Previous reference:Minute 27 and 51 (2016/2017)

The Strategic Director of Place will submit Document “AF” in accordance with the resolution made by the Committee on 23 November 2016 whereby it was resolved that a verbal update regarding proposed waiting restrictions within the Lysander way Estate, Cottingley, be noted, and that a report be submitted to this Committee on 1 February 2017.

Recommended –

That Committee Members be mindful of the options outlined within Section 4 of Document “AF” when making a resolution.

(Environment and Waste Management Overview and Scrutiny Committee)

(Simon D’Vali – 01535 618181)

Previous reference:Minute 27 and 51 (2016/2017)

The Strategic Director of Place submitted Document “AF” in accordance with the resolution made by the Committee on 23 November 2016 whereby it was resolved that a verbal update regarding proposed waiting restrictions within the Lysander Way Estate, Cottingley, be noted, and that a report be submitted to the Committee on 1 February 2017.

The Principal Engineer gave a summary of Document “AF” in which he highlighted that a meeting with Cottingley Village Primary School had taken place on 2 November 2016 (as outlined in paragraph 2.5 of the report).  At that meeting the school governors were opposed to allocating some land within the schools curtilage as a parking facility for parents of pupils attending the school but had agreed to formulate a School Travel Plan which, to date, had not yet been produced.  It was also agreed that officers would engage with third parties with a view to parents using third party land for car parking.  Discussions had taken place with Samuel Lister Academy regarding assisting with car parking arrangements but a decision was yet to be made by the school’s governors.  The car park at the Sun Inn public house was already used by some parents; the Sun Inn was happy to continue to allow parents to park in their car park as long as there was sufficient parking for its patrons.

In response to Members’ questions, it was reported that:

·         The agreement with the Sun Inn public house was informal and could change at any time.

·         Legal checks would need to be made as to whether the Order could be relaxed over the Christmas period to allow residents to park outside their homes without any restrictions in place.

Members expressed disappointment at the lack of action taken by Cottingley Village Primary School to address the issue of car parking for the parents of pupils attending their school.

A Member stated that parking had been an on-going problem on Lysander Way for many years and spoke of the difficulties navigating the road when driving due to parked vehicles.  He considered the response from Cottingley Village Primary School to be unsatisfactory, particularly as, at the Committee’s meeting on 27 July 2016, a School Governor had asked for the plans to be suspended so that other alternatives could be explored. 

A Member spoke of the anti-social behaviour of drivers and the responsibility of the Committee to take action for the road safety of the primary school children.  He recognised that there was no obvious right solution.  He stated that it was not possible to introduce residents’ only parking permits for residents that would be affected by the proposals due to the current regulations, but that this was an issue that the Committee should re-visit if there were changes to the policy that would allow for them.  He considered that action needed to be taken holistically; if Cottingley Cliffe Road was considered in isolation it would lead to the car parking issue being displaced within the estate and the same would apply if the proposals were only implemented on part of the estate.  Whilst acknowledging that the proposals would cause inconvenience for residents of the estate he considered they should be implemented as advertised (as per option one in the report).  He referred to the lack of co-operation from Cottingley Village Primary School with regards to this issue but considered officers should persevere in engaging with the school to find car parking resolutions for parents of pupils.  He referred to land off Cottingley Cliffe Road which belonged to the Council and suggested it be considered in future parking proposals.  He suggested a further update be presented to the Committee.

The Principal Engineer stated that changes to the on-street permit parking scheme criteria would need to be made by the Executive and he was hopeful this could be achieved within approximately six months.  The Chair stated that demand for the scheme had grown and it was important this was progressed with vigour.

The Chair allowed up to five minutes for brief comments from a number of objectors.  The points raised by objectors included:

·         Parents of pupils at the primary school wanted a mutual beneficial agreement for everyone.

·         The primary school was not engaging with parents about the car parking issue.

·         There were only 30 car parking spaces available at the Sun Inn public house.

·         A parent had approached the primary school to state she was willing to pay a monthly fee if they could fund a car park but they had not responded.

·         Double yellow lines were not required for the whole estate.

·         There were concerns that once the double yellow lines were introduced within the estate they would not be removed.

The issue of displaced traffic, if only part of the proposals were introduced, were re-iterated by the Principal Engineer.

It was agreed that a report on the progress of the issues raised would be submitted to the Committee.  The report would be submitted before Summer 2017 if there was anything substantial to report.

Resolved –

(1)  That the five objections to the proposals contained in Document “M” presented to this Committee on 27 July 2016 (and as shown on Drawing No. TDG/THN/103153/1F and attached to Document “AF” as Appendix 1) be overruled, and that the Order be sealed and implemented as advertised.

(2)  That, if legally possible within the advertised Order, a relaxation of the waiting restrictions for the Lysander Way estate be included for two weeks over the Christmas period.

(3)  That the objectors to which Document “M” referred be advised accordingly.

(4)  That the scheme be re-visited in the event of policy changes being made which allow consideration of an on-street permit parking scheme for the Lysander Way estate.

(5)  That officers be requested to continue working with Cottingley Village Primary School, Samuel Lister Academy and other parties to address parking issues, including consideration of Bradford Council land ownerships adjacent to the school.

(6)  That a further report be submitted to the Committee setting out progress on this matter.

(7)  That Highways officers be thanked for the work they have undertaken in considering possible options in relation to this scheme.

OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE: Environment and Waste Management

ACTION: Strategic Director, Place