED:  That the Cabinet Member:

1. met and discussed with petitioners their concerns with parking on Boundary Road, Eastcote.

2. asked officers to add the request to the Council’s Road Safety Programme for subsequent investigation.

Reasons for recommendation

To give the Cabinet Member the opportunity to discuss the petitioners concerns.

Alternative options considered

None at this stage.

Councillors Phoday Jarjussey, Mo Khursheed and Peter Curling attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillors. 

Concerns and suggestions raised by petitioners included the following:

• Given the current economic climate, traders were keen to make changes that would result in improvements to the local area which would, in turn, encourage residents to shop in the area;
• It was noted that customers had advised traders that they would like to see the two ends of Station Road rejoined and opened up to two way traffic;
• Concern was expressed that a significant amount of anti-social behaviour took place in the town centre as there was no passing traffic to deter it.  It was thought that opening up the road would expose, and therefore prevent, this behaviour;
• Petitioners believed that dividing the road into two areas had resulted in the provision of fewer parking spaces for shoppers which impacted on the traders.  This had also resulted in some serious road rage incidents.  It was suggested that a CCTV camera be installed to resolve the parking issues; and
• An improvement initiative (Make Hayes a World Class Town) was being launched by a local resident in 2013.

Councillor Keith Burrows listened to the concerns of petitioners and responded to the points raised.  It was noted that, in the past, Hayes had been an industrial heartland but that this had changed as the large businesses had moved out of the area – this had resulted in fewer people being employed in the area and reduced the footfall in the town centre shops.  Members believed that the presence of a sustainable nighttime economy would help to eradicate the anti-social behaviour issue experienced in Hayes town centre.  

Ward Councillors were of the opinion that opening up the road to two way traffic would not solve the problems in Hayes town centre and that a more comprehensive regeneration package needed to be put in place.  In fact, local opinion was divided as it was thought that opening the road could possibly make the situation worse as the road could potentially then be used as a third leg to the Hayes bypass and be subjected to traffic jams which would then deter shoppers from coming into the town centre.  Councillor Burrows noted that the road had been closed in 1984 at the request of local people for exactly these reasons. 

Furthermore, it was thought that, if the road was reopened, it would need to be reconstructed as the current surface would not be able to cope with a significant increase in usage.  It was anticipated that this would cost a significant amount of money that was not currently available in existing Council budgets.

It was suggested that a full consultation exercise be undertaken to look at the vitality of the whole area which included residents in Crown Close and on the Austin Road estate.  Petitioners were advised that there had previously been two consultations undertaken in relation to Hayes town centre but that neither had resulted in a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Concerns and suggestions raised by petitioners included the following:

• As well as the school, St Martins also had a kindergarten which impacted on local residents - usually between 8am and 8.30am, and 4pm and 4.30pm when around 100 cars would be parking in the vicinity (often parking over residents’ driveways or on double yellow lines);
• Petitioners were concerned that the current Headteacher at St Martins would only occasionally publish a comment in the school newsletter to request that parents park considerately but had not been proactively deterring parents;
• Parents dropping off their children at Holy Trinity school caused a parking nuisance for local residents mainly between 8.30pm and 9am, and 3pm and 3.30pm;
• On the whole, the parking problems were worse at the Kewferry Road end of the road in the morning and at the St Martins school end of the road in the afternoon;
• It was suggested that many schools in the Borough had ineffective travel plans.  The Chairman of the local Residents’ Association had requested a copy of the St Martins plan but had been unable to acquire it.  He went on to advise that, in the USA, schools had a legal obligation to provide a marshal outside during peak hours.  It was proposed that a similarly unique solution was required to resolve the parking issues in Moor Park Road;
• Residents had been subjected to verbal abuse by drivers when they had asked them to move their vehicles so they could get access to their driveways;
• Photographs of examples of the parking issues were passed to the Cabinet Member and officers.  Although the Police had been contacted about the problems experienced, they did not have the resources to be able to regularly patrol the area;
• Although residents were registered with the enforcement team at the Council, it was suggested that the system of reporting obstructive vehicles needed to be streamlined; and
• Additional safety issues were raised when large lorries and buses travelled down Moor Park Road.

Councillor Keith Burrows listened to the concerns of petitioners and responded to the points raised.  It was noted that officers from the school travel team would make arrangements to meet with the schools impacting on the area once the new term had started in September 2012.  The petition organiser would be updated on the outcome of these discussions.  Petitioners were assured that the school travel team worked closely with the parking services team to identity problems and solutions. 

It was suggested that an increase in parking enforcement activity in Moor Park Road would break bad parking habits.  Petitioners were assured that, if the parking issues continued, additional enforcement activity would continue.  As many parents would stop walking to school in the winter and instead use their cars to take their children to school, it was suggested that this enforcement action should take place before then. 

RESOLVED:  That the Cabinet Member:

1. met and discussed with the petitioners their concerns about the lack of consideration shown by parents and relatives when dropping  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.