Agenda and minutes

None.

It was confirmed that all items would be heard in public.

Concerns, comments and suggestions raised by the petition organiser at the meeting included the following:

·         The strength of feeling from residents about people parking all day in Briarwood Drive, primarily on Monday to Friday from 7am to 7pm was of great concern

·         The road was essentially used for parking by commuters to Central London and on occasions by holiday makers who would park their cars for periods of  two weeks at a time

·         Such parking resulted in having a negative impact mainly on residents but also on their visitors, as well as local shop keepers

·         Inconsiderate parking often resulted in blocking driveways and creating difficulties for people wanting to quickly use the local shops and even more of a problem for residents' visitors wanting to park

·         Expressed further concerns about the possible future problems that would be created by students attending the new Heathrow Aviation Engineering University Technical College (UTC) in Potter Street, Northwood

·         Suggested that with Northwood Hills having no Parking Management scheme, other local roads such as Oakdale Avenue, Tolcarne Drive and Highfield Road would experience the same problem with parking and therefore, requested that a major consultation be undertaken to include these roads

·         Advised that the strength of feeling at a local meeting was that, unless something was done, the problem with the issue of parking in the area would be exacerbated.

Councillor (Cllr) Jonathan Bianco attended as a Ward Councillor in support of the petitioners. The following concerns and suggestions were raised:

·         Had been involved as Ward Councillor in relation to a petition regarding Oakdale Avenue, which had similar issues that were currently being raised

·         Advised that parking had become even more strained in the area with flats above shops in Joel Street and cars coming through from a nearby garage

·         Also of note was the Kingdom Hall, which only had a small number of parking spaces for those attending with potential for them to spill over to nearby streets

·         Pointed out that such demand for parking often left people living in the area having to park in Briarwood Drive

·         Stressed that the issue of parking was not a new problem to Northwood Hills and highlighted that residents parking had been a real issue for both residents who had been in support of, and against the introduction of a Parking Management scheme (PMS)

·         Suggested therefore, that the main issue would be the fact that it would not be feasible to install a parking scheme in respect of just one street, as the problem would only be shifted to other nearby streets

·         Advised that accordingly, a cautious approach would need to be taken; a view which had been shared by the Residents' Association

·         Advised that parking had been made worst in recent months by works being done in Joel Street

·         With regard to the UTC, advised that the issue of parking had been raised at a Planning Committee meeting where it had been noted that students would be asked to sign a contract undertaking that they would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Concerns, comments and suggestions raised by the petition organiser at the meeting included the following:

·         In the 42 years that they had lived in the address, parking had become horrendous in the past 10 years

·         As homes were being sold and bought, large houses were being converted into flats resulting in an increased number of people requiring parking

·         There was a church and four local businesses in the area, which also contributed to the parking problems.  Although the church had a very small car park, as it was so well attended, visitors tended to spill over into Fulham Close to park  

·         Coupled with the parking requirement of the local businesses and the church, it had become impossible to residents to even park at the weekends from Saturday mornings right through to Sunday afternoons

·         Residents found it impossible to park in evenings and even more stressful for those working shifts, some of whom having finished work at 11pm, would always have difficulty in trying to find somewhere to park

·         Residents were particularly concerned about the safety issues caused by cars parked on both sides of the road and feared that emergency vehicles would inevitably be hindered from gaining access into the road

·         This concern came into fruition recently following the sad death of a resident where the ambulance could not gain access into the road, as a result of the way vehicles were parked

·         Gravely concerned about fire engines also being prevented from gaining access in the event of a fire and advised that inevitably, refuse lorries regularly struggled to gain access into the road

·         Further concerned about the safety of pedestrians often forced to walk into the road as a result of cars parked on the pavements. In addition, anxious about the huge risk of an accident happening with there also being a blind spot as cars turned from the Uxbridge Road at high speed into Fulham Close

·         The problem was further compounded by Fulham Close being used to access garages which did not belong to properties in the road. The garages appeared to be regularly accessed by scrap dealers and there had been occasions when lorries reversing into the garages had collided with parked cars

·         Petitioners informed that a transit van was regularly left parked by the gates and a car had remained abandoned in the road for over 4 months, even though this had been reported to the Council.

Councillor Roy Chamdal attended as a Ward Councillor in support of the petitioners. The following concerns and suggestions were raised:

·         Advised that he had seen the issues raised by petitioners first hand and noted that at the weekend, people attending the church had parked in Fulham Close

·         Highlighted that the garages were at an angle between two houses and  with cars parked on both sides, acknowledge that the issue of emergency vehicles gaining access into the road was of grave concern

·         The parking problem had resulted in creating safety issues for pedestrians, as parking on both sides of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Concerns, comments and suggestions raised by the petition organiser at the meeting included the following:

·         Concerned about huge parking problems being experienced by residents living in the bungalows in Worcester Road

·         The only parking available to residents living in these bungalows were kerb side parking, which were mostly used  by shoppers and commuters to park 

·          Residents were hardly ever able to use the kerbside parking near their homes and when they did approach non-residents to make them aware,  drivers tended to be offensive

·         Students from Brunel University often parked their cars for three to four weeks at a time, as did holiday makers and commuters who regularly parked and boarded buses

·         Lorries also parked in the limited available kerbside spaces and likewise, vehicles generally parked in disabled parking bays

·         Residents had been forced to pay for parking elsewhere and it was impossible for visitors to get any parking space at all when they visited

·         The issue of visitor parking was particularly compounded for those with young children, people with a disability, as well as people helping residents with their shopping

·         The problem with parking was further exacerbated by vehicles being parked inconsiderately

·         Concerned about emergency vehicles being prevented from reaching residents; this was recently realised when an ambulance calling for a resident living in one of the bungalows had to board the ambulance, which was forced to park at the top of Cowley Road

·         Visitors to the chemist also parked outside the bungalows even though free parking was available with plenty of spaces in the area.

Councillor Judith Cooper attended as a Ward Councillor in support of the petitioners.

Cllr Cooper stated that there were two issues of concern with regard to the kerb side parking near the bungalows; firstly, the reluctance of drivers to come out of their cars and get a ticket.  Secondly, there was the issue of commuter parking, students and holiday makers parking long term. 

Cllr Cooper urged the Cabinet Member to consider both issues when making a decision.

Councillor Roy Chamdal, Ward Cllr of a neighbouring ward also attended the meeting, as any decision relating to this petition would potentially affect residents in his ward.

The Cabinet Member, Cllr Keith Burrows listened to the concerns and responded to the points raised. Councillor Burrows explained that residents of Worcester Road had been consulted last year about being included in a possible extension to the Cowley Parking Management Scheme but the majority of residents who had responded however, had preferred not to be included. It was highlighted to the petitioners that because other roads had now been included in the scheme, the problem of parking had been pushed on to roads outside of the scheme, including Worcester Road.

Cllr Burrow acknowledged that the parking problems may also have been compounded at times by parents searching for space to park during the school run. To this end therefore, the Cabinet Member requested that parking services should conduct checks in the area more frequently during school times.

Resolved -  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.