Streetlife

Waste of Time the Highways A Committee just ploughs ahead purely politcally motivated - the do not give a pink parking ticket about us residents

Thanks for responding Techy, that makes at least three people in the borough who have a comment to make ! You may well be right in your assumption that I am wasting my time or 'tilting at windmills' in relation to my concern.
HOWEVER what do we do? Roll over and accept ?
To me the financial aspect of this matter is secondary, the main issue to me is what is next? 
The local authority have proposed and approved this piece of local legislation in an underhand and unfair manner, they have moved the goal posts and tried to disguse it under another new proposal (Boroughwide CPZ's). If this method of 'running' the council goes unchallenged, what will be their next unjust, ill concieved revenue maker? Their divide and conquer approach may lead them to think they can use this approach again without challenge or responsibillty to justify their actions !!!.

The process is complain to the council - they have a complaints procedure - they may need reminding!
If you are disatisfied with the response to your complaint complain to the local Government Ombudsman  http://www.lgo.org.uk/

Thanks Techy

I have already adopted that approach. Howerver it still remains as me, one of the little people, against their well resourced coporate bulldozer.

Ken
What is the status of your complaint to the council?

Techy
I have to admit that the complaints proceedure was a bit of an after thought and therefore I am still awaiting a response. The last time I had cause to complain, on another issue I circumvented the system and corresponded directly at Executive level. If my compaint does not generate the appropriate response I will adopt the afore mentioned appoach again.

There is only one way to get at them it is using their own procedures.
Letter from you to CEO is not a complaint (unless he care to pass it down to a minion for response)

Well she did before and it can back with a full apology and thr correct result as far as we were concerned.

You obvioudsly know best nd do not need to post here.

Is it Techy or Tetchy ?
Whether I know best is open to debate, I personally dont think I am that arrogant enough to believe that I do know best and I feel I am mature enough to know that I obviously don't know best.

As to posting here; I didn't start using 'Streetlife' for the electronic equivalent of liking the sound of my own voice, I did it to express an opinion on things that I believe to be unjust and to attempt to bring these issues to a wider public and drum up support, interest and comment, not to examine my personality !.

i think we need people like u ken in our community 2 raise these issues because this is an issue why should we pay x amount of money 2 park outside our own house! i think its ridiculous! people have 2 pay enough for their cars and rent as it is! its just another way 4 the council/government 2 get money

Why can the council not let the first car park for free? That to me seems a fairer system and just pay for all other cars.

Dawn,
At least one London Borough does allow the first permit to be free of charge irrespective of the vehicle emissions. Another borough discontinued the policy of 'taxing' vehicles on enginesize/emissions as they found that it had no effect on the type of vehicles used by their residents.

That makes sense Ken. You're hardly going to rush out and buy a new car on the premis that it's cheaper to park outside your own house are you?

This policy has not been thought through, just rushed through I'm afraid.

I'm glad this issue was highlighted in the Post recently.  They already tried to get Thames View to have parking permits, which we certainly don't need but the letter was worded in such a way that residents thought a permit gave them a space outside their own home to park in!  This was pointed out to the council. 

We have been told they plan to have another go at us and what they say can be persuasive but now it's been shown how they hike the prices up so quickly we have more ammunition to fight them next time round.

If they want us to have parking permits, let them hand them out for nothing to residents.

Pam D
When parking permits were first brought in to force the council gave the following two reasons for their introduction;
1. To prevent all day parking by commuters in and around stations.
2. As a safety measure to prevent parking at or near junctions.
Both reasons were both generally accepted as legitimate and fully supportable.
How many commuters are going to park on Thamesview or Marks Gate to commute. The issue over dangerous parking is already dealt with under Road Traffic Act and other legislation. I also wonder how many vehicles in the councils fleet are totally green ?

I completely agree with what you have said.

From conversations with representatives from the council, I kind of feel they would love to make every single road in the borough have parking permits; just another way of taxing us, as if we didn't pay enough already to own a car.

We have to stand firm on this.

Vote in the poll and get your friends and neighbours or other car users to join in on Streetlife. I believe we have the support of the locla press but it is an issuethat has to be kept alive in the community because I  am personally concerned over the wider consequences !

I have voted and will now tell everyone I know about this.  I didn't know about this site until I read it in the letter in the Post last week.

As always we are made to pay over and over for the same thing or service. We pay road tax shouldnt that allow us to park outside our own home.
OK I can understand the reasoning behind stopping commuters from parking around stations but like what was said above a lot of the areas now being made permit areas are no where near a station or at least a bus ride away!
Even the changes to the visitor permits in the area are crazy and prices are unacceptable.
As regards to consultation you will find that a notice was probably put in a paper somewhere and only a few people read or saw it and asked questions on the matter, so they went ahead with it. Matters effecting residents and their pockets/money should be sent information by post

Neil
How right you are. As an existing payer for the Residents Parking Permit I must be on, along with all the other payers, the council data base, so why not send me a letter informing me of the intended changes. All I have been sent is a letter telling me that following consultation with me ( I don't think so as I'm sure that I would have remembered and commented) the new zones would be introduced.
Apparently residents living within the proposed new zones were balloted and voted to become part of a CPZ.
I wonder if at the time of voting they were told  the cost of permits and how the cost woud be calculated.
Apparently the revenue raised by this tax will go towards the up keep of the roads in the borough.
Thats fine by me, if it were true. And as long as all the other road users who don't have parking permits leave their vehicles at the borough boundaries and don't drive on and add wear and tear to MY ROADS !!!

Now now Ken,
Calm Down  - You well kow how to have an impact without a revolotion so get your nose to the Wheel, and stop being silly

Techy,
I've now taken my medication so I'm now quite calm. When posting the last I just had a vision of the old  black and white film called ' Passport to Pimlico' ......could be re-made and entitled 'Diversion at Dagenham (lol or not)

Ken
 P to P was an Ealing Comedy - I recall an unexploded bomb brought good fortune to the locals. Where in Dagenham would you put the UXB and who would set it off?

I forgot to mention the new visitor permits and the changes to them.

What was wrong with the printed card that we just wrote on?

Were there people printing their own so they decided to go with this scratch & sniff version?

The others could have been made in house by LBBD but these new ones must be bought in from an outside source at an expense so more expendature from the start for LBBD although with the new prices they are more than likely making more on them.

Sometimes it just seems like change just for the sake of it with no reason behind it.