Agenda and minutes

None.

RESOLVED: That the meeting would take place in public.

As Ward Councillors, Councillor Dominic Gilham attended the meeting and spoke in support of petitioners, and as she was unable to attend Councillor Jan Sweeting submitted written comments in support in advance of the meeting.

Petitioners circulated images of the street in question. Concerns and suggestions from the petitioner included the following:

·         Parking that should be for residents' use was instead used by people parking and travelling to Heathrow Airport.

·         People had been observed parking very early in the morning, taking suitcases on the U3 bus to travel to Heathrow. Some cars stayed for up to 2 weeks.

·         During summer there were often 3 or 4 cars parked long term, forcing residents to park in other streets and walk back. This was a recent problem which had emerged within the last 10 years and there were currently no parking restrictions on the street.

·         Though petitioners recognised that this was legal, it disadvantaged residents, especially those with heavy shopping.

·         The high level of parking was also damaging and cutting-up grass verges that had recently been installed following road works.

·         Petitioners had requested numbered parking bays or parking permits.

·         Petitioners were additionally requesting that a pedestrian ramp be installed opposite 60 Harmondsworth Road.

·         On a separate issue, petitioners noted that an office has been installed in 'the old doctor's surgery' and was being used for a currently unknown business, which also contributed to the problems of parking.

A Ward Councillor spoke in support of the petitioners and raised the following issues:

·         Councillor Gilham confirmed the concerns of petitioners, and added that the problem was not restricted to airport staff parking, but also parking for people going on holiday.

·         West Drayton residents were suffering due to its location, causing them to park a great distance from their homes.

·         Councillor Gilham therefore strongly agreed with the petitioners and supported their requests for parking restrictions.

·         Councillor Jan Sweeting had submitted the following statement which was read out: I wholeheartedly support the petitioners in their request to have residents parking as stated on the petition investigated by the Council.  This area, along with many others has been subject to much parking by non-residents which has caused considerable inconvenience to local residents who are unable to park outside their own homes.  In addition I would ask the Cabinet Member to agree to recommendation 3, namely that officers investigate residents' suggestion for the installation of a ramp in the grass verge opposite 60 Harmondsworth Road.

The Cabinet Member, Councillor Keith Burrows, listened to the concerns raised, noting that he knew the area well and that improvements to public transport had contributed to parking congestion. Councillor Burrows agreed to add the petitioners' request to the Council's future parking management scheme programme for future investigation and highlighted the importance of ensuring residents completed their feedback forms during the associated consultation exercise.

Officers explained that the investigation into a residents parking permit scheme system would consider not just Harmondsworth Road, but also at the surrounding area to ensure that any intervention  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

Councillor Edwards attended on behalf of the petition organiser, who had apologised for their absence and had discussed the problem with the Ward Councillor prior to the meeting.

On behalf of the petitioner, Councillor Edwards raised the following points:

• Parking for residents was difficult during the daytime, due to commuters parking in order to access nearby West Drayton station.
• At present, problems were contained to the western end of Whitethorn Avenue, and Councillor Edwards believed a consultation would reject parking management if the whole street was consulted.

Councillor Burrows was aware of the parking problems, and the effect this had on the junction with Colham Avenue.

Consultation had recently been undertaken on nearby Providence Road which returned a negative response to parking restrictions from residents. Officers advised that in this instance, it would have been beneficial to hear from the petitioner to get a resident's view. It was suggested that the whole of Whitethorn Avenue be consulted, and then consideration be given to potential action in areas where residents have indicated support for a scheme. Whitethorn Avenue remained more accessible at the south-eastern end where parking was easier.

Petitioners representing adjoining Edgar Road had previously presented a petition to Councillor Burrows. Councillor Burrows proposed to just consult Whitethorn Avenue, as Providence Road had responded negatively to a recent consultation. It was thought that a consultation of Maple Avenue and other nearby streets was not necessary at this stage. A consultation would be addressed to residents of Whitethorn Avenue, and then subsequently officers would consider the wider impact. Officers would map out the responses on a house by house basis to show concentrated areas of opinion both for and against parking restriction and present the data to Councillor Burrows. This might then precipitate parking restrictions in certain areas, if appropriate.

