Agenda item

Councillor Brian Stead attended the meeting and spoke as a Ward Councillor in support of the petition.  Councillor Richard Mills had submitted his support for the petition in an email which was read out to those present.

Concerns and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

·         Harlington Road was a long road with side roads that were becoming increasingly congested;

·         The petition organiser's car tyres had been slashed five times, other residents had reported at least five similar incidents and non-residents had been seen standing by their vehicles on their mobile phones calling for help as their tyres had been slashed.  In addition, residents' cars were being deliberately scratched.  These incidents had been reported to the police but there had been no evidence to identify the perpetrator/s;

·         Residents tried to park in areas that were deemed 'safer' where their cars were less likely to cause offence and therefore less likely to be vandalised; 

·         The Prince of Wales public house had been reopened as a bar and restaurant.  As part of the car park had been converted into a beer garden, the available parking for patrons had been reduced which caused more congestion in the surrounding roads;

·         Residents were finding it increasingly difficult to park anywhere near their properties and would sometimes have a twenty minute walk back to their homes;

·         One of the residents was disabled and would benefit from a disabled parking bay;

·         There had been occasions where drivers had parked their vehicles, gone on holiday and returned to their cars five weeks later; and

·         A street surgery had been held where the biggest complaint from residents had been the lack of parking. At this event, the police had been unaware of the vandalism that had been taking place and committed to undertaking more regular sweeps of the area.

Councillor Burrows listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised.  He was aware that a parking management scheme was due to be implemented in Turks Close in the near future.  If consideration was to be given to including Harlington Road in a parking management scheme, it would be prudent to include Hilliers Avenue, Coney Grove, Southfield Close and Temple Park in the consultation. 

It was noted that a comprehensive parking management scheme in the area would allow only residents to park there and prevent non-residents that used the pub / restaurant from causing parking congestion and possibly reduced the vehicle vandalism currently experienced. 

The Cabinet Member suggested that the Ward Councillors liaise with the Safer Neighbourhood Team.  He also asked that officers liaise with the Ward Councillors to determine which roads should be included in a further informal consultation.  It was agreed that Harlington Road would be included in the programme and that the informal consultation would be progressed as quickly as the extensive programme allowed. 

RESOLVED:  Meeting with the petitioners, the Cabinet Member:

1.    listened to their request for the introduction of a residents' only parking scheme on Harlington Road, Hillingdon.

2.    asked officers to add the request to the Council's extensive parking programme for further informal consultation on a possible area agreed with Ward Councillors.

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.