Parking scheme could last just three months

Pic: Google Streetview, presumably taken between 0930 and 1030
Pic: Google Streetview, presumably taken between 0930 and 1030

The controversial £93k parking scheme for Wanstead High Street could be axed after just three months, council leader Jas Athwal has said, “if it makes people’s lives a misery”.

Meanwhile Leyton and Wanstead MP John Cryer has told council leaders of his concerns about the scheme, saying there does not appear to have been “any attempt” to consult with residents.

In an interview with the Wanstead Guardian, Cllr Athwal said his motivation was improving Wanstead High Street for shoppers and “helping business make money by making sure people can park”. He also wants to help people living near the High Street who can’t park outside their homes because of displaced traffic, he says.

He told the paper:

“The evidence is there to show there are serious problems with parking in Wanstead, but it would be politically foolish of me to do something that just makes everyone angry… When you’re introducing something as controversial as this you need to be flexible…. It could last for 18 months or it could last for three… If it makes people’s lives a misery we will stop it.”

He said the previous parking plan which was withdrawn after public opposition was dropped because the Conservatives, who then ran the council, “wilted under pressure from residents – that is something I will not do”.

Mr Cryer said he had told the council of his concerns, saying: “This seems to me to be an unsatisfactory situation. There does not appear to have been any attempt to conduct a consultation, as one would expect, and I only heard about it when local residents and businesses started getting in touch. The proposals will create all sorts of problems and a number of businesses have expressed fears for their future.”

The parking plan will mean the introduction of pay and display on Wanstead High Street, plus the introduction of residents’ parking zones in more streets near the High Street. The council says the first 30 minutes of high street parking would be free, and that the point of the scheme is to stop people parking there for hours on end.

Opinions on the plan seem to be divided, with vocal opponents on either side. However a petition demanding proper consultation over the plan has now received nearly 1,200 signatories – some online and some on paper.

One commenter to Wansteadium, Argee, has highlighted the Redbridge Parking Strategy which states its first value is “Transparency and Collaboration”. It reads:

We will provide clear information about parking and involve or consult communities in the development of policy and design of local schemes.

Argee comments: “There has been no transparency nor collaboration. I saw no mention of not wilting under pressure from local residents in the Redbridge Parking Strategy, which in my opinion is the opposite of collaboration, yet Cllr Athwal states this as if it is something to be proud of.”

Wanstead parking plan ‘will cost £93k’

A typical parking scene, as captured by Google Streetview
A typical parking scene, as captured by Google Streetview

The controversial but little debated plan to introduce pay and display parking to Wanstead High Street will, Wansteadium understands, cost council tax payers £93k in ticket machines and signage, despite officially being an experiment.

The scheme which extends residents parking and introduces fees to several streets, as well as bringing pay-and-display machines to the high street area for the first time is to be introduced in the New Year despite deeply divided opinions on the matter in Wanstead and no chance for public debate.

Earlier proposals by the council were discussed at open public meetings, but this scheme is being introduced as an ‘experiment’ and is permitted to sidestep requirements for public consultation. After 18 months the council will be able to decide if it has been a success, though it has not disclosed what its measures for success will be.

Drop-in sessions for residents who wanted further information were held last week, and were reportedly very busy. But the council is not responding to demands on social media and elswhere that the senior councillors and officers take part in public meetings to present their proposals and take questions.

Cllr Sue Nolan, a Snaresbrook councillor and member of the opposition Conservative group on Redbridge Council, has called an unofficial public meeting on Friday 13 January at 7.30 at the Scout Hall on Hollybush Hill.

An online petition started last week demanding public consultation over the proposals has now been signed by more than 500 people.

Christmas cheer

screenshot-2016-12-16-11-17-09What a great thing this is… community organisation Wanstead Rocks (with ace mover Suzi Harnett behind it) is organising another Cakes and Carols event on Saturday for Wanstead’s over-65s at the URC on Nightingale Lane.

But to make it a real success the event needs helpers and bakers – if you can help bring some Christmas cheer please do get in touch with Suzi at wansteadrocks@outlook.co.uk

Demand for consultation over parking

img_3266A petition demanding Redbridge council consult with Wanstead residents and businesses before it introduces a dramatic new parking scheme has been launched.

The council announced plans which will take effect in February in a leaflet distributed earlier this month, but has not held public meetings in advance of the announcement, even though previous schemes were very widely discussed. The first of two drop-in sessions is being held at Wanstead Library today, Wednesday, but residents are not being given the chance to question officials or council leaders about the plan.

The petition has been launched by Art Trail founder and community activist Donna Mizzi and can be found at Change.org or below.