Agenda item

Report attached

The Committee considered a report in response to the formal consultation. The report detailed that ffollowing numerous requests, reports and petitions received from residents and Ward Councillors representing Romleigh Park Estate, a review and consultation of an appropriate parking scheme was submitted to the Committee on 16 October 2012.

The proposals were subsequently designed and consulted upon by staff and formally advertised on 10 May 2013.  All responses to the consultation were detailed in the report.

The report proposes a Traffic and Parking Control scheme between 10.30am till 11.30am Monday to Friday waiting restrictions to deter long term and local commuter parking’, predominantly from people parking and then walking to Harold Wood Station and to prevent students from the college situated on the former Harold Wood Hospital site from long term parking. It was proposed to design a scheme that works with the existing Controlled Parking Zone within the Harold Wood Ward. 

The report also informs the Committee that there may be parking problems within this area once the development within the old Harold Wood hospital site has been completed.

A public consultation was carried out on 10 May 2013, 366 residents addresses in the area perceived to be affected by the proposed scheme were advised detailing the proposals. Eighteen statutory bodies were also consulted and site notices were placed within the Romleigh Park Estate.

At the close, 62 responses were received, a 17% response rate. A table outlining all the responses was appended to the report as Appendix B.

About 10% of the responses were in favour of the 10.30am to 11.30am Monday to Friday waiting restrictions and the ‘At any time’ waiting restrictions at the junctions.  7% of the responses received were against the proposals for the 10.30am to 11.30am Monday to Friday waiting restrictions, although 3% of those were in favour of the ‘At any time’ waiting restrictions at junctions.

The report outlined that there were an estimated 197 private parking spaces located in designated areas within the Estate, not including garages nor the off-street parking provision fronting the properties. The majority of the home owners own within their deeds one or more car parking spaces and could therefore use these facilities during the one hour restriction. It was for this reason that staff propose that the Romleigh Park Estate, which was currently unrestricted, be included within the Harold Wood Controlled Parking Zone.

In accordance with the public participation arrangements the Committee was addressed by a local resident who spoke in support of the scheme, she stated the benefit of the scheme to local resident who are frequently obstructed by parked cars from getting on and out of the drive way.

Councillor Pam Light also spoke in support of the scheme.

During general debate Members of the Committee discussed:

• A suggestion for free parking bays to be made available in the area to accommodate displaced residents cars.
• A consideration for shift workers with no parking spaces.
• That every home in the area had an allocated parking space.

The Committee RESOLVED:

To recommend to the Cabinet Member for Community Empowerment that:

a.   the minor parking scheme set out in the report to implement 10:30am till 11:30am Monday to Friday and ‘At any time’ waiting restrictions, as shown on drawing TPC280-Romleigh Park Estate Parking Review, be implemented as advertised.

b.    the effect of the scheme be monitored

c.    Members note that the estimated cost of the scheme as set out in the report was £6,000 which would be funded from the 2013/14 Minor Parking Schemes revenue budget.

The vote was 8 in favour and 1 against.