Agenda item

Forward Plan Ref: 2020/015

Contact: Hugh Potter, Group Manager – Area Operations Hub Tel: 07766 998704

Report by the Interim Director for Community Operations (CMDE5).

New Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) are being proposed across Oxford to address parking pressures for residents due to commuter parking. In addition to the difficulties residents face in finding a parking place such excess parking demand can result in the roads (in particular near junctions), footways and accesses being obstructed by parked vehicles to the detriment of road safety and the movement of pedestrians, cyclists and other road users including the emergency services.

The Cabinet Member for the Environment is RECOMMENDED to approve  the proposals as advertised for a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) in  the Cowley Marsh area, noting that local consultations may be carried out in respect of changes to proposals for part of Barracks Lane and also in respect of minor changes to proposals for no waiting at any time restrictions.

Following approval in June 2018 and April 2019 of a programme of new CPZs in Oxford, the Cabinet Member for Environment considered (CMDE5) responses to a formal consultation on a new CPZ in the Cowley Marsh area.

Steve Malton a resident spoke in favour of a CPZ in this area. It was not uncommon to have to park over 100m from your own property, or to have to do 3 or 4 laps of the block before a space became available. Residents were parking on blind corners or across driveways, as there was simply no space available although that had improved slightly due to the absence of students due to the ongoing Covid situation.  Having reviewed other responses he had seen that a number of people had stated that they saw no issue with parking while noting that the majority of those respondents lived at the more southern end of the proposed zone - Bhandari Close, Morris Crescent, etc. While he had no doubt that they genuinely saw no issue in their area, he hoped they would also acknowledge that there were genuine issues in areas adjacent to the existing zones such as sections of Cricket Road and Ridgefield Road north of Howard Street, which lay adjacent to two existing zones, and needed this CPZ to prevent both commuter parking and spillover from the other zones. While the areas of the zone further away might not see problems now, should they be excluded from a new zone, those issues would quickly move to those areas.  Others had objected to permits even though they had dedicated parking. As you will be aware, permits are not required for parking on land that is part of the residents' own property, so I hope the concerns of these residents can be met.  He believed the creation of a CPZ in this area would make it less attractive as an informal park and ride for commuters; reduce the number of cars brought in by residents of HMOs and encourage residents just inside the boundary of adjacent zones to obtain their own permits and use the zone where they lived. Finally, he sought assurances that new subdivisions, and existing subdivisions made without planning permission, be excluded from permit entitlement.

Judith Harley spoke on behalf of the Elder Stubbs Charity who owned the allotment site adjacent to Bhandari Close, within the Cowley Marsh Area proposed CPZ. As there was no parking provision within the site allotment holders and employees parked in Bhandari Close and Cricket Road. They opposed the proposals as no provision had been made for allotment holders or employees or contractors and, if approved, as advertised would make it difficult for them and others to park near to the allotments, especially during evenings and weekends, or for longer daytime periods and as many allotment holders were elderly and often needed to transport equipment and materials to the site they needed to park close by. The proposals for Bhandari Close and Cricket Road would particularly penalise those who wish to access the allotments in summer evenings and weekends. The restrictions did not apply in Barracks Lane, where the CPZ proposals made special allowance for parking near to the Barracks Lane allotments offering them flexibility for allotment use, with 4-hour parking slots and a wider range of parking times. There had been no such allowance or consideration for their needs. Weekends and light summer mornings and evenings were particularly popular times for gardeners to tend their allotments, yet the current proposals offered no opportunity at all to park before 8 a.m. or after 6.30 p.m. and no opportunity to park for more than two hours during other times. Two of our employees – our allotment site Estate Managers, one of whom lives in West Hanney – often started work at 7.30 a.m. and could finish at any time between 1 p.m. and 4 .30 p.m., so they would be extremely inconvenienced. They were the first port of call for any emergency on site and could not rely on public transport, especially when they might have heavy tools to transport to the site. Your proposals offered business and contractor permits but with limited availability and at a charge. They were not a business, but a registered charity, with a remit to provide facilities, grants, and open space for those who were disadvantaged in Oxford East and we relied on contractors for heavy-duty site maintenance. They had three permanent employees, occasional temporary employees, occasional contractors, over one hundred allotment holders, a range of volunteers and eleven Trustees. You propose exemptions to include universal service providers; vehicles used in connection with road works and works to utility services and official funeral vehicles so could these exemptions not be extended to include those who work on, or in association with, our allotments? On behalf of our allotment holders and employees I am asking you to change the proposed restrictions in Bhandari Close and Cricket Road to offer increased parking time and extended parking hours for non-permit holders and the opportunity for our allotment holders and employees to park at length at weekends. It was logical, fair, and appropriate to provide us with at least the same flexibility for parking, or more, as at Barracks Lane allotments. We appreciate that the CPZs are being proposed to reduce parking pressure for residents due to commuter parking, but we are not commuters. Please amend the proposals for Bhandari Close and Cricket Road to offer a minimum of four-hour parking between 7.30 a.m. and 9.30 p.m. every day, with exemptions for those parking on allotment business.

