Monday, May 28, 2007
CONTROLLED PARKING ISSUES.
CONTROLLED PARKING PROPOSALS TULSE HILL/HERNE HILL-
(Croxted/Rosendale/Guernsey/Hawarden inter alia.
The following text is From Clr John Whelan, Thurlow Park Ward and leader of Conservative Group Lambeth Council
Subject: RE: Tulse Hill Controlled Parking Zone Extension
I have been advised by Lambeth Council officials as follows about the timetable for the consultation over the proposed extension of the Tulse Hill Controlled Parking Zone. The officer says the lead person on this has left the council and they are recruiting a successor - it took some two weeks for Lambeth officers to own up to the fact that this particular officer had left and no one had taken over his responsibilities. Where I work when not on council duties that would mean someone getting the sack.
The rest of the advice is in quotes:
"The intention had been to conduct the initial consultation in the summer, the detailed consultation in the autumn, and implementation next spring. Since there was some disagreement over the boundary of the consultation area, this will be subject to a Delegated Decision. The report is currently being checked prior to circulation. I expect the decision to be made and a new project manager to be in place in time to commence discussions with key stakeholders and the first stage of the consultation in June/July."
To my mind this is nothing short of a fiasco since the scheme was originally due to be put out for consultation in July 2005. Nor can I understand the reticence over disclosing the areas where consultation is to take place. I have also received separately some concerns expressed by a local resident which I am circulating more widely as I think they pose concerns regardless of whether people agree with having controlled parking or not:
"I recently had a conversation with a friend who lives in Brixton, regarding the consultation process for a CPZ on their road. It would seem that someone had managed to photocopy the response form, which was then distributed to all and sundry (including people who regularly used her street as a car park). The result of this part of the consultation was a huge NO!, despite the fact that the majority of residents wanted the CPZ. It may worth ensuring the robustness of any future postal consultation.
In the advice mentioned above, it talks about a "delegated decision" meaning that it is a decision taken by officers not elected members. However, a delegated decision can be "called in" by members for review, especially if it is unreasonable. I am planning to seek a high level briefing about this project invoking what is called the "councillor's need to know" right and will come back to you in due course keeping all options open for the time being
Thanks you for reading this - please feel free to forward this advice to anyone who you might think has an interest in the matter, which is potentially the most important change in the street scene for many years in our ward. It goes beyond which streets are to be included because it must take account of displacement at the boundaries of the scheme as well as the existence of nearby Southwark CPZs.
With a scheme of this kind there are not only issues around the hours of operation but also the signs and lines will be changed. Once the scheme is in place there will undoubtedly be aggressive enforcement and finally the basic permit charge has now been increased to £115 a year.
With best regards
Cllr John Whelan
Thurlow Park Ward Councillor (1990 - )Leader of the Conservative Opposition - Lambeth Council (1998 - )Member London Fire Authority - Responsible for Health and Safety (2002- )Tel: 07802 412761Fax: 0207 926 2845Daytime Phone: 0207 926 2213 (PA Carol)Address: Room 102, Lambeth Town Hall, London SW2 1RW
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