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Lower Road and Surrounding Roads Parking Issues

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Topic: Lower Road and Surrounding Roads Parking Issues
Posted By: EmmaO
Subject: Lower Road and Surrounding Roads Parking Issues
Date Posted: 21 February 2018 at 7:54pm
Dear All,

There is a special NAG meeting (Neighbourhood Action Meeting) being held on Thursday 1st March at 7.30pm at the Parish Council offices for residents of Lower Road and surrounding roads to discuss potential parking schemes by way of a public consultation or so that we can have a democratic consensus on a potential scheme.

There isn't enough information available to the scheme delivery team at the CC so they can advise us of a suitable scheme that could be implemented so they need us to say what scheme we think is appropriate.

If you can attend please email shipshape18@outlook.com to let the NAG know what kind of numbers to expect.

It would be great if as many people as possible can attend so that we can try speed up this entire process, thanks.

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The artist formerly known as Bobblehead :)



Replies:
Posted By: MV Owner
Date Posted: 21 February 2018 at 8:54pm
What a lovely effort for the community Emma


Posted By: EmmaO
Date Posted: 21 February 2018 at 10:12pm
Thank you but I can only take credit for posting information, Tony Shinner and the NAG have done the work. In an update I’ve just heard that there will be a proposed solution to put to residents so it’ll be well worth people attending if they can.

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The artist formerly known as Bobblehead :)


Posted By: Sunray
Date Posted: 22 February 2018 at 4:57pm
Delighted to hear there is a proposed solution to the parking, and definitely will be attending the meeting.


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Sunray


Posted By: EmmaO
Date Posted: 22 February 2018 at 5:31pm
That'd be nice, it's always good to meet fellow contributors. I should be there, trying to get a sitter as Mr O is away that night but I reckon I might have found someone. Hopefully there will be a good turnout because we don't want them to say that enough residents haven't been consulted.

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The artist formerly known as Bobblehead :)


Posted By: EmmaO
Date Posted: 27 February 2018 at 4:11pm
Dear all, please note that the meeting has had to be cancelled due to the weather and the difficulties people might have getting home from work and getting to the meeting. A new date will be sent out ASAP, I'll let you know when I get something. Please can you pass the word around?

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The artist formerly known as Bobblehead :)


Posted By: hissing sid
Date Posted: 03 March 2018 at 2:42pm
https://www.boredpanda.com/snow-uk-panic-twitter-reactions/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=Newsletter" rel="nofollow - https://www.boredpanda.com/snow-uk-panic-twitter-reactions/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=Newsletter

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Hissing Sid

It's a free country, adopt whatever PC stance you want. Just don't tell me which stance I should take just because it clashes with your opinion.



Posted By: EmmaO
Date Posted: 04 March 2018 at 1:16pm
That gave me a good laugh thank-you!

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The artist formerly known as Bobblehead :)


Posted By: big baggles
Date Posted: 09 March 2018 at 12:31pm
any idea of the rescheduled date ? 

i drove back from northumbria in the snow to attend !- DOH


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need a stella and i need one now !


Posted By: Sunray
Date Posted: 10 March 2018 at 3:22pm
The rearranged date for the meeting of Lower Road residents regarding the parking is Wednesday March 21st at 7.30pm in the Parish Council office.


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Sunray


Posted By: Paul_G
Date Posted: 10 March 2018 at 6:49pm
Make the Church Road car park free.



Posted By: big baggles
Date Posted: 11 March 2018 at 5:02pm
thanks sunray




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need a stella and i need one now !


Posted By: Chilternman
Date Posted: 21 March 2018 at 7:17am
Is this still on for tonight and are the offices in the community centre?


Posted By: Chilternman
Date Posted: 21 March 2018 at 7:20am
I am also now getting a 1,000,000th site visitor banner offering a gift from Apple ???


Posted By: AlpinaB5
Date Posted: 21 March 2018 at 10:51am
You can’t make the Church car park free. It was free to park there when the bridge was closed for repairs a few years ago and it was full by 9am every day because some selfish people used it as a bizarre form of park and ride for GX train station. I know it’s hard to believe!


