Council offers to hold talks on proposal following 'unprecedented' level of opposition

A sign held up at the recent protest against the plan on Acton Green

Pressure is growing on Ealing Council to reconsider its controversial proposal for shared parking bays, which has drawn hundreds of complaints from local residents. The level of opposition has been described as 'unprecedented' by the Bedford Park Society.

Southfield Liberal Democrat ward councillor Gary Malcolm says he is hopeful Ealing Council may reconsider, following an offer by the Council Leader to meet local groups on the issue.

The council had initially robustly defended the proposal to introduce shared parking spaces in resident parking zones across the borough and had denied claims that the proposal is a revenue generating measure that will undermine residents’ ability to park near their homes and attract additional traffic and pollution.

Nearly all of the Chiswick area administered from Ealing is in one of CPZs included in the initial implementation of the scheme with 40% of streets affected.

The Bedford Park Society has welcomed the Ealing Council Leader’s initiative but says that in order to make an impact on the decision-making process they would urge any residents who are concerned about the proposals to submit their objections before the deadline of 11 June.

The Society immediately alerted members last month to Ealing Council’s proposals to introduce all-day shared parking in various Resident Only parking bays throughout CPZ Zone. After the subsequent publicity, the Society has seen a large number of objections submitted to the Council.

The Society said, “It is clear that residents object very strongly to the proposals on a number of key grounds and we are continuing to work with Acton Green Residents Association, Southfield Park Triangle Residents Association and local Councillor Gary Malcolm to persuade the Council to reconsider.”

They say there are a number of grounds for objection including congestion, pollution and the undermining of the principle of the residents' parking. The prospect of being able to park all day for £4.50 in a Zone 2/3 transport area with local transport into central London could add to the existing overcrowding on local roads and create more rat runs throughout this quiet area. It is also feared that holiday makers will use the area to park when travelling from Heathrow airport. The Society say these proposals seem to contradict the Council’s own recently adopted Transport Policy, which aims to reduce reliance on cars by increasing the use of cycles, walking and public transport.

Residents gather on Acton Green to protest against the plan

Also they say encouraging additional motorists will worsen the air quality in a residential area, which also contains a number of schools. This is contrary to both the London Mayor’s and the Council’s own Environmental policies. The Society say that rather than offering all-day cheap parking to additional motorists, any spare capacity would be better used for electric car charging or car club spaces.

Prior to the introduction of the CPZs, residents found it extremely difficult to find parking near their homes due to the volume of commuter parking. The CPZs were introduced to overcome this problem, with a number of limited hour shared-use bays to cater for non-resident parking. The Society say that this system has, to a large extent, been successful and existing visitor-parking arrangements have met residents’ needs without requiring additional shared-use bays.

Residents also question the Council’s analysis of parking demand in the roads designated for shared bays and the conclusion that there is only “modest pressure” on parking. In a number of the designated roads, residents are already struggling to park near their homes and many report having to park in neighbouring roads if they are able to find a space there. Although at certain points in the day some bays may appear under-utilised, this displacement parking often creates pressure even in the quieter roads and any additional cars would exacerbate the existing problem.

It is claimed that roads close to the schools in the area are already very congested, particularly at the start and close of the school day with cars double parked, jammed on corners etc. Losing the existing space to additional motorists would worsen this problem and with cars being driven round looking for somewhere to park would pose a risk to children, residents and visitors alike.

The Society point to what they believe is a lack of consistency in charges and allocation of hours. Shared-use bays in Hounslow are restricted to a maximum of two or four hours dependent on location, thus avoiding the risk of already busy streets being swamped with non-resident vehicles and the pricing strategy is also designed to discourage lengthy parking. The Council’s proposals would provide cheap all-day parking for non-residents for the first time since the introduction of the CPZs.

Recognising the financial challenges the Council faces, residents suggest, as an alternative to the current proposals, that there may be potential to create short-stay shared parking in carefully selected bays that could benefit the Council, visitors and residents alike.

It is also felt that there has been a lack of consultation and publicity. Many residents contacted the Society after hearing about the proposals in the media, unable to find any information on the Council’s website. The only Council notices available gave scant details and no context for the changes. The Council’s decision to categorise the change of use of parking bays as “a minor amendment and not requiring full public consultation” is felt to be unacceptable.

A Transport Strategy report was presented to Ealing Council’s cabinet on 5 June on behalf of the two relevant portfolio holders, Julian Bell, the leader of the Council who is also Cabinet member for Regeneration and Transport and Mik Sabiers, who has responsibility for Environment and Highways. The report states that there is only ‘modest pressure’ on parking spaces within some of the borough’s CPZs and it is necessary to rebalance the proportion of parking spaces in favour of all motorists not just residents.

The report says that 35% of streets in CPZs show an occupancy of over 75% and 10% are under 25% although it does not disclose whether this has been used as a basis for deciding which zones are participating in the shared bay proposal.

There are approximately 52,000 parking spaces in the borough of which 97% are for permit holders only. 86% of the 31,500 permits in the borough are issued due to a residential qualification. The Council’s Transport Strategy states that with the number of permits only amounting to 60% of the parking spaces in the borough a rebalancing is necessary.

In the same report significant increases in parking permit charges are proposed including a surcharge for all but the newest diesel cars and a sliding scale of charges based on carbon dioxide emissions. The average charge will increase by 50-60% depending on how the calculation is made.

Commenting on the outcome of this week's Ealing Cabinet meeting, the Society said: “We welcome the Council Leader’s acceptance of the offer from Councillor Gary Malcolm to discuss the many hundreds of objections in more detail but in order to make an impact on the decision-making process would urge any residents who are concerned about the proposals to submit their objections before the deadline of 11 June.”

The deadline for submitting comments on the proposed shared bays in CPZs in the area is 11 June. You should email them to highwayServices@ealing.gov.uk quoting ORDER 4114 and including your postal address.

June 9, 2018