Agenda item

Councillors Peter Money and June Nelson attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillors in support of the petition.  In the absence of the petition organiser or any petitioners, the Ward Councillors requested that the petition be considered. 

Concerns and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

·         St Peters Way and St Pauls Close were narrow residential roads in which taxis routinely parked.  The car washes on the main road also added to the congestion;

·         There had been around 1,100 penalty charge notices issued in the area which highlighted the issue faced by residents;

·         The majority of signatures on the petition were from residents of Woodforde Court which comprised sheltered housing for older people;

·         There had been instances where the road had been so congested that emergency vehicles had been unable to access the road.  A video had been recorded where a patient had had to be stretchered along the road as the ambulance had been unable to get close to the property;

·         When the roads had last been consulted about the possibility of introducing a residents parking scheme, there had been strong opposition from the church and the GP surgery.  Consideration would need to be given to the operational times else this was likely to continue to be a reason to reject the proposal;

·         It was noted that the GP surgery and the hospice had their own parking (although this might not be sufficient to meet the demand of their visitors);

·         It was suggested that the area from the church to the main road should be pay and display and the remainder of the roads should be residents only parking; 

·         Richards Close had recently been approved for inclusion in the residents parking scheme which meant that Bletchmore Close, St Peters Close and St Peters Way were the only roads in this area that had not been included in the scheme; and

·         The Ward Councillors noted that the lack of street lighting was being pursued via a different route.  They had also been receiving complaints about taxis being parked along Stockley Road as it was thought that they were likely to cause an accident in the near future.

Councillor Burrows listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised.  Given the number of taxi drivers and the impact of the car wash, it was agreed that a shared use provision be introduced with two hour pay and display parking in one section and residents' only parking in the remainder of St Peters Way and St Peters Close.  The Cabinet Member asked that officers include the residents in Bletchmore Close in the consultation that was undertaken.  Councillor Burrows advised that he would meet with officers to agree the priorities for the programme.

RESOLVED:  Meeting with the petitioners, the Cabinet Member:

1.    listened to their request for a residents' permit parking scheme to be introduced in St Peters Way and St Pauls Close, Harlington.

2.    asked officers to add the request for a permit parking scheme in the above roads to the Council’s future parking scheme programme for further investigation and more detailed consultation when resources permit.

Reasons for recommendations

To allow the Cabinet Member to discuss with petitioners their concerns and, if appropriate, add their request to the parking schemes programme.

Alternative options considered / risk management 

These will be discussed with petitioners.