Agenda item

The Cabinet Member considered a petition from residents requesting resident parking permits on Whitethorn Avenue, Aspen Close and Providence Road. The lead petitioner was in attendance and made the following points:

·       This area was the nearest non-resident parking area to West Drayton Station and to the Horton Road business parks, and the only area in the vicinity without resident's parking.

·       Between 2018 and 2019, residents were consulted about a parking scheme, with the majority of residents in favour of a scheme.

·       The petitioner requested parking at the Horton Road end of Whitethorn Avenue and reiterated the request for residents parking on Whitethorn Avenue, Aspen Close and Providence Road.

·       The petitioner suggested residents be given parking permits for weekdays, 9am - 6pm, for each household member who holds a valid driver's licence and requires nearby parking.

·       Residents of the area had been deprived of parking for years during normal working hours, and had been forced to park some distance away or on grass verges, breaking parking regulations.

·       Staff of Reliance Worldwide Corporation (John Guest) HQ often parked daily on Whitethorn Avenue, despite complaints; local car workshops often parked their clients' cars in the area; new industrial areas on Horton Road were exacerbating the issue; mechanics parked their customer's cars in the bays on Whitethorn Avenue and left them there for extended periods; visitors to Heathrow Airport often parked here, often for weeks or months at a time.

·       Minibuses were often parked in the area, protruding out of bays.

·       The garages at Aspen Close were often inaccessible.

·       Yellow lines would be ideal.

·       ProLogis (new industrial business park on Horton Road) contractors parked in this area and took a shuttle bus to the site.

·       The situation had worsened over the last year.

Councillor Arnold attended as Ward Councillor and made the following points:

• It was noted that all three Ward Councillors were fully in support of the petition.
• Visitors to Hillingdon Hospital, West Drayton Station and Heathrow Airport often parked their cars in this area.
• The problem was exacerbated by the new businesses in the area.
• A Parking Management Scheme was requested, as this was becoming a larger problem. Reference was made to several similar petitions, as nearby Parking Management Schemes often pushed parked cars into other areas.

It was confirmed that an informal consultation had been conducted previously; and a detailed design was presented to residents in July 2019. It was highlighted that there had been a lack of responses to those plans, which was why no further action had been taken.

Officers also noted the difficult layout of the road, with areas offset from the main carriageway; some of those had been eroded for dropped kerbs and driveways. There was also limited kerb-side space, which could make it difficult to accommodate space for every resident.

Officers noted that Aspen Close was not an adopted road (it was a private road) and therefore the Council had no jurisdiction to implement managed parking on that road.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet Member for Planning and Transportation:

1.    met with petitioners and listened to their request for the introduction of a residents' permit parking scheme for Whitethorn Avenue and Providence Road, West Drayton;

2.    asked officers to add the request to the Council's extensive Parking Management Scheme Programme for further informal consultation; and

3.    at Councillors requests, expanded this request to include an informal consultation either as part of the Whitethorn Avenue/ Providence Road consultation or at a later date to be agreed with the Cabinet Member, and the roads to be included are Edgar Road, Cedar Avenue, Maple Avenue, Acacia Avenue and Lilac Place.

Reasons for decisions

The Petition Hearing provided a valuable opportunity to hear directly from the petitioners of their concerns and suggestions.

Alternative options considered / risk management

None at this stage.