Posted By: EmmaO
Date Posted: 21 March 2018 at 2:37pm
Yes the meeting is on tonight still, the Parish Council Offices aren't in the community centre though, head that way, park in the community centre car park and then walk towards Mill Meadow/Scouts down the road and the Parish Council is on your right before the scouts.

Agreed you can't make Church Car Park free or commuters will park there and the shops will suffer as there will be nowhere for shoppers to park. Much like this morning though!! Has nobody seen an M&S before Couldn't get a space for love nor money in the village!!

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The artist formerly known as Bobblehead :)


Posted By: EmmaO
Date Posted: 21 March 2018 at 2:38pm
Originally posted by Chilternman Chilternman wrote:

I am also now getting a 1,000,000th site visitor banner offering a gift from Apple ???


Sounds like a scam to me!

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The artist formerly known as Bobblehead :)


Posted By: watsy
Date Posted: 21 March 2018 at 3:52pm
We must be nearer 2,000,000 surely... Ouch
Thank you for tolerating the Adverts though, it does help the site self fund - excluding the postcards.


Posted By: Chilternman
Date Posted: 21 March 2018 at 10:09pm
Well, interesting meeting tonight, took a while to get to a useful stage as too many people wanted to tell everyone about their individual woes, one woman even hijacked the meeting with her own survey!
The fact was that the problem was already as plain as the nose on your face and solutions were needed which was the intention but it was hard work getting any. On a positive note the guy from the council (Mark) seemed genuinely concerned, experienced and on top of it. He had several options but generally it seemed one plan was favoured. Hopefully this will be pushed through as soon as but not ignoring the other village hotspots that are growing fast. One way systems seemed unfavourable but I did suggest a no right turn from the Grange development on Gold Hill and probably a no left turn at the Lower Rd exit. I see this development as being a huge issue with traffic and parking once it is fully occupied.
One area that was brushed over was the lack of car parks and I feel it's a nettle that needs grasping, we must get cars off the roads so where can cars park? At the risk of being shot down but trying to look at the greater good how about turning the allotments by the school over to parking, that's a good area with easy access to the village businesses and it will not impact too much on anything other that the allotment tenants (sorry) but maybe other areas ca be used for that. There is probably some ancient rights that will prevent it but worth a thought.
Anyway I am looking forward to a better situation with some law enforcement as well, that seemed to be a realistic possibility I think. The only concern I have is that the priority is given to Lower Rd when there are several places around the village that need equal attention.


Posted By: big baggles
Date Posted: 22 March 2018 at 9:49am
agreed, chilternman,   my concern is the time it potentially could take, - the council can put yellow lines in quickly for the area around junctions that were raised eg kingsway junction- this is due to it being a traffic/ highway code ruling, any additional parking restrictions will have to go through the consultation process... this takes extra time and costs funds...

but also as you state the whole parking in the village needs looking at- the junction around the jolly farmer needs yellow lines, also the bottom of joiners lane, also the road across the common by the clock, ( the right hand bend especially needs lines...)    
the roads around the vale, junctions into penn road and the school, also the junction of vale close and others all need restrictions on parking to get vehicles off the pavements and verges and clear of the junctions....

but one welcome point is we may see more wardens in csp..... hurrah, 

we put together a 'residents group' to tackle our parking issues back in 2015 to 2016 ish- we submitted our findings and raised concerns with both parish and county councils

i met with councillor david martin and TVP and parish and marks predecessor in early 2017 , regarding the issues we were having .. our meeting was like last nights ...apart from there was just 2 'spokespersons' from the residents.... it was more of a 'closed' meeting.

we were shown maps, plans and lines were discussed, it was also talked about our lines piggy backing onto beaconsfields lines, while the line painting truck was in the south of the county...... but a year on and absolutely no change for us.... nothing.....

my concern is its lip service, but i really hope mark is on it and will move it all forward....

i will give mark a chance, he is new to the role and i really hope he can instigate change.... time will tell



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need a stella and i need one now !


Posted By: big baggles
Date Posted: 22 March 2018 at 2:19pm
http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/16106219.mum-and-daughter-almost-run-over-on-road-plagued-with-traffic-problems-as-residents-speak-out-over-parking/?ref=mrb&lp=1%20" rel="nofollow - http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/16106219.mum-and-daughter-almost-run-over-on-road-plagued-with-traffic-problems-as-residents-speak-out-over-parking/?ref=mrb&lp=1

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need a stella and i need one now !


