The views of residents living in west Eltham are being ignored by Greenwich Council as it announced its plans for parking restrictions across much of the borough. Having been consulted on parking restrictions in March as part of the Sustainable Streets programme, Eltham has been ignored once again as the Council announced and partly abandoned plans for the rest of the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
Labour-run Greenwich Council even decided not to listen to residents of Birdbrook Road in Eltham who submitted a petition asking for parking restrictions to deal with overflow parking from Kidbrooke Village.
What is happening with parking restrictions in Eltham?
Having consulted about parking restrictions across the west of Eltham in the spring, Greenwich Council has made no effort to update residents or Councillors about future plans despite doing so for most of the rest of the borough. Conservative Councillor Charlie Davis has been informed privately that the Conservative campaign against blocking the roads under the A2 on Eltham Green Road and Shawbrooke Road for a new cycle route has been successful but we still await formal notification that this is the case.
To add insult to injury, where Birdbrook Road residents requested parking restrictions via a petition, a formal response at the end of July stated:
• The Council is in the process of undertaking a programme of consultation to introduce parking restrictions across the borough (which they have branded “Sustainable streets”).
• The reviews of parking restrictions mean that parking restrictions will be introduced over the next three to five years.
• Birdbrook Road was included in phase one of the programme (meaning residents received consultation letters in February). The response further states “Later this spring, we will publish the outcome of this engagement stage and details of our initial proposals” which is clearly inaccurate as nothing has been received as yet.
Neither of the Labour Councillors for Eltham Page ward (which includes Birdbrook Road) spoke out about the petition response, which appeared to be generic, failed to address any of the specific concerns raised. It also included out of date comments about actions in the spring which have still not occurred as we reach the end of the summer.
What is the Conservative policy on parking restrictions?
Greenwich Conservatives have a very clear policy on parking restrictions which is that they will be introduced where the majority of residents on a road request them. There is no presumption in favour or against parking restrictions, simply a wish to deploy them in a way which improves the quality of life for local residents. We are aware that residents near to transport hubs often suffer from excessive commuter parking so restrictions are often welcome in roads like Birdbrook.
Why is it worth supporting local Conservatives?
We have led the campaign across the Royal Borough of Greenwich against the imposition of parking restrictions without the support of residents (which is the Labour-run Council’s policy) and will continue to do this. While other parties focus mainly on national issues we are focused on what is happening to all of us who live in Eltham. We believe the Council has not tried to introduce parking restrictions across the whole of Eltham because Conservative Councillors will be active in opposing them if there is no democratic support. Other areas in the borough that do not have Conservative councillors are getting parking restrictions whether they support it or not.