Agenda for Cabinet Planning and Parking Panel on Thursday 10th January 2019, 7.30 pm

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Council Offices, The Campus, Welwyn Garden City, Herts, AL8 6AE

Contact: Gurdip Paddan 

Items
No. Item

112.

SUBSTITUTIONS

To note any substitution of Committee Members in accordance with Council Procedure Rules 19 – 22.

Minutes:

The follow substitution of Panel Members had been made in accordance with Council Procedure Rules 19-22:-

 

Councillor J. Boulton for S.Glick

Councillor S. Elam for A. Rohale.

 

113.

APOLOGIES

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors S. Glick and A. Rohale.

 

114.

MINUTES

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2018 (previously circulated).

Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2018 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

115.

DECLARATION OF INTERESTS BY MEMBERS

To note declarations of Members’ disclosable pecuniary interests, non-disclosable pecuniary interests and non-pecuniary interests in respect of items on this Agenda.

 

 

Minutes:

Councillors S. Boulton and P. Zukowskyj declared a non-pecuniary interest in items on the agenda as appropriate by virtue of being Members of Hertfordshire County Council.

 

116.

PUBLIC QUESTION TIME AND PETITIONS

Up to fifteen minutes will be made available for questions from members of the public on issues relating to the work of the Committee and to receive any petitions.

 

 

Minutes:

Two questions were received regarding the Parkway Close A03 Scheme and the proposed additional four hard-standings that would be built.  The Chairman provided an opportunity for the questioners to ask their questions but the residents advised that they had already received a response to the questions prior to the meeting. 



The following Petition with 37 signatures was noted:

 

Exclude the ban from crossover parking from the planned Verge Protection Order

We the undersigned on the petition to the Council believe that the planned verge protection order should not include the ban of parking on crossovers where vehicles are not blocking the footpath nor overhanging onto the road.

This ban on crossover parking reduces the parking provision in the town and does little or nothing to reduce damage to the verges when compared to other causes of verge damage.  It is an unnecessary measure and should be excluded.

 

 

117.

INTRODUCTION OF VERGE PROTECTION ORDER IN VARIOUS ROADS, HANDSIDE, WELWYN GARDEN CITY pdf icon PDF 110 KB

Report of the Corporate Director (Resources, Environment and Cultural Services) on the introduction of a Verge Protection Order (VPO) to cover verges, footways and vehicle crossovers (VXOs). The VPO which covered the four areas was formally advertised in December 2017 (Appendix B).

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report of the Corporate Director (Resources, Environment and Cultural Services) on the introduction of Verge Protection Order in various roads, Handside Ward, Welwyn Garden City.  The Council had consulted residents in the four areas which have been described as Parkway A, B, C and D.  The proposals included the introduction of a Verge Protection Order (VPO) to cover verges, footways and vehicle crossovers (VXOs).

 

The Council had received a number of requests to deal with people parking on the verge and pavements.  The report noted that at present, enforcement of parking on the pavement was the remit of the Police, as this could be classed as an obstruction; however this is being regarded as a low priority for the Police due to other work pressures.  Vehicles parking on the verge and green areas have been reported through to the Council and the Street Warden team who would monitor and place notices on vehicles parking in such areas, requesting that they refrain from doing this. Without a VPO in place, there are no means to effectively manage vehicles parking in these areas.

 

A highly attended residents’ meeting was held in the Council Chamber on the 24 October 2018 which was generally positive. However, residents in Parkway Close and Honeycroft felt there were extenuating circumstances which needed further investigation. A meeting was held by members from both HCC and WHBC in November 2018 and possible options were explored.  A meeting also took place with Ward Councillors and County Councillors for the area on the 20 December 2018 in which alternative solutions were discussed and agreed by Councillors, as the only way forward to address the concerns of the residents particularly in Parkway Close and Honeycroft.

