Agenda item

The Cabinet Member considered a petition from residents requesting that the Council reformed the operation of the U4 parking permit area. A representative from the petition was in attendance and made the following points: 

·         Concerns were raised about safety of pedestrians given the heavy traffic flow, narrow road and non-residents parking in resident parking areas.

·         Rockingham Bridge was a beauty spot that attracted many visitors, and this added to the parking issue.

·         There were five unallocated parking bays, and the Council was  asked to investigate bay ownership  and whether they could be made available for resident use. People had been known to park their cars there for long periods and leave.

·         The road was a throughway to the town and there had been an increase in local burglaries.

·         Often key workers such a teachers, doctors and nurses were unable to find parking near their homes when they came home from late shifts.

·         A request was made to extend the parking permit arrangements for seven days a week from 6am to 10pm.

·         The new development in the area had also impacted the amount of available parking for residents.

Councillor Farhad Choubedar attended the meeting as Ward Councillor and supported the petition. He attested to the concerns raised by the petitioners and requested that the hours of operation for the parking management be extended as this would help the situation.

Councillor Judith Cooper, Ward Councillor, submitted her support by email for the petition and considered that it was a reasonable and measured request that would help to improve parking for residents.

Councillor Keith Burrows also attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillor in support of the petition. Councillor Burrows supported the points raised by the petitioners, noting that this area was also used for parking by people who visited and worked in Uxbridge town centre. It was asked whether the request to extend the hours of operation could be expediated as there was already a parking management scheme in operation. Councillor Burrows urged officers to investigate the five unmarked parking bays alongside the commencement of the informal consultation to avoid any delay to residents. 

The additional photographs submitted were noted.

Councillor Riley informed petitioners that an update regarding the area at the top end of Victoria Road had been provided to him, and on the basis of the Land Registry information obtained it was evident that ownership was a complicated matter that required further investigation. This area, including the parking bays  there that petitioners had referred to, did not belong to the Council and Councillor Riley explained that the matters relating to this would be looked at separately from the wider work to review the hours of operation of the parking management scheme so as to avoid any delays in addressing the other issues raised in the petition. The present financial constraints involved with funding from TFL were noted, although the Council has sought alternative funding to mitigate the delays that would otherwise ensue.  Councillor Riley requested that officers consider the points raised and encouraged residents to respond to the consultation.

In considering the matters, Councillor Riley made the following decisions. 

RESOLVED:

Meeting with the Petitioners, the Cabinet Member for Public Safety and Transport:

1.    met with petitioners and listened to their request to extend the operational hours of the Uxbridge South Parking Management Scheme ‘Zone U4’ and to include five spaces in Victoria Road within the scheme.

2.    Asked officers to add this request to the Council’s extensive Parking Management Scheme Programme for a possible informal consultation.

3.    noted the request to include five bays on Victoria Road to be included in ‘Zone U4’ Parking Management Scheme and asked officers in the Council’s Legal Services Team to investigate the ownership and liability status of this area of highway and to report back to him.

Reasons for decisions

The petition hearing provided a valuable opportunity to hear directly from the petitioners on their concerns and suggestions.

Alternative options considered / risk management

None at this stage.