This Sunday 30th December is the deadline to make comments on the Council's new parking strategy.
If you haven’t heard, Sutton Council are currently consulting on a new £1.6m parking strategy that will see a large amount of the Borough fall under a controlled parking zone with residents needing to obtain permits to park near their home.
Whatever your opinions of the proposals for your road, we share the concerns of many local residents about this parking strategy:
- Firstly, it is worrying to hear about the large number of people who have not heard anything about the plans for their road. They have not received a letter from the Council or heard about it from anywhere else until they found out on social media. And even when they have received it, the plans they have received in the post sometimes don't match the ones online.
- Second, is that the Lib Dem-run Council are considering marking those who don’t reply to the strategy as being in favour of it. We think this is unacceptable and are trying to get them to drop this ridiculous plan.
- Finally, this strategy is essentially pricing people out of owning a car at all. Residents will have to fork out for a parking permit with no guarantees that the cost won’t rise year on year. It’s arguably a 'Sutton Car Tax', that will see hard-working people like teachers and nurses priced out of owning one by large permit prices.
Something needs to happen about parking, but the way the consultation has been conducted is fatally flawed. We have teamed up with residents to push for more time for consultation and to review how this process has gone so wrong, but the Lib Dems are so far not being co-operative.
Make sure you get your voice heard and have your say here.
Then join in the conversation on social media, by sharing your views with other residents on the dedicated Facebook group here.
