Parking Orders for Hawkenbury published

The lamp posts in Hawkenbury are currently adorned with the details and maps of 2 parking orders that are to be implemented in the area.

TWBC have completed their initial consultation with residents on parking permits and parking restrictions and these have now been finalised and 2 orders have been put out for final consideration.

The orders have been split into two. The first Parking Order deals with single and double yellow lines (No Waiting) in the Hawkenbury Village area. The second Parking Order deals with Parking Permits.

Residents have until 23 June 2017 to comment on both orders. The orders are wide ranging and will affect a large proportion of residents in the Village. Please familiarise yourself with the orders and feel free to comment below. The Hawkenbury Village Association will be making a submission to the Council regarding the Orders.

You can view the documentation here:

No Waiting: http://consult.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/portal/ts/documents/ha_no_waiting/zone_ha_no_waiting_1

Permit Parking: http://consult.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/portal/ts/documents/hawkenbury/zone_ha_1

Since AXA took over the old Land Registry site, parking has been a growing problem for residents. With the expansion of International House, the problem has become progressively worse. AXA have put in place a number of initiatives in place to reduce the number of people parking in the area and we have covered this extensively in our newsletters and committee meetings. The council consulted on the parking issues in 2016 and most residents had an opportunity to comment as part of the original consultation, paid for by AXA. These orders are the final draft of what is proposed.

Overall, the Hawkenbury Village Association supports these two orders as they will bring relief to local residents and the parking problems that have been experienced. The downside of the parking orders is that some residents will now have to pay for on street parking through the permit system.  We will lobby the council to keep these costs as low as possible. These orders also do not solve the parking issues, but will push them further away from International House. There may be a small number of AXA employees who decide not to drive, but the majority will simply park further down Maryland Road, Forest Road, Forest Way and other unrestricted roads. They may even use the cricket pavilion parking area.

Whilst we do support the orders, we have a number of concerns and would welcome any comments from our members. Our concerns are as follows:

• As part of the Berkeley Homes development, we persuaded Berkeley Homes to move the school access road further along Hawkenbury Road. This meant that the houses opposite the all weather pitch would not lose their off road parking, which was earmarked for the school entrance. We are surprised that the council have opted to leave the space to the front of these properties on Hawkenbury Road free of any restrictions or parking permits. We are going to ask the council to reconsider and make this entire section ‘no waiting’. If it is not done, this will become a bottleneck once the school is open and this location is also opposite a busy pedestrian gate to the Recreation Ground. It is also the preferred location for a pedestrian crossing into the Recreation Ground.
• We are concerned about the time restrictions being proposed for the parking restrictions. Currently the proposal is that only permit parking is permitted between 10:00 and 12:00 and 14:00 to 16:00, Monday to Friday. Of particular concern is the Nelson Road area, toward the United Reformed Church. Many parents pick up their children from the nursery at the school between 11:30 and 12:30 and the restrictions in this area is going to make it difficult to park, without being liable for a penalty. The 30-minute, no return in 2 hours parking areas around Fuller’s Butcher and the One-Stop will not cope with the demand. A time frame, similar to the Camden Road area, with a permit restriction between 10:00 to 11:00 and 14:00 to 15:00 may be a better solution.
• We do not support parking permits on Forest Road, between Hawkenbury Road and Boundary Road. This section of road is narrow and very busy at most hours of the day. When we had the abandoned car on the corner a few months back, the build up of traffic was quite evident. Traffic heading out of town has to wait for oncoming traffic before passing any stationery vehicles. This causes a tailback, which in turn blocks Hawkenbury Road and Napier Road junctions. We are going to suggest to the council that this section of Forest Road be added to the ‘No Waiting’ order to allow for the flow of traffic in the area. All the houses along that section of Forest Road have off street parking and no one currently parks on street in this section.
• We are concerned about the impact that the long ‘No Waiting’ restrictions along High Woods Lane are going to have on allotment holders. We would suggest that the restricted time is reduced to 1 hour in the morning and afternoon as is currently the situation elsewhere in the Borough. This prevents long term parking in the area and allows the allotment holders an extra two hours on their allotments.

If you have any other comments or concerns, please feel free to add them below.