Agenda and minutes

Petition Hearing - Cabinet Member for Planning and Transportation - Wednesday, 12th April, 2017 7.00 pm

Venue: Committee Room 3 - Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge UB8 1UW. View directions

Contact: Nikki O'Halloran  01895 250472

Items
Note No. Item

1.

Declarations of Interest in matters coming before this meeting

Minutes:

Councillor Richard Lewis declared a non-pecuniary interest in Agenda Item 7 as he lived in The Avenue but, as his property's driveway had capacity for four vehicles, he deemed that his interest was not prejudicial and remained in the room and spoke on the item. 

2.

To confirm that the business of the meeting will take place in public.

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  That all items be considered in public. 

7pm

3.

Petition Requesting The Introduction Of Parking Restrictions In Pield Heath Avenue, Uxbridge pdf icon PDF 104 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Richard Mills attended the meeting and spoke as a Ward Councillor in support of the petition. 

 

Concerns and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

·         Petitioners expressed concern that, as well as being very narrow,  Pield Heath Avenue was located close to Hillingdon Hospital, a veterinary surgery, GP surgeries, medical centres and Heathrow airport which meant that non residents parked there every day of the week, but particularly Monday to Friday;

·         The majority of parking issues appeared to be concentrated around numbers 1, 3 and 5 where drivers would park with two wheels on the pavement which sometimes made it difficult for those residents to leave their driveways.  Although there was a footway parking exemption in Pield Heath Avenue, there were some cars that parked at the kerbside and some that parked with two wheels on the pavement making it more difficult for vehicles to negotiate the road;

·         Residents had been verbally abused by drivers when they tried to reason with them about their inconsiderate parking;

·         Residents requested the installation of a single yellow line outside numbers 1, 3 and 5 as well as an alternative parking control solution for the remainder of Pield Heath Avenue.  They were aware that a residents' parking scheme and single yellow lines had been successfully implemented in St Margareta Avenue.  Similarly, single yellow lines had been installed along the entire length of Micawber Avenue;

·         Residents were unsure whether fire engines would be able to access the road.  As there had not been any reported issues with refuse vehicles' accessing the road, it was thought unlikely that fire engines would experience any problems.  It was noted that the footway parking exemption had been agreed and installed, in part as a result of refuse vehicles previously been unable to access the road;

·         As the pavement was quite narrow, there were times when vehicles were parked with two wheels on the pavement leaving so little room that pushchairs were unable to pass them; and

·         It was recognised that residents in the road had previously been consulted on parking restrictions but that there had not been a strong response at that time.  Parking restrictions had since been introduced in surrounding roads and this had negatively impacted on residents in Pield Heath Avenue.

 

Councillor Burrows listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised.  He noted that single yellow lines were effective in controlling parking but that they would be incumbent on everyone, including residents of the Pield Heath Avenue.  Furthermore, legislation would not permit a local authority to provide exemptions and this would impact on those properties with no off street parking.  The Cabinet Member noted that parking management schemes also worked and that vouchers were available to enable visitors to park.  Residents' preferences could be sought through an informal consultation. 

 

Councillor Burrows recognised that parking problems were being experienced by residents in Pield Heath Avenue and advised that residents would need to be encouraged to return their consultation forms once they  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

7pm

4.

Waltham Avenue And Colbrook Avenue, Hayes - Petition From Residents Asking For A Residents' Permit Parking Scheme pdf icon PDF 82 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillors Jazz Dhillon and John Morse attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillors in support of the petition. 

 

Concerns and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

·         The vast majority of properties in Waltham Avenue and Colbrook Crescent were terraced and semi detached.  Many had garages or parking to the rear of their properties but had removed their front gardens to provide additional parking so that they could accommodate at least two vehicles;

·         The proximity of the two roads to Hayes Station, local industrial areas and fly parking had resulted in congested roads during the day and evening.  Concern was expressed that this would increase with the introduction of Crossrail;

·         Houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) had exacerbated parking congestion and one property had been responsible for parking five large white delivery vans in the shortest part of Colbrook Crescent nearest Waltham Avenue.  This area routinely experienced daytime non-resident parking where drivers left their vehicles to catch the bus to Hayes Station and then go off to Heathrow airport or into London.  It was suggested that the introduction of a parking management scheme would reduce the impact of non-resident parking and HMO issues;

·         Residents expressed concern that Waltham Avenue, Colbrook Crescent and the rest of the estate had become a waiting area for Addison Lee and Uber drivers waiting for a call to pick someone up from Heathrow airport;

·         Concern was also expressed that no consideration was given by drivers to dropped kerbs, pedestrians and children trying to cross the road; and

·         It was noted that residents had submitted a previous petition which had resulted in double yellow lines being installed around road junctions but that fly parking had reduced the effect that residents had hoped this would have.

 

Councillor Burrows listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised.  The petition organiser was asked to identify surrounding roads that should be included in the consultation.  The Cabinet Member advised that, if the consultation responses from surrounding roads showed that they did not want to be included in a parking management scheme but residents in Waltham Avenue and Colbrook Avenue were in favour, the scheme could be implemented in the parts that wanted in and not in those that didn't.  Furthermore, it was noted that consultation responses were analysed on a house by house basis and a parking management scheme could be implemented in part of a road.

