Update - 9 February 2012

Following the formal consultation carried out in November 2011, representations received along with officers' comments were submitted to the Street Management Advisory Committee in its meeting on 23 January 2012.

See also

Update - Statutory Consultation - 3 November 2011

The informal consultation carried out in June 2011 on the proposal to introduce a controlled parking zone (CPZ) in the The Downs area resulted in a total of 352 questionnaires returned, representing a response rate of 32.8%. As it can be seen from the table linked below, 50.4% of respondents indicated that they currently have parking problems in their roads compared to 41.1% who feel that they do not.

A majority of 47.3% support a CPZ, compared to 45.6% who do not, with 7.1% undecided. In response to the preferred days of operation, 69.1% support Monday to Friday compared to 17.8% who prefer Monday to Saturday. The remaining 13% have no preference or do not support a CPZ. With regards to the preferred hours of operation, 38.4% support 8.30am–6.30pm; 21% prefer 10am–4pm, whilst 25% support 11am–12pm. The remaining 15.6% had no preference or do not support a CPZ.

The results of the consultation along with residents views and officers’ recommendations were presented in a report to the Street Management Advisory Committee and the Cabinet Member on 20 September 2011.

After careful consideration, the Cabinet Member agreed to proceed to statutory consultation to introduce the W7 CPZ to include The Downs, Lansdowne Road, Crescent Road, Southdown Drive, Cumberland Close, Thaxted Place, Southdown Road, Ethelbert Road, Delamere Road, Albert Grove, and part of Lower Downs Road, operational Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 6.30pm.

Lansdowne Road: According to the consultation results for Lansdowne Road, the majority of respondents were against the parking controls. As a rule the Council refrains from imposing a CPZ in roads where the majority of residents have opted against a CPZ, however, given the two options available (a CPZ or double yellow lines on one side of the road without a CPZ), it is considered that the residents would benefit from a CPZ as they would only be competing for a parking space against other residents and their visitors rather than commuters.

Notwithstanding the current recommendation for inclusion, if the residents of Lansdowne Road continue to be against inclusion after this statutory consultation then officers will have to be mindful of the needs and safety of pedestrians particularly with the retirement home located at the end of Lansdowne Road and those who may require the use of a wheel chair, officers will recommend the introduction of double yellow line waiting restrictions on one side of the road to protect pedestrians and prevent the current illegal footway parking.

Delamere Road and Cumberland Close: Although these roads are against the parking controls they have been included in the statutory consultation process to allow them the opportunity to be included in the CPZ as these roads will be adversely affected by parking displacement.
For further information please see the leaflet, drawings and consultation results below.

See also

Update - Committee - 20 September 2011

Informal Consultation - 10 June 2011

The Council is seeking the views of local residents on proposals to introduce a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) in The Downs, Lansdowne Road, Crescent Road, Southdown Drive, Cumberland Close, Thaxted Close, Southdown Road, Ethelbert Road, Delamere Road, Albert Grove, and part of Lower Downs Road. This proposal is in response to representations and a petition (PT492) received from local residents who are experiencing parking difficulties in their road(s). Generally, residents feel the problem is being caused by:

  • Commuters who park and complete their journey by public transport or those working in nearby businesses.
  • Existing CPZ’s displacing parking into the uncontrolled area.
  • Residents and staff of nearby businesses within the neighbouring CPZs avoiding parking charges.

It has, therefore, been decided that the Council would carry out an informal consultation to seek your views on proposals to control parking in your road (see enclosed plans for the proposals).

What is a controlled parking zone or CPZ?

A Controlled Parking Zone is an area where parking controls are introduced to protect the parking needs of residents and their visitors, as well as those of local businesses. Parking bays are marked on the carriageway to indicate to motorists where they can park. Yellow line restrictions are also introduced to improve safety and traffic flow by removing dangerous or obstructive parking. In a CPZ the operational times for the single yellow lines are indicated on signs as you enter the zone. In some cases there may be single yellow lines that may operate at different times and these will be signed separately.

Double yellow line restrictions do not require signs. In the absence of loading restrictions you may stop on a yellow line to load or unload goods for a limited period of time. All parking places within a CPZ are individually signed to ensure that motorists are aware of the operational times and conditions. This ensures that the bays are fully enforceable. To minimise street furniture, every effort is made to ensure signs are placed on existing street furniture, such as lamp columns or signs are combined with other street signs. In a CPZ, residents, local businesses and their visitors are given priority to use the appropriate parking places by displaying a valid permit in respect of that zone. However, a parking permit does not give the holder the right to park outside a particular premise, and does not guarantee an available parking space.

How will it work?

All road space in a CPZ is managed by the introduction of parking controls. Parking is only permitted where safety, access and sight lines are not compromised. It is, therefore, normal practice to introduce double yellow lines at key locations such as at junctions, bends, turning heads and at specific locations along lengths of roads where parking would impede the passing of vehicles. It is also necessary to provide yellow lines (effective during the CPZ hours of operation or at any time) where the kerb is lowered, i.e. at crossovers for driveways. The key objective of managing parking is to reduce and control non-essential parking and assist the residents, short-term visitors and the local businesses. Within any CPZ, only those within the zone are entitled to permits.

