The Highways and Transportation Area Manager for Area 6 to be in attendance.
Minutes:
The following statement was read out by John Birkenshaw:
“The following three streets on Springfield Avenue.
1. Spring Grove (HG1 2HT)
2. Spring Mount (HG1 2HX) and
3. Springfield Mews (HG1 2HT)
Are all cul-de-sac streets (not through roads), where parking for residents has become critical, and is now at a premium.
There are ‘Access Only’ signs at the entrance of the streets; however, and bizarrely
the streets are designated for free, 3-hour Disc Parking, which is in direct contradiction with the ‘Access Only’ signage. This contradiction could possibly lead to legal action if a motorist appealed a parking ticket.
Guests staying at nearby hotels, (Majestic Hotel, Crown Plaza, and Premier Inn),
together with visitors to the Conference Centre and Royal Hall regularly park in these
streets, often overnight, in order to save car parking fees at the venues, that provide
ample parking for guests and visitors.
Residents living in these streets purchase parking permits to enjoy the privilege of
parking their own vehicles on these streets; together with books of visitor permits for
visitors to park their vehicles when visiting. However, residents regularly find there are no parking spaces for their own, or their visitors’ vehicles, (especially after 6pm at the end of the parking disc time restrictions) and have to park many hundred yards away, which becomes a serious safety issue for residents, having to content with inclement weather, dark nights and uneven pavements.
Sixty-one households out of then ninety in these streets have signed a petition
requesting that the free parking ‘Disc Parking’ signage be replace with ‘Resident Only’ parking, to ensure there are parking places for residents and stop abuse of parking by users of the nearby hotels and conference centre.
I wish to stress that this matter has become worse over recent years at the expense
of residents who not only pay council tax, vehicle tax, residents parking permits and
separate permits for visitors, to find they cannot gain the benefit of the paid for permits”
Mark Codman (Democratic Services) read out the following statement on behalf of Melissa Burnham (Area 6 Highways Manager):
“Officers acknowledge the statement of support by Councillor Lacey and would draw the committee’s attention to both the Residents Parking policy documents and the Champion’s Guide. Links of which can be provided to members.
The stages within the guidance states that the support of the ACC chair is sought for in stage one, after which an appropriate resource will be allocated, and necessary reviews would be carried out by the local team. It states in stage 5 that if a recommendation identifies a proposed Traffic Regulation Order with a wider area impact it would be presented to the ACC by officers for feedback, in advance of the final recommendation to go to Environment Exec meeting for a final decision.
The local team would be happy to pick this up separately with Cllr Lacey, to identify next steps with this particular case”.
The Chair noted that Members were unanimously supportive of the public statement and Melissa Burnham’s response.