Great Austins Area Preservation Group

Parking restrictions in the Great Austins Conservation Area were implemented in 2016. The resolution of an active campaign  to manage the invasive problem of commuter parking was finally secured by the efforts of  residents in the separate group, the Great Austins Area Parking Committee, which was fully supported by GAAPG. The following letters and reports document most of the latter part of the campaign.

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Dear resident,  

You will be receiving or have just received from Jack Roberts, a highways engineer at Surrey CC, draft proposals for the introduction of parking restrictions in the Great Austins Conservation Area. A copy of the plan showing the proposals is attached. GAAPC ( see the background section below ) strongly recommends that you support these proposals and communicate your support to Surrey CC. Here

These proposals:

• Address serious safety issues caused by commuter parking 

• Have resulted from a considered and balanced negotiation 

• Are the best outcome available for the Conservation Area

• Have the least visual impact

• Accommodate parking requirements for local schools and the Bourne Church

• Minimise the effect on residents and their use of the roads

• Spread the parking bays fairly between all roads taking into account factors such as South Farnham School drop off and pick up

  

Every resident would prefer to retain the existing streetscape and avoid the introduction of yellow lines and parking restrictions. Due to increased traffic and commuter parking this is no longer possible. If these proposals are not introduced, some other scheme will be imposed as Surrey CC will not allow the current safety issues to continue. Any other scheme will not be as advantageous to residents as this one. Nearby development schemes will increase commuter parking in the Conservation Area unless action is taken now. 

Please contact any member of the GAAPC to discuss this in more detail. A list of members and their contact details is attached.

 

Background 

A petition lodged to change the May 2014 decision of Surrey CC’s Waverley Local Committee not to introduce curfew parking restrictions in Little Austins and Mavins Road was considered at a public meeting held in Hale Institute on 26 June. The Local Committee decided to ask Jack Roberts, the relevant highways officer, to formulate proposals for a scheme covering the whole of the Conservation Area ( including Great Austins ) for discussion by the Local Committee in December, with a timeline for potential implementation in 2016. 

 

In response an ad hoc group, the Great Austins Area Parking Committee ( GAAPC ) comprising residents from each road established itself in July to formulate ideas and liase with residents, Surrey CC and the elected councillors with a view to achieving a mutually acceptable scheme. Meetings have taken place with Jack Roberts, and interested parties such as the Bourne Church and the Ridgeway School have been consulted.

 

In June, Surrey CC adopted a policy of taking displacement into account in considering the introduction of parking proposals. The effect of this is that there is no possibility of entirely removing unrestricted ( effectively commuter ) parking bays from the Conservation Area. Elected officials have indicated that they support the approach being taken by Surrey CC. Jack Roberts has located parking bays within the Conservation Area on the basis of ensuring the best outcome from a traffic management and safety perspective whilst at the same time avoiding blocking driveways as far as possible. 

The effect of the negotiations that have taken place with Jack Roberts following his first scheme, amongst other things, has been to reduce the overall number of parking bays proposed for the Conservation Area from 60 to 45 and the number of unrestricted bays from 30 to 20.

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ROAD REPRESENTATIVES:

Great Austins:  Colin Bright,  Katie Hewitt: 
Greenhill Road: Mike Proudlock, Magnus McEwen-King
Little Austins:    Ian Anscombe, Chris Roberts
Mavins Road:   Nick Hadley, Paul Stephenson: 
Middle Avenue: Jo/Simon Law,  Oliver/Philippa Pendred,  Alex Walsh
Swingate Road: Laura Anthony, John Kennedy
Vicarage Hill:    Nick Nigel, Matt/Rachel Berry

 

A letter from the Chairman of GAAPG, November 2015 to all residents

Dear Resident of the Great Austins Conservation Area,               

Proposals for parking restrictions in the Great Austins Conservation Area

You should have recently received two communications relating to proposed parking restrictions in our area.  The first is from Surrey County Council describing its draft proposal and the second is from the Great Austins Area Parking Committee.  The latter is an ad hoc group of road representatives, distinct from the Preservation Group, which has been contributing directly to the development of the potential parking scheme.  The Parking Committee’s letter is posted on the Preservation Group’s website for information. (www.greataustinsareapreservationgroup.org)

