Agenda item

Richards Close, Hayes - Petition from Residents Asking for a Residents' Permit Parking Scheme

Councillors Manjit Kaur Khatra, Peter Money and June Nelson attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillors in support of the petition.

Concerns and suggestions at the meeting included the following:

·         Petitioners explained that parking for residents was getting bad as non residents; particularly those working at Heathrow airport were using the area to park.

·         Parking behaviour in the roads sometimes meant that residents wanting to exit their driveways were hindered by vehicles parked either side of the drivewayas well as directly opposite. It was noted that there had been incidents where residents had left notes on car windows asking for people not to block drop kerbs.

·         Petitioners raised concerns about litter being dumped from non residents sitting in their cars such as drivers of Private hire Vehicles.  It was noted that holiday makers were also leaving their cars parked on Richards Close for long periods.

·         There was particular parking demand on this road as other roads in the area already benefit from  managed parking that restricts parking for non residents.

·         Councillor Nelson explained that there had been a domino effect of other parking restrictions in close by streets. She expressed that it was not uncommon for holiday makers to park and go away for long periods. She noted that Richards Close was the last road in the area to not be part of a parking scheme and residents were suffering.

·         Councillor Money noted that there were no restrictions in place on this road and said it was clear if residents were in control it would work

·         Councillor Khatra supported this petition particularly in view of the issues of fly tipping. She asked Councillor Burrows and the Council to support this petition.

Councillor Burrows listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised. He noted that this was the last road in the area without residents parking. He suggested resolving the issue quicker than the proposed parking programme through using the new legislation which allowed councils in certain situations to place signs of resident parking only. He suggested that this would be a quicker process and if particular problems arose within the Close then it would be up to residents to manage these issues themselves. He proposed exploring other ways such as placing residents' parking signs at the start of the close to deter non residents parking their cars there. These signs would be enforceable by the Council. He encouraged all residents to respond to the consultation to ensure their voices were heard and considered.

Meeting with the Petitioners, the Cabinet Member:

1. Discussed with petitioners their concerns with parking in Richards Close, Hayes.

2. Noted the results of the previous consultations with residents of Richards Close on a possible Parking Management Scheme.

3. Asked officers to add the request to the Council’s extensive parking programme for further informal consultation.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION

The petition hearing will provide a valuable opportunity to hear directly from the petitioners of their concerns and suggestions. 

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED / RISK MANAGEMENT

None at this stage.