Plans for new parking zone

Proposal for a New Controlled Parking Zone in Preston Park Station North

Last night Brighton & Hove councillors voted to approve plans for a new controlled parking zone to the north of Preston Park Station.  The scheme would operate from Monday to Friday only, to alleviate parking pressures in the area caused by commuter parking while allowing residents and visitors to park for free at weekends.  

The results of a recent consultation to extend a neighbouring controlled zone, known as Area A, showed a 50/50 split between those in favour and those against.  However, a significant number of comments from both sides outlined that a controlled scheme from Monday to Friday only, would address the problem.

Residents in the zone A area expressed concerns about the potential impact that extending the scheme may have on them and taking this into account, councillors have now proposed to create a separate stand-alone zone, known as area E.  If implemented, the scheme would be monitored for 3 months to assess its impact in the Beeches, Hazeldene Meads, Withdean Road and Withdean Avenue, with a formal review presented at the next Transport Committee meeting thereafter.

Councillor Pete West, Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee, said: “We ran the consultation in response to a significant number of residents who had raised concerns about parking pressures around their homes.  While views about having a controlled zone for 7 days a week are clearly mixed, what has come across loud and clear is that the main issue is with people from outside the area using the streets to park in while they’re at work.

“We’ve also listened to the concerns of residents in adjoining streets and rather than extending the existing zone we feel the best way forward is to create a new zone with its own stand-alone parking scheme which would operate during the week only.”

Details of the proposal will now be advertised as a traffic order in the press, on street notices and on the Council website early next year. Leaflets will also be circulated to residents in the area to make them aware of the plans and how to provide feedback. All views expressed during the consultation period will be reported back to the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee meeting in March 2014. 

For full details of the decisions made at the latest Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee meeting, on 27 November 2013, see:

http://democracy.brighton-hove.gov.uk/Published/C00000823/M00004789/$$$Decisions.doc.pdf