Agenda and minutes

Cllr Higgins declared a pecuniary interest in item 5 as a resident of Hillside Road. He remained in the room of the duration of the item.

It was confirmed that the meeting would take place in public.

The petitioner representing the residents of Braybourne Close shared photos of the street and, addressing the Hearing, raised the following points:

·         The current 9-5 parking restrictions are not suitable due to the proximity of a gym. As a consequence, residents queue, sometimes for up to an hour, to find a space.

·         Residents are forced to park on grass verges.

·         After 5pm there was a high incidence of parking on double-yellow lines, which would create problems for emergency services trying to access the street.

·         The road should be a residential environment, but the gym, an Indian restaurant and the level of traffic prevent this.

·         Residents had spoken directly with the gym to discuss staff parking on the street, without a resolution.

·         As there were no parking restrictions on Sundays, it was impossible to find parking when returning home.

A Ward Councillor for Uxbridge North attended and spoke in support of the petitioners, raising the following points:

·         All 3 Ward Councillors for Uxbridge North supported the petitioners.

·         Similar programmes to that which the petitioners requested had been introduced, and should be in Braybourne Close to be fair to residents.

·         Though it was true that the problem might be displaced, it would then be the responsibility of residents in these areas to mobilise and submit a petition if it became a problem.

The Cabinet Member responded that he sympathised with the petitioners' situation and agreed that their request should be implemented. The next step would be a consultation, and residents should be encouraged to ensure that they return a response to provide a mandate for action. Residents were encouraged to contact the Council for any clarifications on the consultation that they required.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Member:

1.    Met with petitioners to listen to their request for the operational times of the Uxbridge North Parking Management Scheme to be extended in Braybourne Close, Uxbridge.

2.    Decided that an extension to the operational times of the parking scheme in Braybourne Close, Uxbridge should be added to the Council's future parking scheme programme for informal consultation with residents.

Cllr Higgins declared a pecuniary interest as a resident of Hillside Road. He stayed in the room for the duration of the item as a resident.

The lead petitioner addressed the Committee and raised the following points:

·         Hillside Road had 2 hills and 3 blind bends. It had become a rat run for speeding cars.

·         The situation improved following installation of 3 speed tables. However, following a water leak and repairs, residents felt ground vibration from passing cars.

·         The petitioner believes that proposed speed tables would also cause vibration, and they would instead prefer to see chicanes installed. Ward Councillors had suggested that the Council would give residents the choice.

·         The proposed speed table would be in a area susceptible to flooding, and was likely to act as a dam.

·         Elderly residents and school children would be more easily able to cross the road safely.

Cllr Flynn, Ward Councillor for Northwood Hills, submitted a statement in advance in support of the petition:

"Since my election as a Councillor for Northwood Hills ward in May 2014 I have been liaising with residents on Hillside Road on the need to implement some traffic calming restrictions in the road. As those of you who have driven or walked along Hillside Road will testify, the road is very undulating with steep downhill slopes. This results in many motorists regularly travelling at speeds in excess of the 30 mph limit. This was demonstrated by the Council's own traffic survey which found that a majority of cars were travelling in excess of the 30 mph limit.

The overwhelming support from a majority of Hillside Road residents for the initial installation of raised tables followed by a majority supporting the installation of chicanes courtesy of this petition, demonstrates the overwhelming level of support for traffic calming measures among residents in Hillside Roads. In Hillingdon, we proudly put our residents first, therefore my primary concern is that there are no further delays and that traffic calming measures are installed as soon as possible.

Having said this, I am mindful of the concerns of some Hillside Road residents that the installation of raised tables could increase noise, create vibration and consequently have an adverse impact on some residents. This is a particular concern given the number of HGVs travelling on Hillside Road. I am also very much aware of the very strong level of support from Hillside Road residents for chicanes over raised tables as demonstrated by this petition. For these reasons, I therefore strongly support the installation of a suitable chicane system in Hillside Road as soon as possible."

The Cabinet Member and petitioner discussed the history of proposed measures to control speeding on Hillside Road, and a document submitted by the petitioner in response to the officer report. The petitioner stated that Council officers should decide on the type of chicanes, but speed tables were unsuitable. Officers suggested that chicanes may be unsuitable given that Hillside Road is on a bus route, though the petitioner indicated that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Member deferred the Hearing with the agreement of the Ward Councillors to allow petitioners to present their case in person at a later date.

Cllr Dominic Gilham attending the Hearing and raised the following points:

·         He agreed with the recommendations proposed by officers.

·         The roads are busy, but there is limited HGV traffic, largely confined to Porter Street or other areas in the ward.

·         Current grass verges would be better used as resident parking spaces.

·         Parts of the street suffered from displaced Heathrow parking.

Officers suggested undertaking a speed and vehicle traffic survey to ascertain whether the HGV traffic reported by the petitioner was significant.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Member:

1.    Discussed the request for off street parking and traffic controls for Heavy Goods Vehicles.

2.    Asked officers to arrange a speed and vehicle survey at locations suggested by the local Ward Councillors in consultation with the petitioner.

3.    Asked officers to undertake further investigations under the Road Safety Programme and report back to him.