Posted By: GXCSP
Date Posted: 22 March 2018 at 4:39pm
I'm not up to speed on this issue, but is it because too many cars are parked on lower Road because the car park charges a fee ? Is it as simple as that ?


Posted By: Sunray
Date Posted: 22 March 2018 at 4:59pm
The problem certainly is that there are too many cars parked in Lower Road, but the situation has been caused by a number things, insufficient parking at the offices in Chiltern Hill, double yellow lines in Chiltern Hill, guys working on the Grange Site, insufficient parking spaces throughout CSP, the precinct parking only being 1 hour, and, yes, people not wanting to pay for parking.
Some parking in Lower Road is inevitable and accepted, the problem is cars parked opposite each other creating bottle necks and obstruction.


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Sunray


Posted By: Chilternman
Date Posted: 22 March 2018 at 7:00pm
I did ask him after the meeting to ensure the whole village was considered as it costs less to do the whole application, he assured me it was but also wanted to know if he had all the hot spots. I asked him to let Tony Shinner have a list of what he has and we can then check it out.
I also want whoever it needs to be to consider my suggestion for the Grange exits as this is key to keeping the village clear


Posted By: big baggles
Date Posted: 22 March 2018 at 7:30pm
we were told 2 years ago our issue could not be addressed on its own as a holistic village wide scheme needed to be worked out, - 

it cant come too soon, the road across the middle of the common, orchard grove, the lower road, pennington road, the road outside the jolly farmer  to name just a few, the retailers in the market place want  wardens to stop people parking for many hours, - its time for change !



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need a stella and i need one now !


Posted By: ian
Date Posted: 22 March 2018 at 9:10pm
Tarmac over the allotments? What a ridiculous idea


Posted By: Malc London
Date Posted: 23 March 2018 at 8:53am
Some things I suggested a long time ago.

New car park at top of village on the now built on Holy Cross site and reduce Market Street to 30 minutes, plus reduced parking charges for businesses in main car park



Posted By: big baggles
Date Posted: 23 March 2018 at 10:04am
a car park on the holy cross site was submitted, but obviously the developers ' offer' was better, so we got the grange,.....with insufficient parking

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need a stella and i need one now !


Posted By: Chilternman
Date Posted: 23 March 2018 at 7:21pm
It was an idea but why ridiculous? Can you suggest a better area to use?


Posted By: Sunray
Date Posted: 23 March 2018 at 8:00pm
Rather than tarmac the allotments and lose some of our green space it would be sensible to make the Church Lane carpark 2 storey, but personally I would not like that either!


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Sunray


Posted By: EmmaO
Date Posted: 24 March 2018 at 12:51am
Maybe a two storey car park at the community centre? The area is due for redevelopment and it’s not overlooked by housing? Clad with wood so it blends in? You could also do underground parking at church Lane but the expense is probably prohibitive. When I lived in Italy though underground parking was commonplace as it was considered better for residents and environment especially when space is limited. Also spaces could be created on road down to gx golf club?

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The artist formerly known as Bobblehead :)


Posted By: ArtB
Date Posted: 24 March 2018 at 9:55am
Originally posted by EmmaO EmmaO wrote:

...You could also do underground parking at church Lane ....

Underground parking in CSP might prove a challenge with the water table height from time to time.

How about: Make the by-pass a two lane road using the current southbound carriageway between the Greyhound and Kingsway roundabouts, then make the northbound carriageway into a long echelon parking car park, reckon you could get two echelons, one each side of a oneway access road.

Art


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*** If you're not part of the solution, you may be part of the problem!


Posted By: ArtB
Date Posted: 24 March 2018 at 10:13am
Originally posted by Chilternman Chilternman wrote:

It was an idea but why ridiculous? Can you suggest a better area to use?

You may as well have suggested using the football pitch! Challenge with all of this is that parking is not 'The Problem' it is a symptom of many real problems which are continually ignored. Some have already been mentioned.

Free parking for commuters from GX station
Insufficient Parking for local companies at the bottom of Chiltern Hill.
Insufficient parking planned in the new development.
More cars per household now than in years gone by.
Car share meeting points?

and I guess there are more.

The trick, if anyone has the imagination, is to fix the real problems.

