Agenda item

The report before Members detailed the proposals to introduce ‘At Any Time’ waiting restrictions in Brentwood Road, in the vicinity of The Drill Public House.

The report stated that following reports of obstructive parking taking place in Brentwood Road around The Drill Public House, Tesco and Ginger Spice, the Committee agreed at its meeting in April 2015 in principle to introduce ‘At Any Time’ waiting restrictions in the area to prevent obstructive parking and improve traffic flow.

The proposals were subsequently designed and publicly advertised to all those perceived to be affected by the proposals. Eighteen statutory bodies were also consulted and site notices were placed at the location.

At the close of the consultation on 15 May 2015, seventeen responses were received. The report summarised all the responses in the table appended to as the report Appendix B.

The respondents had raised the following points:

·         Concern about parking being displaced to outside their property or further down Brentwood Road. It was suggested that double yellow lines be extended to Slewins Lane from the roundabout to the bus stop outside No. 11.

·         A resident from Hazelmere Gardens was concerned about enforcing the longer duration restrictions, making the layby area into individual spaces and make it into a short term parking bay. The resident suggested the installation of   bollards to prevent vehicle parking on the footway, reducing the width of the layby to prevent echelon style parking in the bay, or removing the layby and install bike racks.

·         A business which was situated in the immediate area of the proposals had suggested a number of changes to the proposals, which were outlined on their amended plan that was appended to the report as Appendix C.

·         All comments from residents of Brentwood Road stated they were in favour of the proposals but were concerned about displacement, enforcement of any new restrictions and the suggested further extension of the double yellow lines. These varied from up to Squirrels Heath School entrance, on the odd numbered side, to Salisbury Road on one side

·         There were also requests for the layby outside Tesco to be made into a short term parking facility. Other parking issues related to the parade of shops between Nos. 364 and 376 Brentwood Road.

In officers’ view, due to the amount of obstructive parking in the Brentwood Road area, it was considered that the proposals should be implemented as advertised. The report informed the Committee that the layby fronting Tesco, was created as part of the planning conditions for the site and was intended for loading. A member of staff from Tesco had advised that deliveries could take place at any time between 8:00am and 5:00pm Monday to Saturday. The entire frontage of the Tesco and Ginger Spice site was covered by the layby and vehicle crossovers which led to an off-street parking provision for the flats above Tesco and the forecourt to Ginger Spice. It noted that it would not be possible to provide any form of parking provisions on or in front of the vehicle crossovers, as this would condone obstructive parking. This section of road, including the layby, was currently restricted with parking not allowed from 8:00am to 6:30 pm Monday to Saturday inclusive. The crossovers formed part of the footway, which was subject to the footway parking ban.

In accordance with the public participation arrangements the Committee was addressed by a local resident who spoke on behalf of other residents in support of the scheme.

The resident stated that she lived on the North West side of the road and on many occasions had her driveway blocked by parked vehicles. She informed the Committee that Ginger Spice had three parking spaces which were not being made available for customer use; one space was used by a member of staff. The resident suggested that the layby be converted in to a 20 minutes short term parking bay. The resident informed the committee that Tesco was proactive in attempting  to keep the loading bay clear for receipt of deliveries.

During a brief debate, a Member stated that following a site visit, he had sympathy for the resident at No. 393 as a result of the current obstructive parking. He was of the opinion that the double yellow lines should be extended to Cavenham Gardens. He was also of the view that the loading bay worked well for shoppers presently.

Another member questioned the rational of restricting use of the loading bay. The member stated that the bay should also accommodate short term parking.

A Member supported the suggestion to extend double yellow lines up to the Squirrels Heath School entrance.

The Committee noted that the loading bay in front of Tesco was part of a planning condition and could be converted to a short term parking spaces.

The Committee RESOLVED:

1.            To recommend to the Cabinet Member for Environment that:

a.    the proposed ‘At Any Time’ waiting restrictions in Brentwood Road, around The Drill Public House, shown on the drawing (Ref: Brentwood Road – The Drill) be implemented as advertised;

b.    further proposals be advertised to extend the proposed ‘At Any Time’ waiting restrictions on the north-western side of Brentwood Road, from the north-eastern boundary of No.393 to the common boundary of Nos.369 and 371;

c.    further proposals be advertised to make the layby a loading bay operational 8:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Saturday;

d.    further proposals be designed and advertised to implement short term parking facilities for the shops on the south-western side of Brentwood Road;

e.    the effect of any agreed proposals be monitored.

2            Members note that the estimated cost for the current proposals in Brentwood Road, as set out in the report was £1,500, this would be met from the 2015/16 Minor Parking Schemes budget.