This means that long-term parkers will not be able to park within the permit bays during the operational times. An incremental pricing structure for 2nd and subsequent permits also assists in minimising the number of permits issued to individual residents and help discourage multiple car ownerships. CPZs comprise of various types of parking bays such as permit holder bays (for use by resident or business permit holders and those with visitor permits); shared use bays (for permit holders and pay and display) and pay and display only bays (permits are not valid). Council-appointed Civil Enforcement Officers will enforce the controls by issuing fines/Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) to vehicles parked in contravention of the restrictions.

Outside the controlled times the restrictions are not enforced. However, Civil Enforcement Officers will issue PCNs for any other parking contravention such as parking on double yellow lines, footways and parking across individual crossovers without the property owner’s consent. The Council aims to reach a balance between the needs of the residents, businesses and the safety of all road users. In the event that the majority of those consulted do not support a CPZ in their road or area, and the Council agrees, officers may recommend that only the proposed double yellow lines identified at key locations are introduced to improve safety and maintain access.

Proposals

The proposals include a number of provisions which are detailed below

Operational hours

The choice of operational hours are explained below:

All Day Controls (8.30am-6.30pm): This will provide maximum protection to the residents by removing short and long-term parking. It will, however, be less flexible for residents and their visitors who will need to obtain a visitor’s permit from the resident they are visiting in order to park in the permit holder bays.

Part Time Controls (10am-4pm): These operating times offer less restrictions on residents and their visitors than ‘all day’ controls. It is still effective in preventing long-term parkers. However, it may encourage short-term parking by non residents or businesses, such as shoppers outside the operating times . Residents returning from work later in the afternoon may find less available parking in their street due to this.

One-hour control (11am-12 noon): This minimum restriction offers more flexibility to residents and their visitors than the part time day controls, reducing the amount of visitors’ permits they would normally obtain, and is still effective in restricting long-term parking. However, it may encourage other short term parking outside the restricted time, by non-residents such as shoppers and other residents from neighbouring CPZs. Non residents may also work their way around the one-hour by moving their vehicles and then returning to park for the rest of the day.

Operational days

The proposed operational days include:

Monday to Friday: This will offer more flexibility to residents and visitors at weekends. However it may encourage non residents, especially shoppers, to park on Saturdays, therefore reducing available parking for your visitors.

Monday to Saturday: Provides maximum protection to the residents. However, it will be more restrictive on visitors who would require a visitor’s permit to park during the controlled times.

The standard prices for annual parking permits apply to all operational times, whether all day, part time, or 1 hour controls.

Parking Provisions: The following are incorporated within the proposed measures:

Double yellow lines at junctions, bends, ends of cul-de-sac and at strategic sections of the road to create passing gaps. (This will improve safety and access at all times by reducing obstructive parking that is currently taking place) Shared Use Pay and Display bays are also proposed where it is necessary to allow non-residents to pay for parking for a short period at specific locations such as near shops, schools, churches and also in areas for longer term parking where residents are not directly affected, to allow effective use of the bays. (This will increase the use of parking provisions in the area by pay and display customers whilst still maintaining parking facilities for permit holders.)

Car club bays

In partnership with Streetcar and TfL, Merton Council is seeking to expand car clubs throughout the borough and it is proposed to implement bays in locations where local residents are members or have expressed an interest. Car clubs are short-term car rental schemes, allowing its members quick access to a range of vehicles, whether you need a car for just one hour, or for several days. Cars can be booked through a pay and go system, and members are charged according to the mileage driven and the length of time the car is in use.

Car clubs offer the ultimate flexibility in car use without the hassle of owning one. There is a range of social, financial, economical and environmental benefits of becoming a car club member. If you drive less than 6,000 miles a year you can make savings of up to £1,500 a year. The main advantage is that car club members enjoy the freedom of using the cars without the burden of owning one.

Let us know your views

The decision on whether or not to proceed with the next step, which would involve a statutory consultation on the proposals, will be subject to the responses received during this consultation. The informal consultation period for these proposals closed on 1 July 2011. We regret that due to the number of responses received during a public consultation of this size it will not be possible to individually reply to each respondent. We welcome your comments on this proposal, which will be noted and included within the proposed measures where appropriate. You are also invited to speak to officers at the public meeting on 25 June 2011. It should be noted that subject to the responses received, a recommendation may be made to only include those roads where there is a majority in support of the proposals.

Please note: An informal consultation for a proposed CPZ for the Raynes Park area will be carried out in the upcoming months. If these roads are in favour of parking controls this will cause further parking displacement into any uncontrolled roads where residents may find it more difficult to find parking spaces.

Exhibition

You may wish to attend one of our public exhibitions to be held at Sacred Heart Church Hall, Edge Hill, London SW19 on Saturday, 25 June 2011 from 1.00pm to 5.00pm.

What happens next

It is envisaged that the results of the consultation along with officers’ recommendations will be presented in a report to the Street Management Advisory Committee and/or the Cabinet Member for Environmental Sustainability and regeneration. Once a decision is made you will be informed accordingly.

See also

You can view the plans in Merton Link at Merton Civic Centre, Morden during our working hours, Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.

Contact us

Traffic and Highways
Merton Civic Centre
London Road
Morden
SM4 5DX
Telephone: 020 8545 4869
Fax: 020 8545 4865
Email: trafficandhighways@merton.gov.uk