Agenda item

Councillors Brian Crowe and Philip Corthorne attended the meeting and each spoke as Ward Councillors.

Concerns and suggestions from the petitioner included the following:

• The petition had been signed by 6 out of the 21 households in the road.
• Parking pressures meant that it was extremely difficult to park in Withy Lane at any time.
• Withy Lane was regularly used for commuter parking.
• Numerous employees of several local firms parked all day in the cul-de-sac.
• The proximity of the Lido meant that it was regularly congested with visitors to Ruislip Woods and the Lido.
• The close proximity of the Fire Station was significant as the congestion impacted on the access and egress of emergency vehicles.
• There were a significant number of houses in  Withy Lane without allocated parking. This meant there was a significant amount of displaced parking.
• Many residents had to park in adjacent roads which caused further displaced parking.
• The residents of houses 3,4,5,16,17, 18 and 19 all supported the concept of having one allocated parking bay per property outside their properties and highlighted residents desire to participate in a trial of this arrangement.

Ward Councillors spoke with regard to the petitioners’ requests and raised the following issues:

·         The Ward Councillors highlighted that there was no automatic right to an individual parking space on the highway and such action was beyond the remit of the Cabinet Member for Planning, Transportation and Recycling.

·         Ward Councillors were acutely aware of the issues in Withy Lane. As a new over flow car park at the Lido had been built, this demonstrated that local concerns had not been ignored.

·         Ward Councillors acknowledged that motorists regularly parked on both sides of the road in Withy Lane which made access and egress of service and emergency vehicles extremely difficult.

·         Moving forward, Councillors suggested that consideration might be given to imposing restrictions on one side of the road.

·         A further option which was suggested included asking officers to explore increasing the amount of off street parking by the increased use of dropped curbs.

The Cabinet Member, Councillor Keith Burrows, listened to the concerns raised, noting that a formal consultation on a detailed design for Parking Management Scheme was undertaken in 2007. During this consultation a petition signed by 16 households of Withy Lane, which at the time represented 84% of the properties in the road, was submitted opposing the scheme.

Since this consultation, it was noted that improvements to the Lido had brought about increased traffic flows. It was also acknowledged that local businesses found Withy Lane an attractive place to park and the houses in  Withy Lane had created a parking pressure as many of these did not have allocated parking.

With regards to the comments made by Ward Councillors, the Cabinet Member confirmed he was not able to allocate individual pays to specific households. However, having taken into account the small area covered by Withy Lane, the Cabinet Member confirmed he would instruct officers to assess this area only and requested that Ward Councillors became integral to the consultation going forward. Ward Councillors would then communicate the options identified in the consultation to the lead petitioner before a final decision was taken.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Member:

1.            Listened to the petitioner request for parking controls to be introduced in Withy Lane, Ruislip

2.     Agreed the request for a parking scheme to be added to the Council’s future parking scheme programme for further investigation and more detailed consultation when resources permit.