The following response was sent to Lewisham Mayor Brenda Dacres on behalf of the Forest Hill Society. The matter concerns the impending changes to local parking charges recently brought to our attention by our friends at the Sydenham Society
Dear Madam Mayor,
I am writing to you on behalf of the Forest Hill Society and the Lewisham residents and traders that we represent in the Forest Hill, Perry Vale and Crofton Park wards in particular.
It has recently been brought to our attention that there is a proposed change to Lewisham's borough-wide parking policy, whose implementation is imminent, that was decided at the Mayor & Cabinet meeting on the 4th of December in the Catford & Crofton Park report. We would like to express our deep concern with the decision that has been taken and not communicated or consulted upon with local stakeholders.
The proposed change, to remove all free limited waiting period parking locations and to require all of them to be paid, could have a substantial effect on the health of the high street retail environment. Whilst we can see that in an ideal world this will encourage greater turnover of spaces, this will come at the cost of greatly increasing the complexity and, to some extent, the cost of using local shops. It could very well have the effect of driving business away from high streets like Dartmouth Road, Honor Oak Park and Kirkdale that are already suffering, and encourage these drivers to switch to other shopping areas with plentiful free parking, such as Bell Green or to East Dulwich.
With these retail spaces already facing tough times, adding a further disincentive could have a substantial negative effect. I wonder if the officers or councillors have actually consulted with the shopkeepers about this when they claim that:
"the amendment to the Policy will be positively received by local business owners as this will encourage quick turnover of the parking bays and increase compliance which can potentially encourage more trade footfall". (7.6)
In addition, the requirement for a smart-phone to manage your parking payment, will discriminate against certain users most likely to require cars to shop on our streets. The elderly residents in our area who may not be able to cope with the many steep hills will be the same ones less able to use payment apps. While there may be an alternative for paying for parking by visiting certain shops, there is no guarantee that the few of these that operate will be easy to reach for those in this particular situation, and the time it will take them to carry out this operation will take a substantial proportion of the maximum 30 minutes in any case.While we understand that Lewisham Council is not primarily doing this as a revenue-generating exercise, it will be perceived as such by many, and make the process of promoting the wider Sustainable Streets goals harder to achieve, coming at exactly the same time as we begin that consultation process in our area.
This change will impact all local residents in order to deal with a parking issue that is actually only caused by a very small minority.
We urge Lewisham Council to review this change and to carry out local consultation and engagement to review alternative solutions to the problem that is, in fact, a parking enforcement issue and not one of parking fees.The Forest Hill Society is willing to take constructive part in any such process and to help make the local area a better place to live, work and play.Thank you for your kind attention on this matter.Sincerely
Robert McIntosh
Chair, Forest Hill Society
CC: Forest Hill, Perry Vale and Crofton Park Councillors
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