Agenda item

The Cabinet Member considered a petition from local businesses requesting fundamental changes to the modus operandi of the car parking pay and display arrangements.

The Lead Petitioner was present and made a number of points, including:

• That they had been in correspondence with the Parking Management Team at the Council since the petition’s original submission in 2020 and that several site visits had been carried out.
• Informed the Chairman that when the petition was first submitted that there was no facility in place to process tickets and log registration numbers for ‘stop and shop’ parking in the locality. As a result of this, the scheme was alleged to have been widely abused, which had the knock-on effect of causing long queues on Uxbridge Road and as a result, the disruption of traffic flow. This was compounded by the fact that the houses located at the back of the parade had restricted access, and therefore also got stuck on Uxbridge Road.
• Traffic congestion was reported to have been particularly bad after 5pm and Sundays were the busiest days for the Lead Petitioner and fellow small business owners in the area.
• Significant health and safety concerns were expressed by petitioners, which stemmed from the issues reported in this petition.
• The Lead Petitioner disclosed that he had carried out his own research comparisons with neighbouring boroughs and their approach to similar situations. He reported to the Chairman that Hounslow West had experienced a similar incident, which they had responded to by extending the restricted parking hours (as requested by the Lead Petitioner in that case).
• Emphasised that small independent traders were those primarily suffering from the current parking arrangements outlined within the petition.

Officers clarified with the Chairman that the current scheme operated from Monday-Saturday [8:00am to 6:30pm] and that the Lead Petitioner wanted to extend this to [8:00am to 8:00pm everyday].

The Chairman acknowledged this and also the Lead Petitioner’s remarks in relation to reports of people taking advantage of the 30 minutes free parking that the Council offered at the location in question. It was also declared that various solutions were currently being explored to the problems mentioned by the Lead Petitioner and that cooperation with the Parking Management Team was required. The Chairman pondered the possibility of using a temporary traffic order in the short term but asserted that before any solutions could be agreed/ instructed, post-meeting discussions with officers would have to be held.

The Chairman proceeded to ask the Ward Councillor for Belmore, Councillor Labina Basit to speak on the petition. Councillor Basit made the following arguments in support of the petition:

·         Echoed the Lead Petitioner’s statements as she had lived experience of the issues at hand, especially in regard to traffic congestion when entering or exiting the parade, which had also proliferated into the sideroads. This was a particular concern for the Councillor as she mentioned that this was causing difficulties for emergency vehicle access.

·         Pointed out that problems reported were exacerbated after 5pm, and principally on a Saturday evening when people were alleged to be parking without restrictions, which resulted in actual customers struggling to find spaces and consequently deterring future visits.

·         Divulged that a senior figure in the ASB sub-department of the Council had carried out a site visit and witnessed the issues reported by petitioners.

·         Councillor Basit summarised by echoing the Lead Petitioner’s request for extending the parking restriction times but also suggested a parking stress survey which could provide helpful data.

The Chairman accepted the points made by Councillor Basit but juxtaposed the Councillor’s proposals for a parking stress survey. The Chairman also mentioned:

·         Ongoing discussions for a new car pound in the Borough which could serve as an additional deterrent to those taking advantage of the Council’s parking schemes.

·         Accepted the concerns expressed by the Lead Petitioner and Councillor Basit, but remarked that there appeared to be two separate issues which would warrant further investigation and collaboration with the Parking Team.

·         Hinted that some problems had been known to have been caused by shopkeepers themselves in the past by taking up available spaces with goods vehicles etc.

In regard to the Chairman’s point about previous examples of shopkeeper contributions to parking problems, Councillor Basit responded that, in this instance, quite a few of the shop owners had allocated parking on the backstreets and thus, were not at fault for the issues reported by the petitioners.

The Lead Petitioner confirmed Councillor Basit’s argument and reiterated that parking in front of the shops on the parade was the main issue.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Member for Property, Highways and Transport:

1.    met with petitioners and listened to their request to amend the times and days of operation that the existing ‘Stop and Shop’ parking scheme operates.

2.    Subject to the outcome of the above, asked officers to add this request to the Council’s extensive Parking Scheme Programme for possible informal consultation with business occupiers and residents in an area agreed with local Ward Councillors; and,

3.    noted the suggestion that required a vehicle registration number to be added when purchasing a ticket from a pay and display machine and advised petitioners that this was being investigated separately and was outside the remit of this report.

Reasons for decision

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

Alternative options considered and rejected

None at this stage.