Agenda item

Councillor John Morse attended the meeting and spoke as a Ward Councillor.

Concerns and suggestions from petitioners included the following:

·         The petition requested the installation of a residents' only parking scheme in Woodhouse Close.

·         The Close only consisted of 12 homes and yet the situation was so bad, residents were unable to park by their homes late at night.

·         There had been instances of anti-social behaviour, including the use of threatening behaviour in the local area, which made it of paramount importance that residents could park outside their own homes.

·         Some vehicles were parked in the Close and were marked for sale. This meant that the spaces were not available to residents for long periods of time.

·         There had been a number of occasions when abandoned cars had been parked in front gardens or on the footway which meant that the residents of Woodhouse Close were often forced to park several streets away.

·         Commuters used the Close and left their cars there all day which meant that residents were unable to park locally.

·         Inconsiderate parking also meant that access and egress routes for emergency and service vehicles was often hampered.

·         A number of the residents were employed as shift workers at the Airport and they had difficulty parking locally when they returned from work.

·         There had been instances of youth's congregating in and around the Close and this meant residents had to walk long distances to and from parked cars, which was often intimidating.

Councillor Morse stated that he supported residents' request for a residents' only parking scheme. He agreed that the current parking conditions meant that access for emergency vehicles was difficult and this needed to be improved.

Councillor Burrows listened to the concerns of the petitioner and responded to the points raised:

Councillor Burrows stated that on the basis of the problems the petitioners had outlined, Woodhouse Close would be added to the Council's future parking programme for further investigation. In addition to agreeing the three Officers recommendations in the report, 2 additional recommendations were agreed. These included instructing Officers to investigate the cases of abandoned vehicles the petitioner had highlighted as well as asking the Council's Waste and Recycling Services and Emergency Services to conduct dry runs to test access and egress to the Close.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Member:

1.    Discussed with petitioners and listened to their request for a residents' only parking controls in Woodhouse Close, Hayes.

2.    Agreed that the request for parking restrictions in Woodhouse Close, Hayes should be added to the Council's future parking scheme programme for further investigation and more detailed consultation with residents.

3.    That subject to 2 above seeks the advice of the Ward Councillors on the most appropriate extent for any such consultation.

4.    Instructed Officers to contact Mr Murton regarding abandoned vehicles and asked Officers to take all necessary action to have them removed.

5.    Instructed Officers to speak to Refuse and Emergency Services about access to the road.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION

To allow the Cabinet Member to discuss with petitioners their concerns and inform residents of the planned consultation that will be taking place.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED / RISK MANAGEMENT

These were discussed with petitioners.