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.”

15 Replies to “Lewisham Council Plans All-Day Controlled Parking Zones”

  1. We do not have a parking problem in Cambridge Drive.
    The proposals are completely unnecessary and unwanted.

  2. A two hour restriction works well in my road and I can see no reason why it should not work in other parts of Lewisham. An all day zone is unnecessarily restrictive on residents going about their business or having friends to visit.

  3. 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.

    What an utter joke. Lewisham is a large borough with limited resources. The main supermarket is Sainsburys in Lee with little to no resources in the surrounding areas. Encouraging people to walk or take public transport is nothing more than a pipe dream with no basis in reality. There’s a reason why people are reliant on cars – everything requires driving to! Are you suggesting a family does a weekly shop on bike? Get real. Councillors may have all the time in the world because they are not actually working but other people don’t. It discriminates against those living in properties with no individual parking as well as those who are already time poor, or may have mobility issues. This isn’t about the planet – this is about making money so the council can spend on even more ridiculous navel gazing projects. Why don’t you just destroy the borough from the inside out? Oh you are already doing so.

  4. I have resided in Fernbrook Road since 1960 so as you can tell am now elderly and as such rely on friends for assistance with cleaning etc, I find this additional restriction very unnecessary and extremely upsetting, almost to the point of wondering if it’s worth carrying on when you will be unable to have friends stay for a cup of tea. Would you please reconsider this, what seems like yet another money making exercise. Thankyou

  5. The comments by Charles Batchelor( Lee Manor Society) are sensible and very hard to argue against.
    The 10 am – noon is enough to deter commuters from parking anywhere in the Borough.
    These plans also discriminate against disabled people which Lewisham Council have a blatant disregard for…not all disabled people can use public transport walk or cycle,yet this is falling on deaf ears.
    It is simply a money making exercise and has more to do with filling the council coffers at the expense again of car owners.

  6. Could we have this on Dacre Park se13 please or some closer roads as its a bit far to walk too and from the car for the planned roads above

  7. The two hour CPZ parking zones already in existence in Lee and Hither Green work perfectly well at deterring all day / commuter parking. They also work in other boroughs – Eltham has 1.5 hr CPZ in streets surrounding the High street and that is perfectly effective. I fail to see any benefit to Lewisham residents but an obvious ££ financial gain for the council.

  8. Sustainable What a Joke….. it’s all about making money from those who are struggling to survive on what little is left from the monthly pay packet once all the Bill’s have been paid.
    How are we meant to “shop locally” if parking has to be paid for? Businesses will go under, people will lose touch with those in the community once parking has to be paid for. And for those who are disabled. Where are they meant to park? I live off Birch Grove and rely on my car when I go to Burnt Ash. I park on Woodyates with my blue badge, but where am I and other blue badge holders meant to park when these parking restrictions come into play??
    And how can a family ride bikes to the supermarket to do a shop?? No wait. You Expect our Children to carry shopping on their bikes whilst riding.
    And the buses…. they can not be relied on when traffic has backed up making them late, so the 202 ends up running to Michealdiver Rd only……
    Have you people at the council really thought this through? Cause not. You just see ££ signs flashing

  9. I would like to find out what the current annual finances are in the Borough; I have not been able to do so.
    In Bristol which is now facing a 52 million pound annual deficit following the Labour run Council being replaced bythe new Green Party and Lib Dem coalition , they are considering the following:
    Closing 3 museums as well as many libraries.
    Increasing the cost of their version of ULEZ as well as several other cost cutting measures.
    I’m not sure how much money could be raised from extending parking restrictions if the increased costs of the public’s time and efficiency are factored in.
    Should the unknown possible financial deficit be a very large one then I suspect other revenue raising measures may need to be implemented.
    Otherwise Lewisham may have to follow Labour controlled Croydon ; be placed in special measures and approach the Goverment for financial aid.
    The restricted practices on cars, vans and lorries have led to a substantial increase in pollution especially when key access roads such as Manor Lane to the South Circular was closed to traffic.
    It resulted in huge tailbacks of mostly petrol and diesel vehicles contributing to the harming of people living and working on the alternative Burnt Ash Road/Hill as well as the South Circular Rd itself.
    Similarly the Safe School Street Scheme has a few drawbacks.
    Tradesmen working in buildings in the time specific Safe Streets have been known to finish a job an hour or more before they can ‘safely’ drive out of the ‘ affected’ roads so they can get to their next appointment.
    Further limitations on parking will only further exacerbate the inefficiency of drivers who mostly use their vehicles for practical reasons.

  10. The 2 hour restrictions in Hither Green are already sufficient to prevent commuters and the only reason I can think of implementing this will be for additional financial gains of the council. Small businesses who rely on deliveries and customers will be severely impacted and as a homeowner who has just had some renovation work completed on our house, the additional costs which would have amounted from these changes would have made the project infeasible.

  11. The 2-hour 10-12 CPZ restriction west of Burnt Ash works very well at present. A change is not needed and would be an unnecessary expense for tax payers just in changed signage etc. A 9-to-5 restriction would do nothing to discourage car use, will impact local shops and businesses and make things very difficult for carers, visitors and tradespeople. The same considerations surely apply east of Burnt Ash. Rather than tinkering with the CPZs how about addressing the rat-running problem on Manor Lane.

    1. The original implementation on the CPZ zone was focused on roads such as Fernbrook Rd; i.e.
      close to Hither Green Stn. which had very little off street parking.
      The residents in the admittedly blighted areas due to a large degree by car driving commuters using free spaces in the narrow roads needed some form of help to be able to more easily park.
      As soon as the pay and display system was introduced these areas became fairly devoid of parked vehicles that simply moved on to the next unrestricted roads nearest to the station.
      Another vote was given to the residents so the new victims of parking difficulties were forced to sign up to the scheme.
      Living in Taunton Road i.e. almost equidistant between Lee and Hither Green stations , I and the residents here were the last to succumb to joining the pro CPZ policy as the poor commuters were now having to take about 10 mins. to walk or jog to catch a train.
      If, as the Council claims it does not make any money from the now widespread restricted parking programme, I wonder if any profit at all will be generated from setting up and monitoring an extended CPZ system.
      My view is that any profit will hardly make a dent in the current £62 million debt owed to the Council in unpaid rent/rates that as yet for some reason(s) have not been recovered.
      As our council rates can only be increased by a max. of 5% per annum it will take something far more radical than closing down any more libraries to reduce the Council’s large debt.
      Perhaps we should all pay an extra tax on the number of pairs of shoes we posess.
      Imelda Marcos would be spinning in her grave.

  12. This is not going to make the streets ‘sustainable’, and will cause more inconvenience to residents. What is currently in place works fine.

  13. I had no prior knowledge of this at all. I agree these changes are unnecessary and are a way for the council to make money. The two hour restriction suits the purpose very well. I hope Lewisham council will listen this time and not simply plow on regardless. All such a waste of money they do not have and as usual hidden agendas. Pat Davis

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *