Agenda item

Forward Plan Ref: 2021/008

Contact: Hugh Potter, Group Manager – Area Operations Hub Tel: 07766 998704/Mike Wasley, Principal Officer – Traffic Schemes Tel: 07393 001045

Report by Corporate Director, Environment and Place (CMDE6).

The report presents responses received to a statutory consultation on proposed waiting restrictions on various roads in west Bicester to address hazardous and obstructive parking. Funding for consultation on the proposals has been provided from the Councillor Priority Fund for County Councillor Waine and County Councillor Sibley and, if approved, installation of the proposals will be funded from the maintenance budget.

The Cabinet Member for Environment is RECOMMENDED to approve:

a)      waiting restrictions on Chalvey Road, Danes Road, Dryden Avenue, Dryden Avenue Cul-de-Sac, Huxley Close, Isis Avenue, Kennedy Road, Lawrence Way, Ray Road , Severn Close, St Edith’s Way, Tubb Close, Tweed Crescent and Villiers Road as advertised;

b)     a reduced extent of waiting restrictions on the west side of Hemingway Drive at the request of County Councillor Les Sibley as shown at Annex 4 to the report.

The Cabinet Member for Environment considered (CMDE6) responses received to a statutory consultation on proposed waiting restrictions on various roads in west Bicester to address hazardous and obstructive parking. Funding for consultation on the proposals had been provided from the Councillor Priority Fund for County Councillor Waine and County Councillor Sibley and, if approved, installation of the proposals will be funded from the maintenance budget.

Welcoming the proposals Councillor Sibley also referred to the support proffered by many residents to the on-street parking restrictions proposed at the junction of Lodden Close and Villiers Road with the Middleton Stoney Road, whilst retaining parking spaces for local residents. The traffic orders for Lawrence Way, Chalvey Road and Ray Road were supported as outlined in the report. He also supported the proposal at the Tubbs Close, Danes Road, St Edith’s Way and Kennedy Road crossroads which would improve road safety and visibility issues in the area. He thanked officers for fine tuning the traffic regulations for the Hemingway Drive and Huxley Close proposals as it allowed for on street parking whilst improving road safety and visibility issues. He noted that there had been no objections from residents to the Dryden Avenue, Tweed Crescent and Severn Close proposals or Thames Valley Police, Fire & Rescue, Oxford Bus Company raise and Bicester Town Council who had stressed the need for enforcement.   Addressing concerns from some residents that the introduction of double yellow lines might lead to displacement parking he suggested a review could be carried out following completion of the signage and lines to address any issues that might arise. 

Supporting the proposals County Councillor Michael Waine added that the issues at Buckingham Crescent needed to be seen to be believed. The Crescent a 1930’s development that sat alongside the Buckingham Road in his Division in Bicester comprised short terraces with no garages and limited space for parking inside the curtilage of the properties. Only the entrance was a crescent as most of the houses were in a hammer head that led off the crescent section. The problems it suffered were manifold with parking from near-by businesses across Buckingham Road, including a garage, parking for Bicester North Railway Station and the X5 and S5 buses to Oxford as well as two businesses. It was not unusual to see double, even treble parking, which residents must cope with on a daily basis and these parking problems meant that pedestrians accessing either the shops or their homes often had no footpath available to them and the area immediately in front of these ‘shops’ flooded even after the smallest amount of rain. Over recent years parking problems at the far end of the Crescent had been resolved with efforts underway now to resolve the issues outlined to alleviate the problems and improve the area. The parking proposals needed to be supported in order to support the residents in the Crescent but that further steps could be necessary in the future.

A written representation from Mike Lee emphasised that double yellow lines were essential on each end of and throughout the section of Dryden Avenue, excluding the two existing lay-bys, between Dove Green and Derwent Road, before a serious, or even fatal, accident occurred due to visibility being obscured by vehicles parked on any part of this section of Dryden Avenue.

Officers reported a late objection from a resident of Danes Road and confirmed that the proposal suggested by Mr Lee was outside the scope of the decision to be taken today.

The Cabinet Member for Environment acknowledged the submissions by the two local members and confirmed that the proposal put forward by Mr Lee could not be considered as part of any decision and needed to be consulted on separately. Therefore, having regard to the information set out in the report before her together with the representations made to her at the meeting including the advice from officers regarding further restrictions on Dryden Avenue she confirmed her decision as follows:

to approve:

a)      waiting restrictions on Chalvey Road, Danes Road, Dryden Avenue, Dryden Avenue Cul-de-Sac, Huxley Close, Isis Avenue, Kennedy Road, Lawrence Way, Ray Road , Severn Close, St Edith’s Way, Tubb Close, Tweed Crescent and Villiers Road as advertised;

b)     a reduced extent of waiting restrictions on the west side of Hemingway Drive at the request of County Councillor Les Sibley as shown at Annex 4 to the report CMDE6

c)     officers asked to investigate with the local member a suggestion by a local resident to add a double yellow line restriction on that length of Dryden Avenue between Dove Green and Derwent Road; excluding only the two existing lay-bys.

Signed……………………………………...

Cabinet Member for Environment

Date of signing…………………………….