Hackney Council’s new parking controls ‘bad for business’ in Victoria Park
Hackney Town Hall. Photograph: Hackney Citizen
Controversial parking controls which won support from the majority of residents have been dubbed ‘draconian’ by traders.
The restrictions from 8.30am until 5pm from Monday to Friday have split the local community in Victoria Park Village.
Residents welcome new permit-only bays and pay and display areas, while shops are concerned these will have a negative impact on takings.
Joanna de Guia, Secretary of Victoria Park Trader’s Association and owner of Victoria Park Books, said: “We can’t afford to carry financial burden of their experiment.
“We are not big chains that can afford to ride ups and downs.
“The Victoria Park area looks very chi chi but that does not mean local businesses are raking it in financially, and we can ill afford to lose business.”
When locals were consulted about parking changes, they were asked to give their views on four proposals.
56 per cent said they wanted eight hours of restricted parking per day.
However, of the four options offered, the proposal to restrict parking for just two hours per day on week days won the largest share of the vote with 44 per cent stating their preference for this option.
18 per cent of those who responded to the consultation said they favoured weekday restrictions from 8.30am-5pm. 13 per cent said they wanted restrictions from 8.30am-6.30pm on weekdays. 25 per cent wanted 8.30am-6.30pm restrictions from Monday to Saturday.
The results of the consultation can be viewed here.
Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods Councillor Feryal Dermirci said the council was acting “to prevent the area being exploited by non-local motorists”.
She added: “The council has a duty to improve road safety and ensure a regular flow of traffic.
“We will be keeping this under review to make sure it is working as well as it can.”
The restrictions will be put in place from 24 March.
Lobby group Hackney Living Streets has said it wants to see more parking restrictions and ramped up charges.
In response to a recent government consultation Hackney Living Streets wrote that it wanted parking enforcement to be applied “more rigorously”, adding: “We are disappointed that this consultation on local authority parking addresses only parking enforcement and levels of parking revenue rather than broader parking issues that urgently need to be addressed.”
This article was amended at 9.16am on 28 February 2014 to provide more detail on the results of the consultation.
Time to find a new hairdresser…the insane restrictions around Hackney Central must be murdering the restaurants round there, maybe the new influx from Shoreditch can afford cabs to go everywhere I don’t know.
It’ s not flow of traffic in Victoria Park, it’s about restricting parking and making money, the area has become a success story for local business’. The parking zone will stop people coming to the area, having a meal, buying interesting gifts and enjoying the park, which has also a success….but in Tower Hamlets!
Actually during the statutory consultation period (an equally important part of the process) which followed the voluntary consultation period the Traders managed to obtain more signatories, to a local petition requesting a 2 hour experiment restriction, than actually replied to the Council’s own consultation paper altogether.
The Traders are very upset that the Council appears to have made its mind up before even beginning the voluntary consultation. The “decision” was presented at the end of the voluntary consultation and no account has been taken of the response to this decision which was overwhelmingly in favour of a light touch solution to the problem.
The Traders are all in favour of relieving the obvious parking stress and encouraging visitors to the area not to drive. But not at the expense of our livelihoods.
I feel it is not fair to say that it has split the community. An overwhelming majority of people are keen to trial a light touch, two hour restriction which would be favourable to all.
It wasn’t a 56% majority of residents in favour of one option, as I recall. The council offered about 4 options, then added 3 together to outweigh the single largest majority response. Not very good journalism.
Disappointed in the suggestion of a “split” in the local community. The majority of traders are, in fact, residents as well and the request for a trial of the lighter controls is supported by many residents with no connection to the traders.
Overall, Hackney Council had a total of 460 responses to the informal consultation, for and against. The Council was presented with a petition requesting a trial of two-hour controls signed by 702 people, 484 from the postcode in question, and received an undisclosed number of objections during the statutory consultation period.
More research required, I think.
Hackney council has manipulated the figures to suit themselves. The majority of us are in favour of a lighter touch two hour restrictions, which will have the desired effect of restricting commuter traffic, but hopefully won’t affect local business and visitors to the area and the park.
I have lived here all my life I have seen the area change from a rundown, largely derelict, and undesirable area, to a thriving, popular and progressive location, mostly as a result of local people working really hard to create small business’s successfully regenerating the area, making it a very popular place to visit. Victoria park has become one of the most popular parks in the country, (thanks to Tower Hamlets!) which has brought obvious rewards commercially! All this has been achieved without Hackney council contributing in any way whatsoever, in actual fact, I would say they have taken a negative and obstructive attitude towards local business, in pursuit of their own revenue raising agenda. I suggest they design a scheme to make the footways and roads in the area safe and pleasing to the eye, (the way they were forced to in Broadway market!) rather than just as a cash cow!
Thanks to everyone for your comments and feedback. This article was amended at 9.16am on 28 February 2014 to provide more detail on the results of the consultation – Ed.
I am in Zone R area, We had the similar experience with the council. Hackney council systematically manipulate figures (as Mike mentioned above) to implement longest possible hours in order to generate revenue. I think 7am till 11am are logical hours as they deter both commuters and displacement parking due to early 7am start, but will be kind to our visitors and tradesman. In 2010 PEP consultation 88% people preferred short hours should be tried in residential areas. Council’s parking policy (2.27) states that, ‘If the technical assessment shows that stress is from commuters, a PZ that is operational for only a small period (for example, two hours per day) may be all that is required to protect local parking needs’. Shorter hours are working fine in some other boroughs like Hornsey and Islington.
why don’t we all get together from different zone and take this up to the council. please email info@liveelectrics.co.uk