Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest.

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

The Cabinet Member considered a petition requesting for a parking management scheme to be implemented in Hunters Grove, Hayes.

The lead petitioner put forward to the Cabinet Member some reasons to action the request for a parking management scheme. Key points raised by the petitioner included:

People were parking illegally in front of residents’ driveways.

Shop owners and their employees were parking their vehicles in the area from early morning till late at night.

People who were away on holiday would leave their parked vehicles for weeks and usually occupied two parking spaces.

People often blocked residents’ driveways and reversed their vehicles into it, resulting in damage to the nearby lamp post and walls to their properties.

The lead petitioner highlighted that her cat had been killed by speeding cars in the area.

It was added that people would park illegally at the top of the road and that parking restrictions in relation to double yellow lines were ignored. This caused heavy congestion problems at the junction of Coldharbour Lane and Hunters Grove.

Bins on the street caused an obstruction to elderly pedestrians and pedestrians with pushchairs.

Councillor Curling, representing Hayes Town Ward, expressed his endorsement of the petition because Hunters Grove and the other roads in the area all suffered with similar congestion issues, as the roads were particularly narrow.

Reference was made to the petitioners’ request for ‘residents and their guests to be able to park free on the road’, which was the Council’s previous policy. It was noted that as per the Council’s current policy, the annual cost for a permit was a minimum of £75.

A suggestion of a suitable consultation area for agreement by Ward Councillors and Officers was raised by Councillor Curling. It was proposed that the Parking Management Scheme could be implemented between Hunters Grove and Minet Drive with the possibility of an extension to Birch Way.

The Cabinet Member acknowledged the narrowness of Hunters Grove and the surrounding roads, which served as a speed deterrent but also caused congestion on the roads.

There was already an existing parking zone in some roads adjacent to Hunters Grove. An extension of the scheme to Birch Way would be explored and considered.

The Cabinet Member conveyed that where parking schemes were put in place, a realistic factor for consideration was the Council’s Engineering Officers needing to ascertain the location of where it would be permissible and practicable to put a parking place, which was governed by a raft of rules.

The Cabinet Member was aware of the persistent issues surrounding holiday parking which formed part of a much wider problem in the south of the Borough.

In relation to the petitioner’s double yellow line comments, Traffic Officers would be requested to target the area more frequently to issue tickets for parking on double yellow lines, which would send out a clear message that drivers should not be ignoring the parking rules.

It was noted that the Council had adopted a long-term policy of not imposing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

The Cabinet Member considered a petition requesting for traffic speed mitigation measures to be implemented in Sipson Road, West Drayton.

The lead petitioner put forward to the Cabinet Member some reasons to action the request for traffic speed mitigation measures. Key points raised by the petitioner included:

There had been a number of incidents that had taken place on Sipson Road, including a serious incident that had occurred at 13:00PM on 18thMay 2023 and was reported to have taken 9 hours to clear the road.

Two additional incidents had taken place in the month of January 2024. On 28^th January 2024, the petitioner reported that a speeding van had collided with three cars. The police were informed of the incident. On 30^th January, the petitioner reported that a child getting off a bus and trying to cross the road was hit by a car. Although the child was not seriously injured, the petitioner stressed the severity of needing speed reduction measures on the road.

There was heavy traffic on Sipson Road, and the lead petitioner emphasised his request for CCTV speed cameras, flashing lights, speed limit signs and zebra crossings near the bus stop so that vulnerable groups, such as children and the elderly could cross the road safely.

The lead petitioner noted that he had been reporting to the Council the issue of traffic speeds on the road since 1996 but that nothing had yet been done to resolve the speed problem.

Councillor Farley, representing West Drayton Ward, expressed his endorsement of the petition.

He had been undertaking Ward Walkabouts on 18 May 2023 and witnessed what he described as the horrendous aftermath of the road accident.

An examination of traffic had recently been carried out on Cherry Lane and following the inspection, raised tables were subsequently placed in that area. However, this measure had not slowed the speed issue on Sipson Road and beyond.

The issue of safety was reiterated in relation to the speeding problem on the road.

It was noted that the proximity of the M4 to Sipson Road meant that drivers approaching into the area were not reducing their speed. There was also a local school nearby where there were no speed reductions on the road around the school, compared to other schools.

The Ward Councillor conclusively advocated for the use of monitoring equipment on Sipson Road, similar to Cherry Lane, for traffic speed reduction.

In addition, Councillor Nelson, representing Heathrow Villages Ward, expressed her support of the petition.

There had been a previous speeding issue in Cherry Lane, where there were a number of incidents that had taken place and on one occasion, a fatality before speed bumps were implemented in Cherry Lane.

It was noted that the problem of speeding persisted on Cherry Lane, as the speed limit on the road was currently 30mph as opposed to being a 20mph zone which was preferable for the area.

Road users were speeding once they passed the school on Cherry Lane.

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.