Date received - 18 June 2019
Signatories received - 24
Name of petitioner - Ms S Norap
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Petition Response:
I refer to the petition, signed by local residents regarding parking restrictions on Grange Lane, Wolstanton. I can advise you that receipt of the petition will be reported to Cllr Helen Fisher, Cabinet Member for Highways & Transport.
The current timed restrictions on Grange Lane were implemented in 2009 as part of the improvements associated with the Wolstanton Link Road and were intended to improve the amenity of the area, and to facilitate the ease of access to the residential premises.
The waiting restrictions between 8:00am and 4:30pm on Monday to Friday are supported by a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO), which is the framework that enables the road markings to be legally enforceable.
Other than the usual exceptions for loading / unloading, there is no permit system available for residents which would enable them to park during the restricted times and the Council has no current plans to review the arrangements here.
This is because in order to remove, reduce, or otherwise amend the restrictions in the Grange Lane cul-de-sac, the County Council would need to amend the original TRO.
Creating, removing or amending a TRO requires an investment of thousands of pounds and can take several months to complete, since the process involves both statutory and public consultation, in accordance with Government legislation and guidelines. Currently the Council has no funding stream available through which to implement or change TROs and in most cases, new TROs or amendments to these, must be funded instead via the local County Councillor’s Divisional Highway Programme (DHP).
The DHP provides each County Councillor with a small annual sum from the Integrated Transport budget which they can use to fund investigation or minor civil works to address Local Community Priorities. The concern expressed by the petition is not a matter that currently features on County Councillor John Cooper’s DHP and although the issue can be recorded for future consideration, it would need to be prioritised over other similarly sincere highway concerns within the division, before any further investigation could take place.
Turning to the request for a resident permit system, the Council does provide an application service for Permit Parking Schemes and further information is available on our website. Both an initial application fee and the ongoing cost of renewing the permits has to be paid for by the residents. However, generally only those sites where residents have no provision for off-street parking and where there are no existing Traffic Regulation Orders restricting parking, are considered for Permit Parking Schemes. As the majority of properties on Grange Lane have access to off-street parking it is very unlikely that the site would qualify for a Permit Parking Scheme, even if the current restrictions were removed in the future.
In summary, the options available to the residents of Grange Lane are as follows: the restrictions remain as they are on the understanding that there is no option for exceptions/permits or alternatively; the residents can formally request that the Council considers the removal or at least a reduction of the current restrictions. If the latter option is the preferred choice, the issue can be recorded on the local County Councillor’s DHP, where the matter may be prioritised in the future for further investigation.
Should you require further information regarding your petition please contact David Greatbatch, Strategic Community Infrastructure Manager on 0300 111 8000.