Agenda item

Councillors Burrows explained that he had spoken to Councillors Brian Crowe and John Riley both of whom supported the petition. Councillor Philip Corthorne was unable to attend the meeting but had sent an email expressing his support for the petition. Councillor Burrows read out the email at the meeting.

Councillors Burrows also referred to three letters in support of the petition from the residents at 16, 40 and 58 Ickenham Close which were unable to attend the meeting. These letters were also read out at the meeting.

Concerns and suggestions from petitioners included the following:

• It was noted that in September 2011, the Council had informally consulted the residents of Ickenham Close to see if residents would like to consider being included in a possible extension to the West Ruislip Parking Management Scheme.
• At that time, the majority of residents that responded to the consultation had indicated they would prefer no change to the existing parking arrangements and therefore no further action was taken to introduce parking restrictions in Ickenham Close.
• Since 2011 however, there had been a significant amount of displaced parking which had prompted the residents of Ickenham Close to proposethat parking restrictions were applied to all areas of Ickenham Close between 9 am to 5 pm due to the continued use by commuter and off-peak travellers who used the Close as a free car park for West Ruislip Station.
• Displaced parking in Ickenham Close had inhibited residents and their visitors / deliveries.
• Displaced parking had also increased local congestion and inhibited access to waste disposal vehicles.
• Displaced parking could inhibit access for emergency vehicles.
•  As there are no restrictions are in place, it was noted that  a constant stream of traffic drove around the Close searching for free parking with no consideration for the residents and in some cases, discarding litter

Councillor Burrows listened to the concerns of petitioners and responded to the points raised.

Councillor Burrows explained how residents’ parking schemes worked and why they had become popular with residents within the Ickenham area and across the Borough.  Councillor Burrows informed petitioners that the Council had a rolling programme of works which meant that the earliest possible time at which the informal consultation could take place would be over the summer months.

Councillor Burrows explained that the informal consultation would last for 7 days which would provide residents with a series of options to assess. After which, officers would design the schemes and then there was a legal duty for the Council to consult residents during the statutory consultation phase on these proposals.

Councillor Burrows concluded his remarks by encouraging the petitioner to ensure as many residents as possible participated in the consultation process. He also explained that if residents misplaced their feedback forms, they could contact the Council and letters could be reissued or officers would explain the various options over the telephone.

Councillor Burrows moved both recommendations in the officer report.

He also added a third recommendation in relation to vehicular access to refuse lorries to determine whether or not they were experiencing access issues on a regular basis.

Resolved - That the Cabinet Member:

1. Meets and discusses with petitioners their concerns with parking in Ickenham Close, Ruislip.

2. Subject to the outcome of the discussions with petitioners, asks officers to include the request in a subsequent review of the West Ruislip Parking Management Scheme.

3. Instructs Officers to speak to Waste Services and the problems they may have encountered in this area.

Reasons for recommendation

To allow the Cabinet Member to discuss with petitioners their concerns and inform them that the Council intends to include Ickenham Close in the next review of the West Ruislip Parking Management Scheme.

Alternative options considered / risk management

These were discussed with petitioners.