The Great Austins Area Preservation Group, whose remit is to consider the character and amenity of our area with a particular emphasis on planning and development, has been monitoring the parking situation. Our committee has reflected on the draft proposals now presented to residents and has the following observations:

• We appreciate the recent diligence with which Surrey County Council has taken up the concerns and suggestions of residents and has put its mind to a practical area wide solution

• We believe the intent, scope, structure and balance of the draft proposal make it a very good plan which we support, subject to the incorporation of beneficial refinements based on residents’ feedback

• We anticipate that the Council is appropriately open to amendments of some features in response to residents’ feedback

• We feel the long-term character and amenity of the Great Austins Conservation Area will be best served by embracing the area wide parking solution.  We endorse the perspectives of the residents’ Parking Committee as articulated in its letter, as well as thank it for its work on our collective behalf 

We encourage all residents to examine the proposals and give feedback to the Council by the mechanism detailed in its letter.  If you are in agreement in principle with the area wide solution but have concerns or suggestions about specific features of the draft you can convey this on the online form by selecting “yes” and adding detailed comments.  At the Waverley Local Committee meeting on 11th December councillors will decide whether to approve/amend the draft and recommend it for formal statutory consultation.  If the latter takes place residents will have the opportunity to comment again on an updated proposal prior to an implementation decision.

Best wishes,

Stephen Warrington

Chairman 

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UPDATE AUGUST 2015
A parking group has been formed, independently of the Great Austins Area Preservation Group.
The Group is called Great Austins Area Parking Committee and the objectives of this group are to identify parking issues within the Great Austins Area and to develop solutions acceptable to the majority of residents in the area with due regard to the character of the area, the needs of those working nearby or visiting and for whom no reasonable alternatives exist, and local planning custom and guidance. The proposals must also be acceptable to the majority of representatives on the Waverley Local Committee.
The Group is currently in active discussion with a tight timescale to achieve acceptable proposals. Please contact your road representatives listed below for more information.
The Group comprises 2 representatives from each road as follows:
Great Austins: Colin Bright, Katie Hewitt
Greenhill Road: Mike Proudlock, Magnus McEwen-King
Little Austins: Ian Anscombe, Chris Roberts
Mavins Road: Nick Hadley, Paul Stephenson
Middle Avenue: Jo/Simon Law, Oliver/Philippa Pendred
Swingate Road: Laura Anthony, John Kennedy
Vicarage Hill: Nick Nigel, Matt/Rachel Berry
The Group has to date been co-ordinated by Nick Hadley, Membership Secretary of the Great Austins Area Preservation Group.

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UPDATE JUNE 2015
A petition against the decision made in May 2014 to reject the parking restriction proposals was presented at a meeting of the Waverley Council on June 26th 2015. In spite of evidence presented of increased displacement parking in both Little Austins and Mavins Road, and compelling argument that implementation of such restrictions would help to alleviate the dangerous school time parking in Great Austins, the petition was rejected. Instead the Council requested that parking restriction proposals for the whole Conservation Area be considered and presented to their next meeting in December 2015. Local residents are now in the process of attempting to form a Group, with representatives from each road,  to make proposals for all roads in the Conservation area in time for the December meeting.  We will upload details of this Group when it is known.

BACKGROUND
For some years now Little Austins Road, in particular, has suffered considerable commuter street parking and has been campaigning tirelessly for parking restrictions to be implemented to alleviate associated problems, in line with similar schemes in other roads south of the station. Following a  meeting of the Surrey CC Parking Committee on May 9th 2014  in Godalming, the application for Little Austins and Mavins Road to receive parking restrictions was rejected.  At the same time however Lancaster Avenue and Morley Road were successful in receiving approval for their similar parking restriction schemes. Displacement effects have since occurred to the Conservation area from the implementation of parking restrictions north of Great Austins exacerbating and extending the problem into the Conservation area.