Month: April 2017

This is my proposed response to the consultation which WBC is currently running regarding the Parking Standards SPD. I’ll probably submit it in the next week or so.

In general I support the aims of the document and have no reason to comment on any areas other than residential parking, motorcycle parking and places of worship.

1. The previous parking standards have caused significant problems in the borough and the loss of desirable green verges in Brookwood as they have been turned into ad-hoc parking which ruins the look of the village. Where small developments occur and with the support of immediate residents, some consideration should be given to converting some grass verges to proper paved allocated parking.

2. Where there are large developments with circa 25+ dwellings, the ratios could cause some problems if many of the dwellings are starter homes and have one or two bedrooms. There is a need across the borough for small dwellings which will suit young, growing families. For example, an estate of 100 houses, of which 80 of those are a combination of flats/houses of one or two bedrooms will have insufficient spaces to allow those estates to grow satisfactorily. In instances such as this, a ratio of visitor parking should be defined to ensure there is sufficient room to take the slack. The current proposal says visitor parking is encouraged, this should be investigated further and an appropriate ratio mandated.

3. Motorcycles and scooters are part of the solution when considering congestion and sustainable modes of transport. Motorcycles will typically have fuel consumption far in excess of many cars and rarely sit idling in traffic. There are no diesel motorcycles, but there are electric motorcycles. The Parking Standards SPD takes none of this into account and it should in all use classes.

4. In developments of large sites with in excess of circa 25+ dwellings, consideration should be given to providing some motorcycle parking provision with ground locks to assist with security. These small bays should be in good sight for security purposes otherwise motorcycles are often parked on pavements or take up full sized car parking bays.

5. Where a place of worship has a congregation, which is not local to the building, insufficient on-site parking can cause significant problems to the surrounding roads as many worshipers frequently park with little regard for local residents. This situation is experienced often at the Kingdom Hall Of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Brookwood and the Shah Jahan Mosque in Maybury. Where new or replacement places of worship come forward, consideration should be given to the location that worshipers travel from because one space per ten worshipers is clearly insufficient unless worshipers are bused in. All places of worship in instances like this should have a travel plan in a similar way to a school.

Please let me know if you have a view on the above so I can reconsider my response.

Cheers.

Kevin

A couple of weeks ago, I covered the Joint Committee and discussed the potential improvements to Brookwood Crossroads.

I have a map of what is currently being considered as achievable. Crucially, it doesn’t involve knocking down West Hill Cottages which is a good thing.

 

I like this proposal and I have been in discussion about losing the bus stop, and the grass verge outside 1 West Hill Close. This will see two parking spaces lost, but if the verge is converted to parking, it will generate three, so a net increase of one space which is desperately required at this point along Connaught Road.

This would be a significant improvement for local traffic, will mitigate additional traffic from the Coblands development and with luck reduce the 20 odd minute wait it can take to exit the village some mornings.

I don’t know when this will go out to consultation, but I expect it will be sometime towards the end of the year. Implementation is at least two years away, and I hope to see it in place before the decade is out.

Cheers.

Kevin

WBC has just gone out to consultation regarding parking standards for developments. The consultation period ends on 22 May 2017. Further details may be found here: http://www.woking2027.info/supplementary

In summary, this has nothing to do with parking on the road and the standards around that; that is a SCC issue which I have already fed into and will soon be out to consultation. Although it is indirectly linked as I’ll explain below.

The previous Labour Government introduced maximum parking standards in an effort to lower car use. Commendable as that aim was, unfortunately, it has not done that, but what it has done is enable poor developments to occur with insufficient parking, thus dumping more cars onto roads when parked. The current Government has changed the guidelines, and this consultation is WBC’s take on it.

As Councillor, I will be submitting a response and working with the Brookwood and Bridley Neighbourhood Forum so that the BBNF can also respond if it wishes to do so. I encourage anyone who has a view to also submit a response. It’s easy to do and details can be found on the link above.

I expect this policy to be in place for at least a decade, so now’s your chance to influence this important subject which affects all of us one way or another.

Cheers.

Kevin