Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED:  That all items of business be considered in public.

Councillor Martin Goddard attended the meeting and advised that all three Ward Councillors were in support of the petition. 

Concerns and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

·         It was noted that, although the majority of residents in Colnedale Drive had off street parking, there were some properties that did not have this option;

·         The bays were often used by shoppers or people who worked in the vicinity which meant that residents often had to park some distance away from their properties (up to a 10 minute walk).  There were also residents from U7 that parked in the bays with impunity;

·         A local former public house site had been granted planning permission to build 15 flats with one parking space provided for each unit.  As many households were likely to have more than one vehicle and visitors would also need to have their parking needs accommodated, the associated parking provision would not be sufficient and demand for the bays was likely to increase;

·         Although planning permission had not yet been agreed, it was noted that there were proposals to build an additional 300 flats on the Wickes/Halfords site with no parking provision;

·         It was noted that no day of the week was any worse than another;

·         Residents requested parking restrictions from Monday to Saturday; and

·         It appeared that U1 was an anomaly with outdated restrictions that needed to be reviewed.  It was suggested that, if the restrictions were reviewed, consideration would need to be given to reviewing the restrictions currently in place in zones U7 and U8 at the same time as there was likely to be a displacement in the parking.

Councillor Burrows listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised.  He noted that the parking restrictions had been introduced in March 2006 and that, as things were likely to have changed during the intervening period, it would be appropriate to review the situation.  Although they may have a different response (as the parking issues were likely to reduce further away from Uxbridge), residents in U7 and U8 would also be consulted on proposed changes.

Residents were reminded that, when they received the informal consultation documents, it was important that they responded.  Without a clear mandate, the Cabinet Member would not be able to make any decision as to what action should be taken.  Officers would provide Councillor Burrows with the number of properties in the proposed consultation area (U1, U7 and U8) and consideration would then be given to when the consultation documents would be circulated to residents (this was likely to be in 3-4 months).

RESOLVED:  Meeting with the petitioners, the Cabinet Member:

1.    considered the request to extend the days and hours that the Parking Management Scheme operates in Colnedale Road, Uxbridge.

2.    asked officers to add the request for extended operational times from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday to the Council’s future parking scheme programme for informal consultation .

Reasons for recommendations  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

Councillors Wayne Bridges and Pat Jackson attended the meeting and advised that all three Ward Councillors were in support of the petition. 

Concerns and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

·         Following the regeneration work and the installation of a ‘stop and shop’ scheme in Ryefield Parade, vehicles were now parking further along Ryefield Avenue outside residents’ homes, sometimes blocking their driveways;

·         Although there appeared to be a continuous cycle of vehicles parking outside residents houses throughout the day, parking issues were a particular issue during school drop off and pick up times;

·         The petition organiser passed some photos illustrating the parking issues faced by residents to Councillor Burrows;

·         A resident had emailed Councillor Burrows setting out the causes of the parking challenges that they faced and suggesting possible solutions;

·         The section of Ryefield Avenue that was of particular concern to residents was from Ryefield Parade up to Pole Hill Park;

·         The ‘stop and shop’ facility had benefitted shopkeepers in enabling customers to park outside the shops with no double parking and now it was time to alleviate parking pressures for the residents;

·         The number of school places at Ryefield School had increased, putting pressure on parking in the road; and

·         The Ryefield Court development had provided some parking for staff, residents and visitors but it seemed inadequate.  It was queried whether Ryefield Court’s planning permission required them to provide adequate parking facilities which might make the home ineligible for parking permits.

Councillor Burrows listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised.  He noted that Ryefield Avenue could either be added to the Council’s extensive parking programme or included in a wider area study that was already being undertaken.  Although it was agreed that the road be included in the wider area study, concern was expressed that residents in this part of Ryefield Avenue were likely have different experiences of parking to those residents in other parts of the area covered by the study.  Reassurance was given that any scheme proposals could be tailored to the local demand and did not need to be the same across the whole area. 

It was noted that a report and recommendations were expected from the consultants within the next week or so.  Once received, officers would liaise with the Ward Councillors before an informal consultation with residents commenced.  Subject to the outcome of the informal consultation, a formal consultation with residents would then need to be undertaken. 

RESOLVED:  Meeting with the petitioners, the Cabinet Member:

1.      listened to their request for the introduction of a residents' only parking scheme on Ryefield Avenue, Hillingdon.

2.      asked officers to add the request to the Council's extensive parking programme for inclusion in the wider area study currently being undertaken.

Reasons for recommendations

To allow the Cabinet Member to discuss with petitioners their concerns and, if appropriate, add their request to the parking schemes programme.

Alternative options considered / risk management

These were discussed with petitioners.

Councillors Vanessa Hurhangee and Allan Kauffman attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillors in support of the petition.  Councillor Steve Tuckwell had given his apologies and emailed his comments to the Chairman in support of the petition – these were read out at the meeting. 

