Parking wardens swoop during confusion over street cleansing

Wilmington Avenue where dozens of parking tickets were issued

Residents in Grove Park are furious following the issuing of over forty parking tickets on Thursday morning (17 May) during confusion over street cleansing times amid parking disruption due to gasworks.

The area has been short of parking spaces ever since the gas works started at Station Parade, and locals have now demanded suspension of nearby CPZs to enable people to park legally without being ticketed. They also want the suspension of street cleansing until the gas works are completed.

On Thursday, Hounslow Highways suspended parking in Burlington Lane and Wilmington Avenue for street cleansing.

But as no street cleaning operatives had arrived by late morning residents thought it was not going ahead and parked in the street. According to one local resident, at 11.50, three and possibly four, parking wardens arrived and ticketed over forty cars in Wilmington Avenue for a £55 fine each.

Newly elected councillor Gabriella Giles has picked up the case, along with Riverside councillor Sam Hearn and they have asked for the PCNS to be withdrawn. They have also raised the matter of suspending CPZs and Cllr Giles has queried the notice given to locals for suspension of parking, which has to be three days.

The Grove Park area is divided into partial CPZ streets (10-12 noon) and non-CPZ streets.

A petition has also been started which states: "Gas repairs in Burlington Lane are causing immense parking pressure on non-CPZ roads in Grove Park. We would like Hounslow Council to temporarily suspend some adjoining CPZ roads to relieve that pressure.

"Burlington Lane has been totally closed outside Chiswick School for some weeks removing a lot of mainly commuter parking and pushing this onto non-CPZ roads. Now major works have started by Chiswick Station will add to the misery of local residents. (These repairs are due to last for another 8-12 weeks)

"Coupled with the displacement caused by the recent expansion CPZ 2 and the planned street cleaning in the next weeks, parking is getting impossible for local residents.

"We would like Hounslow Council to immediately suspend parking on Sutton Court Road South which is mostly empty since the introduction of CPZ 2 and also Staveley Road and Park Road (South). This would alleviate the parking pressure for the whole area.

"We would also like a temporary E3 bus stop found for Chiswick Station on Burlington Lane (north side). This busy stop has been removed meaning the elderly and disabled have to walk from the previous stop to the station."

Patients to the Grove Park Surgery have complained that they have nowhere to park, and difficulties with public transport due to the displaced bus stop.

One local commented that streets are "rammed with commuters" vehicles even more than usual due to the work on the other side of the station.

At Wilmington Avenue, one car was observed on Friday evening by chiswickw4.com with a PCN lodged on its windscreen, presumably someone who had parked in the street (which does not have a CPZ) to be close to the railway station to go on holidays.

Parking control is handled by Serco on behalf of Hounslow Council, which has recently extended its contract, so appeals would not be handled by Hounslow Council, as pointed out by Cllr Hearn.

One local resident posted on our forum:"Signs went up less than 5 days before cleaning in Park Road. Our neighbour has been on holiday and is due back tomorrow. Both their cars were ticketed. Do they have grounds for appeal?"

May 21, 2018