Councillor Edwards agrees to work with the petitioner to encourage a high level of response from the petition from the petitioners and residents.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Member:

1.    Met with a representative of the petitioner and listened to their concerns in relation to the parking situation in Whitethorn Avenue.

2.    Asked officers to consult residents on parking management in Whitethorn Avenue, and subsequently give further consideration to whether introduction of the Council’s Parking Management Programme could be limited to a small area of the street.

Councillor Peter Curling attended the meeting and spoke in support of petitioners as a Ward Councillor.

Concerns and suggestions from the petitioners included the following:

• The parking problem was a result of heavy congestion caused by members of the public using free parking in the estate.
• Due to lack of space, residents had incurred fines from parking in restricted areas.
• Business owners and commuters regularly parked in this residential area, and when challenged said that they would continue to do so as they were doing nothing illegal.
• One petitioner, a resident of Austin Road, paid for parking in the nearby garages. However, he was sometimes unable to access these due to the volume of cars parked on the street.
• Changes to parking restrictions on nearby streets had had a knock-on effect on Austin Road, and residents were concerned that Crossrail would have further implications.
• Access for emergency services vehicles was becoming problematic.
• Residents reported having had to wait 1 and a half hours to find a parking space. This problem was exacerbated when returning with children from school.
• The street was also used by an individual to park several cars which they were selling online.
• There were many empty spaces in garages which petitioners believed could be made available to residents in order to ease the parking problem. However, some spaces remained empty due to a leaking roof causing damage to car paintwork.
• Petitioners did not believe a solution would be expensive, and simply suggested resident parking permits.

Councillor Curling attended the meeting and spoke in support of residents:

• He knew from experience that Austin Road was a difficult street to drive down, and agreed particularly with the point that emergency services vehicles found access problematic.
• He believed that residents were suffering inconvenience due to the close proximity of the road to train stations and local shopping.

Councillor Burrows believed that these problems were likely a product of good transport links to Hayes and Harlington station, central London, Hayes Town centre and Heathrow airport.

This was a highly built-up area and there was likely to be pressure on parking simply due to the density of housing.

Officers were asked to add Austin Road, and potentially streets in the surrounding area, to the parking management scheme programme for further investigation, and if possible expedite the investigation as a priority. In 2011, a consultation had been undertaken to which only 13 of 135 questionnaires were returned from Austin Road and 19 of 121 from Silverdale Road. However, Council Burrows noted that the situation had changed since then and might now elicit a different response from residents. Councillor Burrows stated that parking restrictions would only be implemented if responses to a consultation indicated support for it. The onus was now on residents to ensure that they responded when the consultation is undertaken

On the related issue of the number of parking bays empty in the garage, Councillor Burrows suggested that Councillor Curling submitted a Member's enquiry to find out the number of bays  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

Item was deferred to a later Hearing at request of Petitioner and Ward Councillors.

The lead petitioner attended and raised the following points regarding their petition:

• The problem on Keats Way was not the volume of traffic, but dangerous driving and excessive speed during the day and at night.
• Especially at 3:30pm when pupils left the local school, the road could be hazardous.
• Drivers used the street as a cut-through to avoid busier parallel routes.
• Though there had been no accidents yet, children in the street were increasingly of the age where they were playing outside, increasing the risk of an accident.
• Other nearby schools all had traffic calming measures in place, and though this school did not, it had recently been expanded with increased numbers of pupils.
• The street was used by the school to undertake cycling proficiency lessons.

Councillor Burrows noted that he knew from personal experience of the hazardous northernmost bend of Keats Way. There has only been 1 recorded accident on the street though, and this did not occur on this bend. Widening of the road at the bend was discussed but dismissed due to placement of service boxes which could be very costly to relocate.

The petitioner indicated proposed locations for up to 3 points to install traffic volume and speed surveys. It was proposed that this be undertaken in the new year once the school term resumed in order to get an accurate picture of the normal situation. Once data had been collected, this would enable an assessment of the street conditions and measures necessary.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Member:

1.    Discussed with the petitioner their concerns regarding vehicle speeds in Keats Way, West Drayton.

2.    Asked officers to undertake classified traffic volume and speed surveys at locations indicated by the petitioner during the meeting.

3.    Asked officers to add Keats Way to future phases of the Council's Vehicle Activated Signs programme and add the petitioners’ request to the Council’s Road Safety Programme for further investigation.