Art


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*** If you're not part of the solution, you may be part of the problem!


Posted By: Paul_G
Date Posted: 24 March 2018 at 10:23am
Originally posted by big baggles big baggles wrote:

http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/16106219.mum-and-daughter-almost-run-over-on-road-plagued-with-traffic-problems-as-residents-speak-out-over-parking/?ref=mrb&lp=1%20" rel="nofollow - http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/16106219.mum-and-daughter-almost-run-over-on-road-plagued-with-traffic-problems-as-residents-speak-out-over-parking/?ref=mrb&lp=1

Well I'm amazed. This article has the most creative idea I've seen in ages, namely  "Chalfont St Peter Chamber of Commerce says the issue, which has affected the village for years, is impacting businesses in the area – and the group is planning to launch a scheme which will see residents rent their drives to commuters to park on."

Will it work?  I don't know. But I love the fact that something other than double yellow lines is being considered. 


Posted By: Chilternman
Date Posted: 24 March 2018 at 6:50pm
But why would I suggest the football pitch, now that is a ridiculous comment, the allotments are not fully utilised and there are several areas where they could be relocated. The problems you talk about cannot be rectified because there is an ongoing build up of vehicles in the village. Over development must cease and parking must be found. Some of the issues you mention can be addressed but they are going to make little difference.
What we need is major restrictions on parking in roads with enforcement, then parking available for all who need it (preferably on the opposite side of CSP to GX to deter rail commuters from using it. Roads are for driving on not for parking!


Posted By: FayR
Date Posted: 24 March 2018 at 9:49pm
Actually the allotments are very well utilised and I believe there is also a waiting list!
And Church lane car park is NEVER full, I live right by it and so can say that with certainty!!!!
The issue is people coming to work in village and not wanting to pay for parking!! Parking is an issue yes coz they are using the local roads and streets which are free and not the available car park!!!
Make the roads in question permit parking for residents and the commuters into the village will simply have to pay for their parking!!!!! Not difficult!
And some people seem to be too lazy to park in church lane and walk into the shops! As and when I see the church lane Car park full, I’ll pipe up and say I’m wrong!
No point turning a well used allotment into another car park that won’t be used!!!


Posted By: watsy
Date Posted: 24 March 2018 at 10:24pm
I used to live on lower road and there never used to be any parking. I think the problem was exacerbated when the three storey office blocks were built at the bottom of Chiltern Hill with a ludicrously small number of parking spaces (cannot be bothered to look it up for precise information), no idea how that got passed, not least the councillors and 'sense' had been vigorously protesting about the NSE putting up 3 storey buildings just a few years previously.  They should have built underground car parks there. Anyway, what is done is done.

As Fay says, people don't want to pay for parking - also why should they if they've come to work, should be enough space or alternative arrangements.  Church Lane could have an 11-12 one hour parking cost to stop the GX commuters if that was a real problem.
Another solution was used previously at CPSA / Cricket Club, to lease their car park during the week and use the shuttle bus into the village - not too far from Chiltern Hill offices and they should pay or their service rent cover it (either way the company pays).

The cars by the Coronation Clock I hope are only temporary as they are workers from the Grange - though why they've not got space to have the workers park on site is a mystery to me.

If the Community Centre gets redeveloped, then there maybe more parking, but not over the allotments - though there are plenty of other fields that could be released along Mill Meadow for more allotments.  The Parish Council used to own grazing land there which was leased out to horse owners for not a lot - no idea if that was sold or not.

Is Gold Hill moving to Techspan or is that in addition to - if moving that'll remove the parking problem around the Jolly Farmer. If addition it might well fill up Church Lane!

Other parking - The NSE has got a big car park now! Winkers has an underutilised car park during the day!

Cannot think where else to put a car park - land is too valuable to just have cars on it (maybe the grazing land but busy access on the A413).

Over a decade ago I had an interesting conversation with a councillor from St Giles about the viability of a local minibus funded by the local councils pootling around the villages more frequently with many more drop offs to and from GX and Little Chalfont stations. My memory of the precise conversation and who with is hazy.

Renting drives is a great idea but still mean paying which people won't want to do.

Some ramblings....


