We have now analysed the results of the parking restriction surveys in Bramblewood, Broad Meadow, Cherry Blossom Close and the area of Sprites Lane which is in Pinewood parish. These are the roads which are proposed to have the most severe parking restrictions as they are closest to the new Suffolk One college. The vast majority of those who responded want Suffolk County Council to provide space for students to park cars on the site.

It’s also clear that the majority of residents in Broad Meadow and Cherry Blossom Close do not have enough space for their vehicles either on their own drive or in garages. Many of the developments built since the 1980s have limited parking and it is a real problem now. Vehicles parked all over the streets makes it less safe for pedestrians, especially small children. It also makes it more difficult for emergency vehicles.

Some people felt that the County Council should have waited until the college was open to see how bad the parking problem was before putting in parking restrictions on local roads. The fact that these restrictions will be in place all through school holidays will also inconvenience residents.

People who have day time visitors face the prospect of paving over their front gardens at their own expense to provide additional parking space.

Sprites Lane (8 respondents)

The parking restrictions on this road are being dealt with by Ipswich Borough Council. The original proposal was for a mixture of double and single yellow lines. This has now been changed to a restriction from 9 to 10am and 2 to 3pm. This found favour with the majority of residents.

Bramblewood (33 respondents)

Some sections of double yellow lines are being proposed on the corners of this road. The majority are against (81%), but neither is there a clear consensus on an alternative 9am to 10am and 2pm to 3pm restriction, but more were in favour (57%) than against.

Broad Meadow (38 respondents)

Here there was a majority in favour (58%) of the proposed 9am to 5pm restriction. However that is by no means a resounding endorsement. Only 31% said they would prefer no waiting from 9am to 10am and 2pm to 3pm. Most significant was that 94% said they did not have space to park their vehicles on their drive or in a garage.

Cherry Blossom Close (24 respondents)

Again there was a mixed picture here. Whilst 12 of the residents were in favour of the 9am to 5pm restrictions, 10 were not. Eight would prefer 9am to 10am and 2pm to 3pm but the majority (15) were not. Again 16 of those who responded to the question about space for parking said they did not have enough room to park their cars on their drives or in garages.

What happens next?

The County Council’s Rights of Way committee meets on June 8th and their decision will go before the Cabinet on July 20th for a final decision.

Reviews of the parking restrictions have been promised at Easter 2011 and again in December 2011. Working with the parish council we will keep up the pressure for on site car parking for students.

A few weeks ago I received a plan showing the proposed parking restrictions around the Suffolk One Sixth Form College on the outskirts of Ipswich in Pinewood Parish. These restrictions have to be in place before the college opens in September, in order to comply with the planning conditions. Unfortunately, after the consultancy company carried out the initial consultation, no-one has gone back to residents to check whether what is being proposed is acceptable. The parish council and I discussed the issue and decided to put on an exhibition of the proposals on Monday evening and Wednesday morning this week at Pinewood Community Hall. Leaflets were distributed to advertise the event and an officer from the County Council attended.

People were queuing out of the door and some of them were very annoyed. There really should have been another round of consultations to check that what is being proposed is acceptable to residents and we were being blamed for this. The other complication is that part of Pinewood parish is within the Ipswich Borough Highways Agency area and we hadn’t seen those proposals at all. All proposals are on the County and Ipswich Borough websites. The proposals within the Ipswich section are here:

http://www.ipswich.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=888

I was unable to find the proposals on the County Council website – which doesn’t say much for the way the website is organised!! When I find it I will post it here.

 The Suffolk One website is at: www.suffolkone.org and it explains their parking policy – which is that the only student parking on site will be for bicycles and motorcycles. There is also limited parking for staff. It is little wonder then that residents are worried about parking outside their properties.

Today I have discussed the issue with some of the officers. If there is no further intervention the orders will be published on April 6th and then residents only course of action is to object if they don’t like what is on offer. The other alternative is to go out to another round of consultation, but then the parking restrictions will not be in place in time for the opening in September. The parish council may need to hold a public meeting to get the community’s views on this.