Readers are invited to join a crowdsourcing effort to work out questions to put to Redbridge council about their planned change to parking in Wanstead which will be happening in the New Year.
These are questions already raised by readers in comments or emails. You’re welcome to add more using the comments field below. Two drop-in sessions are to be held next week (details at the bottom of the post) but no formal meetings are planned.
- New residents’ parking zones are being introduced. Won’t all or some of the cars displaced by this scheme just park elsewhere in Wanstead? How will that be stopped?
- There is an issue about process here. There was a borough-wide consultation on parking but that did not show people in Wanstead wanted pay and display parking on the High Street. How then can this be justified?
- How can a scheme which is a propsal suddenly become a trial and be implemented all within the same announcement?
- Why has there been no meaningful consultation about this dramatic scheme? Previous schemes have been widely consulted through the old area committees, which were abolished. So what has the council done to meaningfully consult with Wanstead residents?
- Why is the council holding drop-in consultation sessions rather than proper formal public meetings which would give residents the chance to question the council leaders and officers?
- Will the council undertake to hold a proper public meeting in Wanstead concerning the proposals at which councillors and officers can be questioned by council tax payers?
- How will the council be monitoring the impact on shops on Wanstead High Street? Will it undertake now to be open and transparent about any findings it might make?
- The RAC Foundation report on Friday says that councils in England made a surplus of £756m in 2015/6 from parking charges and fines. How much has Redbridge made from parking charges and fines from drivers in Wanstead, where does the money go, and will the council undertake to be open and transparent about the increased sums it will raise through this scheme?
- What are the additional costs of signage and meters and enforcement, and will the council undertake not to include this expenditure in its decision about the success of the trial?
- Has the council considered a scheme of parking cards to be bought from local shops, as is used in Wood Street in Walthamstow? That would be cheaper to implement (not needing machines for what might be an unsuccessful trial) and would guarantee people going in to shops even if only to buy a card.
The drop-in consultation sessions are to be held at Wanstead Library next Wednesday, 14 December, between 2pm and 7pm and on Saturday 17 Dec between 10am and 2pm.
Relax people! Far more important things to worry about in life than paying a couple of quid for parking if you don’t want to walk to the High Street.
Sits back and waits for barrage of abuse
No abuse from me – I totally agree with you.
I’m with you. High street visitors mainly arrive on foot or public transport. The worst part of the high street is the cars. Often badly and in inconsiderable parked. Crossing roads is never fun with cars stopping on the double yellows. People have even been killed on this high street by cars.
Why should those that choose the least considerate and least social transport get the most space? I have cars. Driving is a privilege. I would expect to pay for that privilege. Remove the dependence on cars will put ofca small minority but make it far nicer and more desirable for the majority.
It’s not that the buisnesess will close as there is hardly any permit area for the workers!!!!
Sorry Jane, I like you but this is going to affect people’s jobs. It will affect mine very badly as I am a childminder and parents might get a ticket for dropping their children off. I will lose customers over this issue. More than one! Also, the golf club, a good local employer, will see its business slowing down massively as the pay and display will only allow for a maximum of two hours. So will our beloved cricket club, which provides an outstanding sports service to hundreds of children and young people. So sorry to disagree with you! My income depends on this!
I have quite a few questions and here are the ones not already asked.
Has any research been conducted into the potential environmental impact of people in Overton Drive, Seagry, Felstead etc paving over their front yards to gain off street parking? Paved gardens are associated with increased flooding and Overton Drive floods regularly already.
The stretch of Overton Drive that is slated for pay and display rarely has anyone parking on it — it’s difficult to understand why the council would want to encourage anybody to park there — so what is the logic? There is a long-standing problem with this stretch of road and people speeding; parked cars on either side of the road are going to make it even more of a hazard.
What are the changes that Newham is making that are part of the justification for these changes?
And I’d like to reiterate that I never saw any consultation whatsover and as somebody who now will need a residents’ permit and have paid for parking across the house from my front door, I’d have thought merely as a courtesy the council could have told us it was thinking about this rather than telling us it’s happening.
paving is now required to be permeable (to reduce flood risk) and may need planning permission:
https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/45/paving_your_front_garden
Thanks for sharing. I wonder whether people do seek permission for their non-permeable driveways. There’s a house in the neighbourhood that has torn up the front garden and as I left for work today the paving guys were getting to work.
