Agenda item - Public Involvement

To consider the following matters raised by members of the public:

 

(a)          Petitions: To receive any petitions presented by members of the public;

 

(i)            South Portslade Parking Consultation

 

(ii)          Parking Permits for Vale Park area

 

(iii)         Please make zone J work for people south of the railway

 

(b)          Written Questions: To receive any questions submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 20 June 2018;

 

(c)          Deputations: To receive any deputations submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 20 June 2018.

 

(i)            Consultation on a Controlled Parking Zone in the Coombe Road area

(A)         PETITIONS

 

(i)            South Portslade Parking Consultation

 

(ii)          Parking Permits for Vale Park area

 

5.1         The Committee considered a petition signed by 219 people and a petition signed by 173 requesting parking consultations in the South Portslade area. Due to the similar requests of the petitions, the Chair provided a joint response as follows:

 

“Thank you for your petition and the views expressed at the recent public meeting at the Portslade Community Centre clearly outline the problems you are encountering and I do appreciate the issues in the South Portslade area.

It was agreed through a priority timetable agreed at this Committee last October that the South Portslade area would be consulted from autumn 2019.

A further report is planned later in 2018 to outline and discuss the extent of the consultation area and the Officer recommendations will be based on the views of the residents in your area and your petition today will also be taken into consideration”.

 

5.2         RESOLVED- That the committee note the petitions.

 

(iii)         Please make Zone J work for people south of the railway

 

5.3         The Committee considered a petition signed by 374 requesting the council to introduce measures to reduce pressures on parking in the Zone J area.

 

5.4         The Chair provided the following response:

 

“Thank you for your petition and I’m sorry to hear about the parking problems being encountered and I think it is the case that these schemes need to be reviewed after they’ve been in operation for a length of time. 

Members of this Committee agreed a timetable up to 2020/21 in October last year which includes reviews of new parking schemes and we gave permission to those parking schemes, most notably in the Hanover & Elm Grove area on the basis that they would be reviewed after a year of their operation so we have to honour that commitment . 

The timetable is based on a number of factors including the need to plan the extensive consultation work in the areas agreed which puts a lot of pressure on officers both at a project management and senior level.

However, we will be reviewing this timetable in light of recent requests and an update report will be presented to the ETS Committee next year which will include a review of Area J”.

 

5.5         RESOLVED- That the committee note the petition.

 

(C)     DEPUTATIONS

 

(i)           Consultation on a Controlled Parking Zone in the Coombe Road area

 

5.6         The Committee considered a deputation requesting an urgent consultation for a controlled parking zone in the Coombe Road area using Section 106 money linked to the upcoming Preston Barracks development.

 

5.7         Councillor Yates addressed the committee in support of the deputation noting that Section 106 funding provided an opportunity to consult on controlled parking zone outside of the agreed timetable and one was urgently needed due to the impact of the Preston Barracks development.

 

5.8         Councillor Hill addressed the committee in support of the deputation and requested that Saunders Park be included in the consultation due to the knock on effect a potential zone in Coombe Road would have upon residents.

 

5.9         The Chair provided the following response:

 

“Thank you for your deputation and I do understand the concerns of residents in your area which was also outlined to this Committee last year.

As I outlined previously there is a priority parking scheme timetable which runs up to 2020/21 and this was agreed by the Committee in October 2017. 

The area north of Bear Road was not included in the timetable but following the allocation of external Section 106 funding for a consultation and the correspondence received, we are looking to include this consultation within the current timetable period and we will be using external support to do that which officers will look to procure.

Officers will present a report to this Committee later in the year to review the correspondence we have received including this petition as well as consideration of a viable area to consult which will take full account representations made today.

If that is agreed we could start preparation work before the end of the year and we would be looking to send out an initial consultation document early next year”.

 

5.10      Councillor West asked for further clarification as to how the area could be brought forward in the controlled parking zone consultation timetable. Councillor West added that the update report referred to should be brought to the committee in the autumn rather than in 2019 as there was too much uncertainty about the current process.