 

The report set out the results of the informal consultation, the statutory consultation and the recommended course of action.  A total of 258 properties and businesses had been consulted.  The report also outlined the amendments the Council was proposing and the objections which were received in response to the advertised VPO.

 

The Officer outlined the current situation in Parkway Close and although consultation to include the four new areas and the four formal crossovers would take place before and during the construction, the Officer also advised that the four parking bays and further agreed works in Parkway would be completed before enforcement commences to enforce the new restrictions.  In terms of funding, the option had been discussed with County Councillor Quinton who had agreed to look at funding through his Locality Budget.

 

Members were advised that the Council had also recognised Honeycroft as a special case, in fact residents are in a worse position than those in Parkway Close as they do not have access to a parking area within Honeycroft itself. In some cases, the driveways which are classed as public highway end at the entrance to the garage attached to the property. In the October meeting of CPPP as with Parkway Close, the Verge Protection Order had been amended to remove driveways from the VPO.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 117.

118.

SALISBURY VILLAGE (DOUBLE YELLOW LINES) AND WOODS AVENUE, HATFIELD pdf icon PDF 85 KB

Report of the Corporate Director (Resources, Environment and Cultural Services) on the Salisbury Village which is currently unadopted, however it is likely to be adopted by Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) in 2019/2020. Currently the parking is managed by a private contractor, once the area is adopted and classed as public highway, the contractor will not be able to continue to manage the parking in the same way.

Woods Avenue, Hatfield is on the cusp of the Aldykes area, which is on the current Parking Services Work Programme. The Council are looking to include this in to the Aldykes Project.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered the report of the Corporate Director (Resources, Environment and Cultural Services) on the Salisbury Village (Double Yellow lines) and Woods Avenue, Hatfield.  Woods Avenue, Hatfield being on the cusp of the Aldykes area, which is on the current Parking Services Work Programme.  Due to a number of complaints from residents, the Police, Cycle clubs and Uno the bus company, the Council is considering to include this in to the Aldykes Project.

 

The report noted that Salisbury Village was currently unadopted but likely to be adopted by Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) in 2019/2020.  Currently the parking was being managed by a private contractor, once the area is adopted and classed as public highway, the contractor would not be able to continue to manage the parking in the same way. Currently there is a resident permit scheme in operation 24/7 and sections of double yellow lines at junctions for safety reasons.

 

The Panel was advised that the present section of the double yellow lines were introduced for safety reasons and to formalise these restrictions would be a more simple process.  Part of the sections of advisory double yellow lines and school keep clear restrictions, as shown in Appendix A, which does not have a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) attached to them. This caused some concern as the Council’s Parking Enforcement Contractor is unable to enforce vehicles contravening these restrictions.

 

The residents permit scheme is a much bigger project, the Council would not be able to enforce the scheme 24/7 and residents currently do not pay for permits/vouchers which they would need to if a Council manage permits scheme was introduced. Also, as this was private land it was the developer’s choice to introduce the permit scheme to address the displacement of student/business parking. So if residents were consulted it is likely that the restrictions would be significantly different to what is in place now. This being a larger project, which Parking Services do not have the resource at this time to address. This would be considered for a future work programme.

 

Members raised the issue of bottlenecks and construction traffic congestion within the area in question. The problem was further exacerbated by parents stopping to drop off children on the double yellow lines. The Officer stated that there were a number of issues in Woods Avenue and would look to carry out a feasibility study to understand these. The report would also provide possible solutions which may need to be discussed with Hertfordshire County Council if they are traffic management related rather than parking. 

 

A suggestion was made in terms of adding kerb bar markings to restrict parking and loading.  The Officer explained that it would be difficult to introduce such marking as any objection would lead to a public enquiry.

 

It was moved by Councillor S. Kasumu, seconded by Councillor H. Bromley and

 

RESOLVED

(Unanimous)

 

1.    That the Panel recommends to Cabinet to add Salisbury Village (double yellow lines) in the Parking Services Work Programme 2019/2020, as outlined in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118.