Some of us already pay.. One Wanstead please, either remove the cost, reduce and implement globally or remove. Simple
There is a need for residents parking near the tube, other than that the current system works pretty well.
I’m annoyed that residents parking has been extended to Saturday. Not sure why really, we already have it mon-fri which does the job. It’s a real pain getting hold of visitor permits and weekends are when people usually visit
I’ve no objections to pay and display etc but agree that restrictions on Saturday are unnecessary.
I live in WA zone and although was against at first the residents parking It does mean residents can always find a space – the problem being we are so near wanstead station -and it was impossible 20 years ago
However these are streets of terraced houses -I can’t see the logic in extending the scheme to the roads on the wanstead park side of redbridge lane west where most houses have driveways and as a previous comment points out there is lots of space for parking all of the time
Now people who are going to enjoy the park will have to pay and display as far as I can see from the map on the leaflet -and why shouldnt people be able to park and take the train to westfield shops or sports ?
It s obviously a money-making endeavour by the council,it’s not wanted by the local residents and adding Saturday to the scheme is also unwanted-and mean spirited-
I have never been asked my opinion in any way shape or form
When was the consultation ?
Re the high street – there are many reasons people may stop – visit shops,banks post office coffee shops -it doesn’t mean they are too lazy to walk-they may be elderly,disabled or have dependent children parents or even neighbours-pay and display may be a good idea -i dont know -the shopkeepers will be the ones to consult on that too!
this ‘trial’ seems just an unnecessary money spinner (strongly suspect it does not stand up to legal scrutiny as parking consultation in newham follows a proper formal process). i have made the following formal complaint to LBR and also complained to our local councillors. i have also included cllr. john howard as am told parking is his portfolio. not a single reply as yet! Please copy/ adapt as you please:
john.howard@redbridge.gov.uk, caroline.bruce@redbridge.gov.uk, parking.schemes@redbridge.gov.uk, sheila.bain@redbridge.gov.uk, michelle.dunn@redbridge.gov.uk, paul.merry@redbridge.gov.uk
Dear Sir,
We are the owner occupiers of XXXXXXXXXXXX.
This Saturday 03/12/16 the attached leaflet was hand delivered.
We would like to seek clarification and also strongly object to the proposal for the following reasons:
XXXXXXX is not particularly near Wanstead Station and so is not affected by commuter parking (contrary to the contention contained in the attached LBR leaflet).
XXXXXXX is not affected by event parking, e.g. caused by visitors to Westfield or West Ham United FC in Stratford (contrary to the contentions contained in the attached LBR leaflet)..
XXXXXXX is not near LB Newham and so any changes to RPZ’s in Newham will have no material affect (contrary to the contention contained in the attached LBR leaflet).
It seems consultation is at best flawed. Please advise:
i.) is public consultation required for such a proposal,
ii.) and if so what are the legislative requirements
iii.) and has public consultation already taken place?
If public consultation is outstanding, please explain how this can constitute consultation when you state ‘In February we’ll begin a trial of a new parking scheme which will…extend two existing parking (WA and WB) and introduce new one (WD).’
Please confirm what physical works will be necessary for this ‘trial’, i.e. signs, markings, pay machines etc., etc.
Please confirm the cost of the physical works will be necessary for this ‘trial’, i.e. signs, markings, pay machines etc., etc.
Who will decide whether the ‘trial’ is a success or failure and how will this be decided?
Please confirm the cost of any consultants preparing and implementing these proposals.
Please confirm the cost of officers time preparing and implementing these proposals.
As there are no transient parking problems in XXXXXXX, i.e. no commuter or event parking and suchlike, please:
i.) explain the objective of the RPZ?
ii.) disclose the traffic/ parking study carried out which identified the stated problems claimed in the attached leaflet?
iii.) Please explain how your study concluded that ‘residential roads see a substantial amount of non-residential parking.’, i.e. please define ‘substantial’ and how you determined that the vehicles did not belong to residents?
iv.) Please explain which ‘roads are fully parked’ after ‘2pm’?
v.) Please explain the significance of ‘after 2pm’, i.e. this is the start time contended as ‘fully parked’, but what is the end time of full parking?