 

5.11      The Chair responded that the committee had agreed a timetable that officers were currently working to and that had given many communities confidence that they would receive a parking scheme consultation at a specific time. With regard to the response provided to the deputation, the Chair reiterated that the consultation in the area north of Bear Road could be delivered due to the availability of external funding. The Chair supplemented that the review to be received by the committee early next year would update on progress made on the timetable and detail scheduling on new requests for consultation received from residents. The Chair supplemented that the parking consultation team was small and there was limited funding available however, good progress was being made on delivering the agreed timetable.

 

5.12      Councillor Wares stated that whilst the committee had agreed a timetable, the possible introduction of a scheme north of Bear Road would have an immediate impact upon areas in Whitehawk, Moulsecoomb and Coldean and place parking pressures on other areas after that. Councillor Wares stated that he believed a wider consultation was necessary, perhaps citywide.

 

5.13      The Chair replied that by way of assurance, officers would be requested to include detail of how neighbouring areas would be impacted by a parking scheme north of Bear Road and any issues could be considered in the wider progress report to be received by the committee in 2019.

 

5.14      RESOLVED- That the Committee note the deputation.

 

(ii)          Street Bollards to Reduce Anti-Social Parking on George Street, Hove

 

5.15      The Committee considered a deputation requesting a review of street furniture in George Street, Hove to prevent anti-social parking.

 

5.16      The Chair provided the following response:

 

“Thank you Councillor Moonan and Wealls for your helpful suggestions about improvements that could be made to George Street and your commitment to help find a solution.

George Street is a busy street with many competing demands, it is mainly a pedestrian area but does obviously have to accommodate deliveries and so forth. It is the case that resources are limited but from a road safety perspective officers think that a safety audit should be undertaken to assess any risks and the current lay-out of the street will be taken into consideration as part of that assessment.   This will then guide a future programme of work to deal with the key issues that have been identified.  I will ask officers to keep you informed of the progress of this work. The document you brought along this afternoon will also be really helpful in guiding that”.

 

5.17      Councillor West noted that the ward councillors for Central Hove had attended a previous committee requesting an extension to the hours George Street was open to traffic and were now asking for a reduction in parking. Councillor West stated that he was generally against adding street furniture as it created difficulties for those with impaired sight and mobility difficulties and he believed the removal of cars at all times on George Street to be the best solution.

 

5.18      Councillor Littman agreed with Councillor West and added that there was an existing system to report illegal and anti-social parking with an hour response time.

 

5.19      Councillor Peltzer Dunn stated that he supported the comments made by the Central Hove councillors adding that physical barriers were the only available solution.

 

5.20      RESOLVED- That the deputation be noted.

 

(iii)         Ban on Juggernauts in George Street

 

5.21      The Committee considered a deputation requesting a vehicle weight restriction be introduced on George Street as a safety measure and to reduce pollution and noise.

 

5.22      The Chair provided the following response:

 

“By law, the businesses in George Street have to be allowed access to servicing and deliveries.  The size and weight of the vehicles is determined by the logistics companies themselves and the businesses.

Environmental Traffic Orders are often used to restrict large vehicles using unsuitable routes but these relate to through traffic and within the order, access for deliveries still has to be allowed for businesses and residents.  It is not possible for the council to use such an order to restrict deliveries and to do so could leave the council open to legal challenge.

I am happy to ask officers to work with you to gain an understanding of the particular deliveries carried out by these very large lorries and then to discuss this issue with the businesses concerned and to try to find out why the loading bays are not always being used”.

 

5.23      RESOLVED- That the committee note the deputation.

 

(iv)         Wish Park Surgery objecting to TRO-09-2018

 

5.24      The Committee considered a deputation requesting that amendments be made to the proposed TRO-09-2018 to address concerns regarding safety and urgent access to Wish Park Surgery.

 

5.25      The Chair provided the following response:

 

“Thank you for attending today and presenting your deputation about parking in Portland Road on behalf of the Wish Road Surgery Patients Participation Group.  As it relates to the report Item 13 on our agenda today, so I propose that your comments are considered more fully as part of our consideration of that report and a summary of them is in the report’s appendices”.

 

5.26      RESOLVED- That the committee note the deputation.

 

5.27      Councillor Peltzer Dunn noted that the committee agenda had many items to consider and asked if Item 13 could be moved up the agenda due to representation at the meeting from Wish Park Surgery.

 

5.28      The Chair agreed to the request and the report would be taken as the first item of substantive business.