Brent Council is currently undertaking a major consultation exercise across its council estates on parking enforcement LINK. They wish to introduce a Traffic Management Order (TMO) on the estates and note 'should residents not support the proposals...an alternative enforcement service will not be available on the estate.' In other words, according to some residents if you do not support this proposal current difficulties will continue and we will abandon you to your fate.
The parking restrictions will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and will require residents to purchase parking permits at £50 per permit per year. Given the number of people living on all the above estates that amounts to a considerable sum, leading some people to suggest this is just a money raising venture.
A further criticism has been that this is a 'one size fits all' approach ignoring differences between estates and their proximity to Wembley Stadium, underground stations, major shopping centres etc which lead to outsiders parking on some estates but not on others.
A particular issue that has been drawn to my attention is that the consultation states that 'due to the restricted amount of parking space available on the estate and the need to provide the maximum amount of parking for residents, visitors will initially be unable to park within the estate' - this would be reviewed once the scheme is operational and the number of free spaces determined. Given that family visiting at weekends and particularly for festivals is an important cultural tradition for many of Brent's communities this is seen as posing a challenge for any equalities impact assessment.
Since publication of this article the Kilburn Times has published an article where women on the Kings Drive Estate have raised the issue of women's safety if they have to park a distance from their homes. See LINK
Visitors parking on the estate would risk a Fixed Penalty Notice which at present is £130.
On my estate the removal of garages and a car park for 'in-fill' housing has reduced the number of parking spaces available but will also increase the population. While wanting people to rely less on cars and use public transport instead I cannot deny the impact this has had and will also affect other estates ear-marked for in-fill developments.
There are undoubtedly parking problems and this has meant many missed waste collections when the huge Veolia vehicles cannot get access. There are outsiders who park cars and vans on the estate overnight with the occasional overnighter sleeping in their vehicles on the access road.
The maps produced for the consultation appear to indicate fewer parking bays than are currently available. On this plan for Kings Drive, Wembley, you can see that there are 17 blocks each with 10 households. The number of parking bays is indicated in green.
A key question, given previous problems with enforcement by Brent Council, is will this mean anything if enforcement is not effective? Look again at all the estates affected and the ground that has to be covered.
Engagement sessions have been organised as part of the consultation, many of which have already taken place DETAILS
The consultation closes on November 4th at 23.59
BRENT COUNCIL'S REASONS FOR THE CHANGE
Why do we need to make these changes?
Vehicles parking in an unsafe and inconsiderate way blocks roads and pavements, and are making it difficult and unsafe for residents to move around their estates, as well as hindering access for the Council’s refuse collection vehicles. Residents on the estates are also finding it more and more difficult to find a space to park their car. More seriously, unsafe parking can prevent fire engines and ambulances from getting to the estates for emergencies.
How do the new controls work differently to the current ones?
Under the current system, Wing Parking (enforcement agents) are not legally allowed to access DVLA information, meaning they can only ever enforce against estates residents, not those parking there without permission. The new system will make it easier for the Council to enforce against vehicles parked poorly or inconsiderately which cause problems in the estates. These stricter controls have been proven to deter nuisance estate parking when used by other London authorities.
What are the benefits of these changes?
- Residents should find it easier to access a suitable parking space.
- There should be less disruption to emergency service vehicles, allowing them to respond more rapidly to issues on the estates.
- Unauthorised vehicles will be deterred from entering the estates and parking in resident bays, which will increase parking availability for estate residents.
- Unobstructed footways will improve parking accessibility and safety for pedestrians, the mobility impaired and pedestrians with pushchairs.
- There should be an improvement in access for Council services, including a reduction in missed waste collections.