It seems that the RPZ will merely penalise the residents as virtually all the cars parked belong to residents. Consequently the RPZ will not reduce parking in XXXXXXX. Therefore, the proposed RPZ would appear merely a money making grab. Furthermore, it will be more costly and difficult for owners to maintain their properties as tradesmen will need visitors permits.
XXXXXXX is on the very edge of the proposed RPZ and therefore its inclusion must have been marginal.
I look forward to hearing from you asap.
Please acknowledge receipt of this email.
Kind regards
I’m largely in favour of this move, it’s impossible to park even close to my house full stop as it’s at the Snaresbrook tube end of Wellesley road but why on earth has Wellesley road been split into 2 diff zones?
The Snaresbrook end of the road is by far the worst parking area, suffering from commuters parking all day, shoppers, workers on the high street and a constant flow of learner drivers on test (and practice).
Making this part of the street eligible for pay and display parking but none of the surrounding streets, or indeed the other end of THE SAME STREET! Will only push more people to use our end of the street and make our situation far worse.
Why would we pay the same resident parking permit charges as other part of the street (and surrounding streets) when we’ll still have to compete with shoppers, commuters and workers while they won’t? That’s grossly unfair and TBH, not very well thought out as all it will do is push everyone to park on this end of the street.
There is a car park in Wanstead that serves the high st and 2 bloody tube stations 1/2 mile from each other, plus many buses, the non residents have plenty of options already!
First 30 minutes will be free so there will be minimal impact on local shops. I’d argue in fact that the removal of cars currently parked on and around the high street for the whole day will open up those spaces for genuine shoppers and therefore increase trade on the high street.
My questions are
Why will the hours be 8.30-6.30? Shops are generally closed after 5/5.30 so no reason to restrict parking after this time.
Around the station the target is those parking and travelling in to London taking up resident’s spaces. This is the reason the yellow lines operate for a single hour Monday to Friday, why does the new scheme therefore need to be anything more than a single hour during the day? Operating shorter restricted hours will significantly reduce the cost of policing the scheme.
With the significant increase in the size if the area covered, many more permits will be purchased with minimal incremental running costs, therefore why are we not seeing a significant reduction in permit costs? I consider over £100 for two cars to park outside our own house to be unfairly high. Similarly, why do residents have to pay for visitor permits? There should be a quantity of free visitor permits for all residents in the area per year to allow them to receive visitors but not so many that they can operate a private parking scheme.
Excellent observations. Especially about cost of permits and visitor permits. Given the council tax band of houses on Overton, Felstead, etc it’s just gouging us.
I completely agree, if we are forced to take the residents parking scheme there should be free visitor permits for all residents so that we can get tradesmen to park outside our houses.
I too would like to know why a single yellow line with 1 hour restrictions would not be sufficient to discourage commuters parking outside our homes & preventing residents from parking.
Just to point out once again that Wanstead serves many more than just those who are a 5 min walk from the high street. Without the support of the wider area using shops, facilities, classes in the area it wouldn’t be such a great place. There are many living around Aldersbrook, Redbridge, beyond Snaresbrook etc who are not a 5 min walk away but where Wanstead is still their closest community. We are often there twice a day and often for several hours running errands, attending classes, using local restaurants. It’s a shame these people will be discouraged from using the area.
Yes I forgot about the community centre classes and the Alan burgess centre (classes and activities as well as lunches)
In that case 2 hours on a meter won’t be enough: what happens if the car park is full?
I agree people come from far and wide to enjoy lots more than just shopping in the community that is wanstead
I remember how un-pleasant it became trying to park in George lane when the meters appeared-it affected all the shops badly
I use High St parking to get fresh goods (fish, meat, veg etc) so the 30 mins free will suit me, the resident parking will cost us though?
Let’s not kid ourselves. The only green the Council wants is money. From February my relatives can only visit on a Sunday! Where I live there will be only a handful of meters. There is no need for permits etc. Just introduce am/pm time bands and hey presto problem solved for free without the need to plaster Wanstead with ugly signs. The Council is so devious and secretive.
It is quite obvious that availability of parking on the High Street could be maintained without charging. ‘Max stay / no return within’ type restrictions are widely used to do this.
So there is no justification for the proposal.
More relevant here is that the Council has established charging for local retail centre parking in the Borough as a revenue base and it will want to do that here too.