Concerns and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

·         The Fairway was a well-used residential road that was continually accessed by road users as a through route between Queens Walk and Long Drive (leading to Station Approach) and the wider than average width of the road lent itself to excessive speeds;

·         Vehicles travelling through the traffic lights at Station Approach often sped up along The Fairway which had resulted in numerous accidents.  This situation was repeated in the opposite direction.  One resident had had a brick wall at the front of his property demolished on three separate occasions by drunk drivers, a parked van had been hit by a vehicle, two parked cars had been written off and one car had been turned on its bonnet.  Photographs of some of the accident scenes were passed to Councillor Burrows;

·         It had been reported by residents that worked late shifts that the speed of the traffic in the night was just as bad as in the day;

·         There was a high level of pedestrian footfall in The Fairway, with residents travelling to and from the nearby Tube Station as well as parents and children from a number of local schools who had to frequently cross the road;

·         The petition had received support from the local vicar as well as the parishioners as the church hall facilitated a range of community groups throughout the week including Brownies and Girl Guides.  Visitors to the church were having to edge out of the church car park very slowly else risk being hit by a speeding vehicle;

·         Delivery vehicles had been regularly seen speeding along The Fairway;

·         Over the years, as well as the speed of traffic increasing, the volume of traffic travelling along The Fairway towards the A40 had increased and congestion had also worsened across every day of the week;

·         It was suggested that the implementation of raised tables would physically slow these speeding vehicles down whereas a 20mph limit could be ignored;

·         A reduction in the vehicle emissions associated with higher speeds and engine acceleration would potentially improve air quality in the area;

·         It was suggested that, although the section between Queens Walk and Long Drive should be prioritised, speeding in the whole of The Fairway should be reviewed as road safety had also become an issue there; and

·         The Fairway carriageway and pavements were due to be resurfaced in the near future and it was suggested that this work be coordinated with any action taken to reduce speed.

Councillor Burrows listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised.  He noted that the local authority had obtained accident data from the police for the latest three-year period (to December 2017).  These  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

Councillors Simon Arnold and Alan Deville attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillors in support of the petition.  Councillor Shehryar Ahmad-Wallana’s comments in support of the petition were read out by Councillor Burrows.

Concerns and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

·         Tavistock Road was predominantly straight and there had been an increase in the number of vehicles speeding in both directions.  The pavements were narrow and there were blind spots which meant that visibility could be very poor;

·         Concern was expressed for the safety of residents living in the road which included very young families and elderly people; 

·         There had been at least seven ‘near-misses’ so far this year and four collisions, three of which did not involve the attendance of the emergency services as the drivers of the vehicles involved exchanged details.  However, on Wednesday 5 September 2018, there was a serious road traffic collision which was attended by a first responder, two ambulances, the Police and Fire Brigade, and resulted in two people being taken to hospital and at least one of the vehicles being written off (a photograph of the scene had been emailed to Councillor Burrows).  All of these incidents had been caused by speeding vehicles;

·         Although the petition suggested the installation of speed humps, along with appropriate road markings showing 20mph, it was thought that strategically located chicanes might be far more effective and less intrusive to residents than the noise of vehicles hitting the speed bumps.  It was suggested that consideration could also be given to the installation of speed tables;

·         Tavistock Road was often used as a rat run by drivers wanting to avoid travelling along the High Street and many of the speeding vehicles were lorries, mostly skip lorries accessing the Trout Lane depot run by Quick Skip Hire Ltd.  Concern was expressed that a collision involving one of the skip lorries could cause serious harm;

·         It was noted that there was a significant amount of construction underway in Tavistock Road. Whilst this was only temporary, it did exacerbate the road safety issues in the road; and

·         Petitioners requested the implementation of traffic calming measures as soon as possible.

Councillor Burrows listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised.  He noted that he was familiar with the area and knew how busy it was becoming as the building developments in the area progressed.  Councillor Burrows advised that an independent traffic survey would provide the Council with information about the type, speed, time and direction of each vehicle that passed along Tavistock Road 24/7 for a one week period.  This information would be shared with Ward Councillors and would be used by the Cabinet Member to determine what further action should be taken.  Ward Councillors and petitioners identified three locations for the traffic surveys in Tavistock Road.

RESOLVED:  Meeting with the petitioners, the Cabinet Member:

1.      listened to their concerns with excessive traffic speeds and pedestrian safety on Tavistock Road,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

Councillor Peter Money 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 had become a problem for residents and the community at large;

·         Taxis and chauffeur drivers were parking in Longford Village 24/7, preventing residents from parking outside or near their homes.  There had been 1,158 fixed penalty notices issued predominantly to these private hire vehicles in the Village and around 130 in Uxbridge North and Uxbridge South.  It was suggested that stronger enforcement of the public spaces protection order was needed to make these drivers park in the authorised area that had been provided for them.  Furthermore, given the volume of Private Hire Vehicle licences issued by Transport for London each week, a constant stream of information needed to be provided to the licence holders;

·         Airport workers would often park in the Village in the evenings and at weekends and then catch the bus to the airport.  This had become an increasing problem for residents and had affected the trade of the two local public houses, one of which had only 9 customers during one recent Saturday lunchtime;

·         Petitioners requested that parking restrictions be in place from Monday to Sunday and that they be extended to cover a longer period to prevent airport workers from parking there which would help to reduce congestion and ease parking.  However, it would be important that any changes did not have a detrimental impact on the two public houses in the Village;

·         Currently, 37 buses passed through Longford Village every hour (10 x No 81; 10 x No 423; 10 x No 7; 5 x Hotel Hoppas; 2 x BA staff buses).  The Hotel Hoppa buses used the Village as a rat run as they didn’t even pick up passengers there.  It was noted that there had been no consultation by Frist Group with the Council or with residents in relation to routing the No 7 and No 8 buses through the Village;

·         There were chicanes to the east and west of the Village and there had been many problems in the space in between.  There had been a number of accidents where buses travelling in opposite directions had collided with each other, a car had had its open door knocked off by a passing bus and buses had crashed into parked cars.  The petition organiser had asked residents in the community to ensure that they took photographs of any incidents so that a full record could be collated;

·         Residents met regularly with the police to address speeding and the police would stop drivers coming through the no entry route and turn them around.  However, if this was enforced by issuing tickets, it might provide more of a deterrent to those drivers that habitually disobeyed the no entry sign;

·         It was noted that, even though there was a turning point for buses so that they didn’t pass through the no entry sign, they would often ignore it;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.