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Controlled Parking Zone Proposals Update

By Charles Batchelor

Council proposals to impose all-day parking charges on a large area of Lee have run into strong opposition from some residents and the Lee Manor Society.

The plans, forming part of Lewisham’s sustainable streets initiative, would require motorists parking in streets around Leyland Road and Woodyates Road to pay to park between 9am and 5pm. 

Residents without off-street parking, would be required to buy a permit costing up to £372 a year to park on the street with no guarantee they could find a space in front of their house.

The Society says it sees no reason why the limited parking controls – between 10am and 12 noon – currently in place on the other, west side, of Burnt Ash Road cannot be applied in the new parking zone. 

The limited parking controls have proved successful in deterring commuter parking while leaving residents, carers making house visits and tradesmen the convenience of parking without charge in local streets.

Yet the council is even suggesting that these more limited parking controls could be replaced by all-day restrictions in future. The council claims that parking restrictions do not cover the costs of implementation but the suspicion remains that a cash-strapped borough does see future revenues from such schemes. 

“There seems to be no evidence provided by the council that local car journeys are the big  threat to sustainable streets,” said Frances Migniuolo, a local resident. ” A more balanced approach is needed . The proposals do not address the needs of elderly or less mobile  residents who need to shop or have family or friends visit during the day on weekdays . Doing  your own shopping and having such  visits are vital to staying self-reliant and healthy in older life.”

Parts of the sustainable streets programme are welcome. These include more street trees, secure cycle storage, electric vehicle charging points, safer crossings and car club bays. But the lengthy parking controls are already prompting local anger and a strong response, according to one local councillor.

The closing date for responses is Sunday, January 26 and residents are urged to send in comments to sustainablestreets@lewisham.gov.uk by then. But official closing dates have proved flexible in the past and residents will have the opportunity to express their views at the next Lee Green Assembly Meeting at 7pm-9pm on Thursday, February 6  in Lochaber Hall, Manor Lane Terrace, SE13 5QL. We understand a representative from Sustainable Streets will attend the meeting and answer questions.

“We urge residents to attend this meeting to make their views known,” said Charles Batchelor, a management committee member of the Lee Manor Society.

The formal survey form at www.lewisham.gov.uk/sustainablestreets is in a tick-box format allowing no opportunity to express detailed comments and should be supplemented with a more detailed response.

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Lewisham Council Plans All-Day Controlled Parking Zones

Lewisham Council is starting to draw up new plans for a range of further measures to reduce traffic across the Borough.  This includes proposals for a Controlled Parking Zone operating between 9 am and 5 pm in several roads east of Burnt Ash Road in Lee.  The council has sent leaflets with some details of their plans to people living in the affected streets.

Residents in this area have until January 26th to respond to the consultation. You can do this online by going to https://lewishamsustainablestreets.commonplace.is/

Here are the maps which the Council has posted on its website with proposals sketched out:

It’s suggested that the Council’s longer-term plan is to implement all-day CPZs in other areas which already have a two-hour parking restriction to prevent commuters parking on residential streets all day.

Residents in a CPZ would be able to buy a parking permit so they can park on the road.  The council has set out the costs as follows:

All non-housing estate residents receive a 15% discount in the first year, with the yearly for between £42 – £372 depending on your type of vehicle. Permits for residents of housing estates are between £10 – £87. It will also be possible to buy vouchers for visitors, though of course it would be expensive if someone was visiting all day.  

The Council says its Sustainable Streets programme aims to reduce the number of car journeys made in Lewisham and encourage more people to walk, cycle or use public transport, to reduce air pollution, traffic and congestion, improve road safety and lower carbon emissions.

Its proposals include a range of other ideas:

  • More street trees
  • Secure cycle storage
  • Electric vehicle charging points
  • Safer crossing points
  • Car club bays

Charles Batchelor of the Lee Manor Society has written to Lewisham Council objecting to the plan for all-day CPZs, which he said would impose an unnecessary inconvenience on local people moving around. He added “ On the other side of Burnt Ash Road, in the conservation area, the parking restriction runs from 10am to noon. This is perfectly adequate to deter commuter parking while allowing residents to go about their business unimpeded for much of the day. I can see no reason why these more limited hours would not work in the Leyland Road area.”

Frances Migniuolo of Lee Fair Share and the Lee Manor Society added “The proposals seem very crude and are likely to discriminate against certain groups. They will not affect residents in big houses with generous driveways as much, as they will have space for two cars plus on their driveways. They would impact more on those living in terraced housing with  little or no driveways.”

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Buckden Close Planning Application

44 objections have been submitted against a planning application for land adjoining Buckden Close in Lee.  Last night (Wednesday 15th January)  Lewisham Council held an online Q and A session between the developers and the objectors.

Amalaki Developments Ltd wants to put up a three storey building containing nine flats.

The plan also includes a proposal for four car parking spaces on a small area of green open land that sits within the Lee Manor Conservation Area, located behind numbers 113-133 Burnt Ash Road.

Initially the Council is only considering an outline application to establish if the site has suitable access.

At the Q and A session a Lewisham Planning Officer put the objectors’ questions to Amalaki, but the residents themselves weren’t allowed to speak. Lewisham has promised to publish the questions and answers in due course.

Lee Manor Society has objected to the use of green open land on the site that sits within the Lee Manor Conservation area for a proposed use as car parking. The Applicant has not yet shown how this loss of green open space can in anyway ‘conserve or enhance the Conservation area’.

The Application can be viewed by searching for ‘Buckden Close’ on Lewisham’s Planning website https://lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/planning/find-comment-planning-applications and finding the Application reference number DC/24/137866.   

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Lee Green Assembly Update

Lewisham Council has confirmed there WILL be an Assembly meeting on February 6th. It’s at Lochaber Hall, starting at 1900. However, as reported here last year, that may well be the last Assembly meeting in its current form.

Cllr Edison Huynh told Jim Mallory in an email last month that: “Whilst assembly council support is being removed, that doesn’t mean that ward assemblies and forms of resident engagement are being stopped. They will continue in some form depending on local contexts – current work is already underway on collating best practice in wards (both online and offline) as well as bringing together the different channels/forums that residents can already contribute to community development to ensure there is no duplication and ensure the best use of finite council resources.”

The Council is trying to make £30 million of savings to meet the increased costs of social care. He said that the data suggested the assemblies in their current state were useful but not representative of Lewisham’s diverse demographic.

” The challenge for us collectively is to find better, more representative ways of engaging residents and reaching a wider pool of residents and not just residents who already have a strong voice/presence on many forums and bodies. To be clear (as unfortunately there is no delicate way of making this point – especially as those most involved in assemblies are defacto also the most engaged residents), this is not any criticism of Lee Green specifically but as a general trend across the whole borough.”

Unfortunately, Cllr Huynh won’t be at the February 6th meeting so residents won’t be able to quiz him about the Council’s plans for replacing the Assembly system.