As for Residents Parking, I thought there was an established ( and required by law ) consultation process for those affected?
No parking space is required by motorists who just want to drop off a passenger to do the shopping. Only a DROP OFF space is required. Could the Council please explain to us why this facility is not officially provided to stop wardens from harassing us to make some more spurious income?
All councillors and officers should be required to take an English language test similar to what taxi drivers have to do at £180 each. Municipal esperanto is not an option at present! Why not?
Funeral Directors should have full delegation of authority to countermand the highway code to facilitate the safe and respectful removal of the deceased to their final resting place.
Traffic wardens should be instructed to stop acting like cockroaches on funeral corteges. It is a public disgrace that families in bereavement should have to run the gauntlet to assemble a cortege and convoy of cars, especially at 10.00am, during the unwanted tea break of 09.30 to 10.30. The Council are asleep on their watch and should show respect for the deceased and their families as well as to motorists who pay £40bn for the road fund!
What is the duration of the trial, what are the criteria for judging the success of the trial, how will they be measured and by who and over what period?
I am a resident of Warren Road and live at the junction with Overton Drive. What data points, feedback or evidence do you have the suggests there are parking issues which require residents’ permits? In my experience there is ample parking and would like to understand when I as a resident was canvassed on this issue or indeed other residents in the area?
The Warren Road junction which leads to Wanstead Park presents plenty of parking for residents to come and enjoy the park. There is not an issue of parking spaces here and I would like to understand what data, evidence or feedback you have received which requires pay and display here? This seems like a stealth tax for residents to enjoy the park.
Are the parking changes require for investment into the swimming pool as perhaps residents should be canvassed on such trade offs?
Whilst public meetings have been held they have relatively limited responses versus residents in Wanstead surely a formal survey should be conducted to assess whether there really is an issue or not? It feels like the council are using an issue in localised areas to roll out blanket permits and pay and display to raise revenue.
youre points are included in my complaint template above.
to stand a chance of changing LBR’s mind please complain direct to LBR.
I live in the Aldersbrook, and try and support the local shops as much as possible. However, making parking restrictions more complicated, and increasing the cost, will lead me elsewhere.
Current system which prevents commuters parking works just fine.
Making it more complicated – i.e. paying by phone, differing zones and generally making it as unclear as possible, will only lead to an increase in fines, which along with charging area increases, is I guess is what the Council want.
This is nothing more that a money spinner – and unfortunately the real loser in this, is Wanstead itself.
Parking income can only be used for transport services and not as a cross-subsidy for other services no matter how urgent the need. This is the law as I understand it at the time of writing. Wiser counsel may have a different opinion?
Some great questions which cover off all my concerns from the other thread on this topic. Really hard to see this being anything more than LBR using a back door into Wanstead to set up a money spinning cash cow… I’m even wondering of grounds for a judicial review if they don’t do things properly including consulting with the community first before introducing any measures or taking any action and introducing a CPZ is a long way off. I wrote to the Wanstead & Snaresbrook Councillors, LBR Leader, and LBR CEO over a week ago asking for answers, not an answer from anyone apart from a short holding response from CEO’s office saying that they will be coming back to me (also over a week ago), still awaiting… suppose it suits (LBR) to drag things as much as possible out into their so called consultation meetings and just stymie the whole thing.
http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/14957972.Council_s_parking_piggy_bank_nearly_doubles_in_one_year/?ref=mr&lp=9
hi farooq,
totally agree espec. re. JR.
I have now also written to the CEO. This is his email if others also want to apply pressure and demand local democracy:
andy.donald@redbridge.gov.uk
so far i have had no responses from councillors or officers. bizarrely i have had an acknowledgment from freedom of information dept even though no request was made.
A petition has been started by local business person, Donna Mizzi:
https://www.change.org/p/redbridge-council-halt-wanstead-parking-restrictions-and-charges
Simple really – Just Revolt – Wansteadiums
No consultations with residents is high handed and does not justify a trial which we know is not really a trial run. Once the Council get their hands on the income derived from residents and visitors they will never give up this additional source of income.
How about everyone affected refusing to pay parking fees!
We have not signed a contract that we accept what they say.
Just who is brave enough to say No?
Are Wansteadiums Wimps or Warriors?