Posted By: FayR
Date Posted: 24 March 2018 at 10:45pm
I fail to understand why working people think free parking is a given?!!! Working in the public sector I get paid little and often have to pay for parking when at work, and I also have no objection to paying for parking anywhere else I go! If your company provide it or offer to pay for it then great but I actually think it’s the responsibility of the individual and not the company to pay for parking!!!
I strongly feel that none of the remaining Greenland in village should be changed for parking when there is a very reasonably priced and very unused car park in the centre of the village!!!
We live in a world where people feel they are owed and entitled to things! You ask most people and they have to pay for commuting or parking in their job! That’s life and something you need to take into account when you take a job!


Posted By: GXCSP
Date Posted: 25 March 2018 at 8:13pm
As I suspected, the problem appears largely to be the fact that people don't want to pay for parking. The church lane car park is perfectly adequate. Perhaps raise the free limit to 2 hours for shoppers slowing M&S and Costa to grow roots, then charge more for the longer all day stays.

Hey! Guess what workers, you have to pay for your commute. I do - I pay a fortune for Chiltern rail and when I drive I have to pay £7 more to park the car. Per day. Suck it up. Plaster Lower Road with residents permit parking and the problem goes away. It's actually very simple to fix this.


Posted By: lesleyr
Date Posted: 25 March 2018 at 8:42pm
Driving around the village this afternoon I was struck by how easy it was. The parking problem is caused I would say almost solely by inconsiderate commuter parking. I don't really care if they like it or not The majority of people who commute into the village contribute nothing to the village and yet expect us to endure the chaos they cause. I have been recently using the church lane car park its £3.60 per day and there are always spaces. Chilterns district council have a lot to answer to. It doesn't take Einstein to work out that there were never going to be enough parking spaces at children hill !!. So the question is who signed off on the development in the first place ?


Posted By: Malc London
Date Posted: 26 March 2018 at 9:10am
Originally posted by FayR FayR wrote:


Make the roads in question permit parking for residents and the commuters into the village will simply have to pay for their parking!!!!! Not difficult!


So would the residents. Permit parking isn’t free



Posted By: FayR
Date Posted: 26 March 2018 at 10:37am
Appreciate some isn’t, particularly in and around London, however actually a lot of permit parking is free!!! Alternatively just single yellow line the lot with restrictions upto 5pm and enforce it or double yellow one side! Either way it’s VERY clear from driving down lower road in the evening and very early morning it’s not residents that cause the issues and in all honesty most down there have driveways big enough for multiple cars!

I’m just amazed that people feel they are entitled to free parking where they work. Very few people I know have that luxury!


Posted By: watsy
Date Posted: 27 March 2018 at 11:55am
These are the documents relating to the old Airpel site.

https://isa.chiltern.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=LFBJEKES09X00" rel="nofollow - https://isa.chiltern.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=LFBJEKES09X00

One of the travel documents has the number of parking spaces (more than I thought) and travel plans to minimise single occupancy rates and assumptions of number of employees. 

I thought there were four buildings there, must be plans for another one somewhere.


Posted By: EmmaO
Date Posted: 27 March 2018 at 1:29pm
All interesting points, I've been away so nice to read them all at once. I thought the meeting came up with lots of interesting points and it was refreshing to not hear the words 'double yellow lines', we residents were quite accepting of some parking on lower road and I for one really didn't mind hearing the residents stories as it gives context to the issues but then I'm actually a resident so maybe have more sympathy than somebody who doesn't live with the issue outside their front door. And I'd like to thank the lady who did the survey and spent all of 5 minutes running through it, it is very kind that people give up their time, freely, to help solve a village problem and we should be grateful that we have such motivated people in our community IMHO.

The favoured solution was staggered parking bays with single yellow lines opposite (enforceable until early evening), the thoughts being that this acts as a speeding deterrent, with parking around the Vets to be residents parking permit, for which there will be a charge (£50-£100 was mooted) and bays limited to 2 hours max.

The only thing that disheartened me was to hear that it could take 2-3 years for this to be implemented and that the last meeting where village parking problems were discussed was in 2010 and the recommendations for that haven’t been put in place fully as yet.

There was also emphasis on enforcement and that is probably the real key. Hopefully we will see more of the traffic warden and then we should see an improvement in behaviour. We probably do need additional parking in the village centre too.

