Agenda and minutes

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 15 February 2021 as an accurate record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 25 February 2021 were agreed as an accurate record.

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct and the statutory provisions of the Localism Act, Members and co-opted Members of the Council are reminded that it is a requirement to register disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) and gifts and hospitality to the value of which exceeds £50 or multiple gifts and/or instances of hospitality with a cumulative value of £50 or more when received from a single donor within a rolling twelve month period. In addition, Members and co-opted Members are reminded that unless their disclosable pecuniary interest is registered on the register of interests or is the subject of a pending notification to the Monitoring Officer, they are required to disclose those disclosable pecuniary interests at the meeting. This should be done by completing the Disclosure of Interest form and handing it to the Democratic Services representative at the start of the meeting. The Chair will then invite Members to make their disclosure orally at the commencement of Agenda item 3. Completed disclosure forms will be provided to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion on the Register of Members’ Interests.

There were none.

To receive notice of any business not on the agenda which in the opinion of the Chair, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.

There were no items of urgent business.

The purpose of this report is to enable consideration of the objections received from members of the public following the formal consultation process on the proposals to introduce Electric Vehicle Charging Bays in Elmgrove Road, Sundridge Road, Northborough Road and Kemble Road.

David Wakeling, Parking Design Manager, introduced the Report which considered the objections received to the proposals to install Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Bays in Elmgrove Road and Sundridge Road, Addiscombe East, Northborough Road, Norbury & Pollards Hill and Kemble Road, Waddon. Four sites had received objections out of the 19 sites in total. These were predominantly related to the loss of parking, noise pollution, visual intrusion and concerns that residents who do not live in the local area would use the bays. The council’s response following consideration of the objections was to continue to recommend the proposals. David Wakeling went onto say that that demand for EV Charging Bays was set to exponentially increase in the coming years, which reflected the UK government policy to ban new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. The EV Charging Bay location proposals were designed carefully to be positioned on flank boundaries to minimise the visual intrusion.

The Chair thanked the officer for his introduction and then invited the members of the public who registered to speak to make their representations. Two objections were received in relation to the proposals for Elmgrove Road and Northborough Road.

Max Mulvany spoke in objection to the Elmgrove Road EV Charging Bays proposal highlighted the following:

·         He described the current parking situation as awful and that reducing the parking supply in that area would be even more detrimental.

·         This area was surrounded by busy services and amenities, such as schools and the high street, and there was no protection from the overspill vehicles looking to park.

·         He explained the stress of driving home from work and being unable to find a space within a half mile radius of his home in the current situation, and that losing four parking spaces on Elm Grove Road would have a knock-on effect and displace cars further.

·         The claim that the objections were based on visual intrusion were not accurate and the concerns rested with reducing carers access for elderly residents and residents with young children who need to park close to their house.

·         He stated that there were alternative locations suggested by residents.

·         He suggested that officers should considerer reducing and spreading the number of proposed bays; he was not opposed to the principle of the bays, however he was to this particular area at this given time.

The Chair thanked Max Mulvaney for his representation, ahead of inviting the next member of the public to speak.

GulhanKaynar spoke in objection to the Northborough Road EV Charging Bays proposal and highlighted the following:

·         She outlined that the proposed EV Charging Bay was situated outside her front door, which was the only entrance affected.

·         She said that there were many alternative locations on Northborough Road which were potentially suitable and would not affect residents.

·         She described the feeling of insecurity of having a bay placed outside of her house, as a single occupancy, and passing drivers who were not residents of the area regularly using this space.

·         She detailed that there was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15/20

The purpose of this report is to enable consideration of the twelve material objections received from members of the public following the formal consultation process on the proposals to introduce waiting or loading restrictions in Heath Road, Hermitage Road/Ryefield Road junction, Keeley Road, Milner Road, Tanglewood Close and Grove Wood Hill and The Chase.

David Wakeling, Parking Design Manager, introduced the Report which considered the objections received to introduce waiting and loading restrictions in various locations across the borough. The report sought to amend the original proposals, which was outlined in the appendices. All of the sites proposed to introduce restrictions were in response to complaints about safety and accessibility.

Committee Member Questions and Debate

Councillor Luke Clancy raised concerns over emergency vehicle access on congested roads, explaining that those issues were exacerbated by the School Streets in the Grove Wood Hill area. He described a recent incident whereby a refuse lorry round and a school pickup time coincided and caused major traffic problems, where the lorry became stuck half way up the road. He said that Councillor Creatura had now raised this incident and made suggestion to the council to ensure that refuse rounds would not occur during peak school pick up hours. Councillor Clancy said this incident highlighted the risks of major congestion of serious accessibility concerns.

David Wakeling stated there were proposals to implement school time traffic restrictions in the Grove Hill Road area, following consultation with concerned local residents. He understood the Councillor’s valid concerns regarding emergency vehicle access. School Streets did have an effect on the area in relation to congestion and he reassured that the council was in the process of mitigating those problems.

The Chair told the Committee that the aim of the School Streets scheme was to encourage healthy behaviour shifts and enable people to engage in active lifestyles.

Councillor Jewitt stated that she was pleased to see the proposal to adjust restrictions to the junctions in Thornton Heath because of the areas current parking issues.

Committee Members unanimously agreed to support the recommendations as set out in the report to the Cabinet Member for Sustainability.

The following motion is to be moved and seconded where it is proposed to exclude the press and public from the remainder of a meeting:

“That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within those paragraphs indicated in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.”

This item was not required.