Thursday 19 May 2016

When Dogma Meets Reality

Vanisha Ramdhony, 31, lives in Darwin House on the Worcester Close estate and was outraged to find out earlier this year that residents from her block of flats would be banned from on-street parking.
After leaving their cars on the road overnight last month, some of them woke up to a £100 fine from Parking Control Management Ltd., who told the residents they would have to use the 12 bays owned by their housing association, Affinity Sutton.
She and her neighbours have been caught in a tug-of-war over the bays ever since, with tensions escalating as the residents of 53 properties across Darwin House and neighbouring Bodleian House, also owned by Affinity Sutton, struggle to find somewhere close by to park.
Because parking 'close by' is one of those expectations people have.

Off-street parking can resolve this where there is an opportunity (and where there is one or two cars per household) but this is not practical for multi-occupancy dwellings.
Many residents have resorted to parking further away from their homes, not an ideal situation for those with young children, Ms Ramdhony says.
She told News Shopper: “Affinity Sutton’s slogan says ‘Helping people put down roots’. 
“Does it look like in any way us residents will be able to live happily with this parking chaos hanging over our heads? 
“There are 12 parking bays on the whole estate.”
Hmmm, if I wanted to have three cars, but my driveway only holds two, would I:

a) settle for two,
b) move house, or
c) loudly demand that some of my neighbours give me space on their drives?

Obviously, option c) never crosses my mind. I wonder why the same cannot be said for those who dwell in 'social' housing (a strange name, as often the denizens are pretty anti-social)?

But this is the inevitable conflict provoked by councils pushing 'green' policies onto developers to restrict car usage by restricting parking.
Councillor Angela Wilkins told News Shopper that street parking is becoming a major issue locally, partly because the overground is being heavily used by commuters
She said: “I am working with officers to try to address this - but the overriding problem is too many cars and not enough space.”
“If parking charges or residents' permit schemes are introduced the likely outcome is that the problem simply moves to neighbouring streets.”
Those artist impressions on advertising for new builds showing everyone cycling and walking, ordering their shopping online or using the bus, are pipe dreams. People still cling to their cars, and will continue to do so, no matter what.

7 comments:

MC said...

I know someone who had planned a week in Benidorm with a friend and her friend's mother. The mother booked the holiday, flying from Manchester.

Second day of the holiday, sitting in a bar near the hotel, my acquaintance thought it odd that she couldn't see the beach and asked the waiter where it was. He explained that the beaches were a short drive away, which she thought didn't sound right, so asked him which bit of Benidorm they were in.

He looked at her blankly for a while, then gently pointed out that they were in Barcelona.

ivan said...

Those artist impressions on advertising for new builds showing everyone cycling and walking, ordering their shopping online or using the bus, are pipe dreams In fact they are straight out of the Agenda 21 handbook.

Anonymous said...

A lack of parking in neighbourhoods with a high proportion of social housing ("caaahncil 'states, yeah?") is the single biggest complaint from residents.

The reason why parking is such an issue is that the lower rent of social properties leaves money over for things like extra cars. Cars are relatively cheap, and are an income generator for many families.

As residents are completely wedded to being 2+ car families, the problem is pushed around if regulations are tightened in one area. So, the genie is out the bottle. Best way to sort it? Reduce social housing or allow HA's to put rents up, drying up the free cash for cars.

John Square (now no longer in Housing, hooray!)

Northish said...

There are simply too many people in this country, this is just another symptom. About 25 million is what we could just about feed when the world food wars start, and there would be plenty of space for parking.

Bill Sticker said...

We have friends who live not far away from that area. Their development has sufficient off street parking for residents. Because our friends made sure that when they bought their property it had two allocated places within the lower floor of the building.

Is it just me, or does the phrase 'Joined up thinking' need to be deployed by both developer and tenant in this case? Or would that be too much to ask?

stengle said...

'Those artist impressions on advertising for new builds showing everyone cycling and walking, ordering their shopping online or using the bus, are pipe dreams. '

I remember Rotherham put out a leaflet showing the 'planned' revamp of the centre of the town with (younger) people purposefully walking round in suits, all slim and each with a briefcass. It was a lovely image, and at complete odds with today's hordes of suit-free, age-indeterminate tubby non-workers, immigrant families in their vibrant clothes and feckless yoofs doing wheelies on their clown bicycles. Not a sausage-roll shop or poundsaver store to be seen, either. Somehow the new plan included an invisible way to keep the masses from the town centre.

This is what I love about architect's impressions: reality doesn't really intrude much (and all the women wear high heels, too!)

JuliaM said...

"He looked at her blankly for a while, then gently pointed out that they were in Barcelona."

I think I know where that comment should have been... ;)

"In fact they are straight out of the Agenda 21 handbook."

Indeed!

"Best way to sort it? Reduce social housing or allow HA's to put rents up, drying up the free cash for cars. "

*high fives*

"There are simply too many people in this country..."

...in too concentrated a space.

"Is it just me, or does the phrase 'Joined up thinking' need to be deployed by both developer and tenant in this case?"

Since both parties suffer from terminal entitlement, I suspect it will never happen...

"It was a lovely image, and at complete odds with today's hordes of suit-free, age-indeterminate tubby non-workers, immigrant families in their vibrant clothes and feckless yoofs doing wheelies on their clown bicycles. Not a sausage-roll shop or poundsaver store to be seen, either."

Who'd ever invest, if grim reality was depicted?