The Cabinet Member noted representations had been received from:

Mohammed Mannan a resident who had lived in this area for the last 35 years and who supported the proposal. He considered the parking situation was getting worse every year especially in term time when the university was open. Sometimes people parked their vehicles on our street and then went to work in town by bus making it difficult to park our own cars.

County Councillor Jamila Azad advised her residents had suffered for years from fly parking and commuters parking in front of their doors. This part of Cowley Road had a high level of traffic, heavy lorries and 10 Buses but residents were having to park hundreds of meters away as spaces were often taken by commuters who wouldn’t qualify for a resident parking permit. The current proposal for permit parking for residents on the side streets along Cowley Road would bring real benefits to those living there but didn’t allow residents of Cowley to have parking permits. She requested that the scheme be extended to include the length of Cowley Road allowing residents there to qualify for parking permits.

John Grogan, Nicole Ashman & Luisa Parnell opposed the proposed Controlled Parking Zone & Parking Restrictions, for several reasons. They lived in Reliance Way, so our objections referred to that road, although they imagined they were also likely to apply to nearby roads as well. Firstly, the zone seemed to aim to reduce parking during working hours (mon-fri, 8am-6.30pm), despite there not being an issue of over-parking during working hours in Reliance Way, even outside of the current pandemic situation. Normally, there was ample parking during working hours as most people drove from their homes to their work and parked there, leaving Reliance Way quiet. There were few businesses around this area, meaning people did not drive to park here during the day. Any attempt to reduce parking by non-residents during these hours was an attempt to solve a problem that did not exist. Secondly, as this scheme would not help the residents of Reliance Way in any way, because the problem did not exist the proposal, therefore, to charge them £65 for parking which was currently free and was free when we bought or rented the properties was an unnecessary surcharge for living in these streets. Thirdly, the proposed permit scheme was heavily biased against HMO properties with the limit of two permits per household clearly set up for a family, while properties with more than two adults living in them would not be able to get enough permits. In this case, what would they do?  Finally, given that people were now due to the pandemic working from home more and actually parking in these roads during the day instead of driving away to work and the uncertainty about how long this situation would last and when/if people would be going back to work this seemed the worst time that such a proposal could be considered, let alone implemented. The only reason they could see for this proposal was the revenue it would bring to the Council, from the residents of these streets.

The Cabinet Member acknowledged the representations she had received and as with all such schemes there were varied opinions. She was mindful that it had been suggested that a review of the scheme be carried out approximately 12 months after implementation of the CPZ should it be approved, but with a review of its impact specifically on the Cowley Road being carried out within six months of its implementation. She further noted advice from officers who considered that as they were satisfied that correct procedures had been used when progressing this scheme a complaint lodged against the scheme on those grounds should not hold up implementation.

Therefore, having regard to the information set out in the report and the representations made to and received by her at the meeting the Cabinet Member confirmed her decision as follows:

to approve   proposals as advertised for a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) in the Cowley Marsh area, noting that local consultations may be carried out in respect of changes to proposals for part of Barracks Lane and Elder Stubbs Charity Allotment Groups regarding arrangements to include the possibility of issuing visitor permits, in respect of minor changes to proposals for no waiting at any time restrictions and that properties on Cowley Road itself would also be eligible for permits on the same basis as those proposed for those properties on the side roads included in this CPZ.

Signed……………………………………..

Cabinet Member for Environment

Date of signing……………………………