 

The Transport and Projects team would circulate a road plan of the area to Ward Councillors for them to identify which surrounding roads should be included in the consultation. 

 

RESOLVED:  Meeting with the petitioners, the Cabinet Member:

 

1.            discussed petitioners' concerns with parking in Waltham Avenue and Colbrook Avenue, Hayes.

 

2.            asked officers to add the request to the Council's extensive parking programme for further informal consultation on options to manage parking in an area agreed with local Ward Councillors.

 

Reasons for recommendations

 

The Petition Hearing will provide a valuable opportunity to hear directly from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

7.30pm

5.

Petition Requesting The Introduction Of A 'Stop & Shop' Parking Scheme Along New Broadway Parade, Uxbridge Road pdf icon PDF 85 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillors Wayne Bridges, Alan Chapman and Pat Jackson attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillors in support of the petition. 

 

Concerns and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

·         Petitioners' previous request in 2012 to park on the island between the shops and Uxbridge Road had been rejected as it had been noted that there were utilities underneath that would need to be accessed.  Since that Petition Hearing, the petition organiser was not aware of any occasions where the utility companies had needed access;

·         Apart from one end which was used to cross Uxbridge Road to get to the school, the island was rarely used by pedestrians;

·         To prevent vehicles from driving off the island straight onto Uxbridge Road, the petitioners suggested that barriers be erected;

·         If the request for parking on the island was rejected, petitioners requested that a stop and shop scheme be introduced on the shop side of the road;

·         Concern was expressed that a car dealer in the parade of shops took vehicles as part exchange and then left them parked outside the shops until there was space available on his premises.  This reduced the number of parking spaces available for customers of the shops;

·         Customers of Enterprise car rental on the other side of Uxbridge Road would often park their vehicles outside the shops and leave them there for long periods; and

·         Letters were provided from local business owners whose businesses had suffered from the lack of available customer parking.  Once such business would be relocating to another area as custom was being lost due to the lack of parking availability.

 

Councillor Burrows listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised.  He noted that at least five companies had utilities running under the island and that access needed to be taken into account.  Furthermore, barriers were an expensive option and tended to only be used for safety purposes.  As such, Councillor Burrows would not support parking on the island.

 

The pavement outside the shops was not owned by the Council which meant that ticket machines for a stop and shop scheme could not be located there and that any parking scheme would need to be located on the island side of the road.  A stop and shop scheme had previously been drawn up along these lines.  As petitioners were keen to have the parking on the shop side, Councillor Burrows asked officers to investigate the possibility of implementing this but with the machines either placed on the island or in the small areas on the shop side which were owned by the Council.  Officers would then report back to Councillor Burrows prior to wider consultation taking place.

 

RESOLVED:  Meeting with the petitioners, the Cabinet Member:

 

1.            met with petitioners and discussed their concerns about the parking situation in New Broadway Parade, Uxbridge Road.

 

2.            noted the results of previous consultations with residents and businesses along New Broadway Parade, Uxbridge Road.

 

3.            asked officers to investigate possible locations for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

8pm

6.

The Avenue And Wedgewood Close, Northwood - Petition From Residents Asking For A Residents' Permit Parking Scheme pdf icon PDF 102 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Richard Lewis attended the meeting and spoke as a Ward Councillor in support of the petition. 

 

Concerns and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

·         Parking in The Avenue and Wedgewood Close was impacted following the introduction of parking restrictions in surrounding roads;  

·         Approximately 10 properties in one small area did not have off street parking.  The request for a parking management scheme had been made to improve sight lines and turning circles and give those residents who did not have a driveway a better chance of being able to park;

·         Those with off street parking often experienced problems getting on/off their driveways if there were vehicles parked opposite;

·         As the road was 6.8m wide, two vehicles were just able to pass if they were travelling slowly and parking was only possible on one side;

·         The majority of roads in the area contained only a small number of houses, with one other road having about 100 properties;

·         The petition organiser praised the recent footway resurfacing work that had been undertaken.  During the works, all parking had been stopped.  Although the parking intensity had reduced following completion of the work, this was slowly increasing again; and

·         As a parking management scheme could increase the speed of vehicles travelling along the road, it was suggested that parking bays be used to create a chicane effect which would slow them down.

 

Councillor Burrows listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised.  He advised that it would be approximately 3-4 months before the consultation would be issued.  Those present were encouraged to ensure that residents completed and returned the consultation documents once they were received to show support for change.  The consultation would include options and a decision on the way forward would be made based on the responses received.  Residents would be able to contact the Transport and Projects team with any queries as contact information would be available on the consultation documents. 

 

Consultation responses were analysed on a house by house basis and a parking management scheme could be implemented in part of a road or in selected roads within the consultation area. 

 

RESOLVED:  Meeting with the petitioners, the Cabinet Member:

 

1.            discussed with petitioners their concerns with parking in their area.

 

2.            noted the results of the previous consultations with residents of The Avenue and Wedgewood Close on a possible Parking Management Scheme.

 

3.            asked  officers to add the request to the Council’s extensive parking programme for further informal consultation.

 

Reasons for recommendations

 

The Petition Hearing will provide a valuable opportunity to hear directly from the petitioners of their concerns and suggestions.

 

Alternative options considered / risk management 

 

None at this stage.