Agenda item

i)                    A Petition with 64 signatures from Mr P Onyszkow will be presented by Mr John Legrys CC.  The petition requests for a review of general parking restrictions in Coalville and specifically Margaret Street with a view to adopting residential parking permits.

ii)                   A Petition with 26 signatures from Mr and Mrs Hickin and Mr and Mrs Leatherland will be presented by Mr John Legrys CC.  The petition requests residents parking for Gutteridge Street, Coalville

iii)                 A Petition request for a resident parking scheme during the day on Belvoir Road Coalville.  A petition with 88 signatures from Mr K Papanicolauo will be presented by Mr John Legrys CC.

 

The Chairman agreed for Mr Onyszkow, Mrs Leatherland and Mr Papanicolauo to speak later on the petitions.  The Chairman asked Mr Legrys to present the petitions.

 

Mr Legrys stated that he would address all three petitions at the same time as they were of the same nature.

 

He explained that when he arrived in Coalville in 1989 residents living in the town centre, at that time, suffered from parking problems arising from shoppers and commuters.  In those days households usually only had one vehicle now it is closer to five.

 

Since the introduction of Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) parking restrictions are now being consistently enforced with the result that during the day residents have to park away from their homes.  Businesses are also frustrated because customers are unable to park at shops because the parking spaces have already been taken by commuters who leave their cars and walk to work.

 

Mr Legrys stated that he was getting frustrated by the lack of action taken by the County Council.  All waiting restrictions and parking permits should have been reviewed before CPE was introduced.

 

He went on to say that he had had a meeting on the 17th October with officers who were now planning to review the resident parking schemes.  Finally, he stated that residents needed to know what action was going to be undertaken and the relevant timescales.

 

            The Chairman asked Mr Onyszkow to speak.  Mr Onyszkow thanked the Chairman for the chance to explain the problems encountered.

 

            He confirmed that he had lived on Margaret Street for the last five years and whilst it was a problem then it has certainly got worse since car park changes were introduced.  People park in the road because they do not want to pay for car parks resulting in there being nowhere for residents to park.  The problem also occurs late at night and early morning when ‘clubbers’ came back for their cars after a night out.  Mr Onyszkow urged the County Council to take the review process to the next level, undertaking surveys to ascertain if resident parking schemes are viable.

 

The Chairman asked Mrs Leatherland to speak.  Mrs Leatherland thanked the Chairman and agreed with the comments made by Mr Legrys and Mr Onyszkow and stated that everything said to date related to Gutteridge Street as well.  She went on to say that workers park in Gutteridge Street 8am to 8pm preventing residents from parking near their homes which is unacceptable.  Parking away from homes resulted in a ripple effect across the area.  Now that parking restrictions are being enforced following the introduction of CPE, residents who have lived in the street for many years have had tickets for the first time in their lives.  She urged the county to introduce parking permits or exempt residents from receiving tickets.  Mrs Leatherland also pointed out the problem with lack of white lines in definition of parking spaces.  Finally, she explained that the number of people present tonight indicates how strongly the residents feel about this issue.

 

The Chairman asked Mrs Leatherland to speak on behalf of Mr Papanicolano.

 

Mrs Leatherland stated that the petition raised for Belvoir Road resulted from the problem encountered during the day by the business community in Belvoir Road.  The petition asks that a resident parking scheme be investigated.

 

The Forum considered a report by the Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste Management on petitions: residents parking, Gutteridge Street and parking restriction – Margaret Street Area.  The report was presented by Mr Warrington with a copy filed with the minutes.

 

Mr Warrington explained to Members that both the streets are in an area which has already been identified as meeting the criteria for consideration for a resident parking scheme.  He went on to say that the next stage is to undertake extensive surveys to determine vehicle ownership rates and other details.  This would determine the viability of resident’s parking schemes in the area.  If a scheme is thought to be viable then consultation with residents’ and businesses would be undertaken to ensure that the scheme meets the concerns of the public.

 

Mr Warrington explained the difficulty of putting a timescale on the work to be undertaken as it was dependent on each individual stage and also consultation with the public.

 

Mr Legrys was grateful that work was being undertaken but confirmed that he wanted to know the timescale involved.  He was also concerned that the department was undertaking a reorganisation with significant change to personnel and was therefore anxious that these schemes were not affected by the reorganisation.

 

Mr Warrington confirmed that the intention was not to delay the work involved.  He went on to say that during each stage officers will maintain a good dialogue with Mr Legrys on the timescale, but was unable at the time to quote dates, Mr Legrys asked that the minutes reflect that he was disappointed with officer responses on this topic.

 

In answer to a question on scheme viability, Mr Warrington confirmed that the viability was not one of a financial nature.

 

In answer to a question from a member of the public, Mr Warrington confirmed that whilst work was being undertaken the parking restrictions would not be suspended. 

 

Mr Warrington agreed to forward a request to include resident parking issues on the agenda of the Coalville Community Forum.

 

Mr Warrington confirmed that the petition on Belvoir Road would be investigated by officers with a response back to the Forum and the petitioner within six months.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

i)                    That the report of the Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste Management be noted; 

ii)                   that officers investigate the use of an ‘illegal’ path in the vicinity of King Edward VII College and Meadow Lane.  Officers to speak to Mr Stanley; and

iii)                 that Mr Warrington to forward a request for the resident parking schemes, Gutteridge Street, Margaret Street and Belvoir Road to be placed on the agenda of the Coalville Community Forum.