Art B- you are right re water table, so water table AND cost prohibitive.

Chilternman – there is only 1 free allotment in the village I understand, they are well utilised and a much loved part of the village. It would be a tragedy to get rid of them for parking.

Watsy- as ever some great idea’s in there, we’re going to have to be creative in the short run.

Fay- I agree with much of what you say but Church Lane car park, the day M&S opened was totally full, not a space to be had. I agree the office workers could well go in there and should be prepared to pay for parking as I agree it’s all part of commuting but it won’t take very long before there is nowhere for shoppers to go and that has to be a big priority too.

We are going to have to get very creative I think in the short term to resolve this issue. Interestingly I have been looking into planning committees at CDC and 3 of our CONSERVATIVE parish councillors are also Chiltern District Councillors and sit on CDC’s Planning Committee so maybe they could shed some light on how all these developments were approved without these issues being addressed as they must be privy to a lot more information and discussions than us general public members?


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The artist formerly known as Bobblehead :)


Posted By: EmmaO
Date Posted: 27 March 2018 at 1:33pm
Not to mention the CONSERVATIVE parish councillor who is also leader of CDC........

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The artist formerly known as Bobblehead :)


Posted By: GXCSP
Date Posted: 27 March 2018 at 2:51pm
People also need to remember that these commuters will be using shops and amenities in CSP as well, that's all part of being a "community". So arguments along the lines of they don't add to the community aren't strictly accurate. Just something to be aware of.

But they should still use car parks.


Posted By: EmmaO
Date Posted: 27 March 2018 at 3:21pm
Totally agree GXCSP, just wish they were more considerate so that this didn't have to be so expensive and inconvenient for rest of the community.

Another thought about Church Lane car park, it is rammed at 8.30 with school traffic so the communters could be forgiven for thinking it's rammed all day? And before we start 'Mum/Dad bashing' many parents are dropping off and heading straight to work so walking to school isn't always an option. Also some people have one child in Robertswood and one in the Academy so it is impossible to walk and get the two kids to school ontime.....

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The artist formerly known as Bobblehead :)


Posted By: hissing sid
Date Posted: 27 March 2018 at 5:30pm
Just a minor correction:-
There are two allotment sites in the village, nether are Free.

http://chalfontstpeter-pc.gov.uk/allotments/" rel="nofollow - http://chalfontstpeter-pc.gov.uk/allotments/



.

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Hissing Sid

It's a free country, adopt whatever PC stance you want. Just don't tell me which stance I should take just because it clashes with your opinion.



Posted By: EmmaO
Date Posted: 27 March 2018 at 5:41pm
Sorry Sid I mean't available for rent rather than no charge but thank-you

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The artist formerly known as Bobblehead :)


Posted By: Chilternman
Date Posted: 27 March 2018 at 8:44pm
Ok so we all agree there is a problem and I reckon the only way out now is to reduce the available parking on the roads (maybe in stages to make the transition easier) forcing people to use the car park. Eventually we will find out if we need more parking which I believe we will. For instance what happens if it's full all day and parents want to collect kids from school, it will be carnage down there.
I suggested using the allotments for parking, not because I want that, I think it would be tragic to lose them but more to prompt some thought. I think many of you are like ostriches ignoring the obvious. We are doomed now, the village is overpopulated by a huge margin and to try and keep it as it is will not work. Building more and more houses and office blocks without any improvement in infrastructure cannot work and something has to give which is why I suggested the allotments. We have been forced into giving up our beloved Grange which could have been a beautiful development incorporating the old building or a school and instead the area has been blighted by a monstrous number of houses. Now we are really in the unenviable position of having to find another area to cope with the cars from all these, and it's left to us as the planners and developers are turning their backs because they can. It's a bloody tragedy and a disgrace but there we are left to sort out the mess.
How about a massive underground car park below Gold Hill common, no water table issues there!


Posted By: watsy
Date Posted: 27 March 2018 at 11:02pm
What about lobbying for a stop on the new HS2 line where it cuts over the M25 - I read a lot on Twitter about how full the local trains are, you'll get a massive new car park (either underground or covering the M25 GX tesco style) there and house prices will go up.  Then make the Chalfont Road currently closed wider and put shuttle buses in? Everyone wins... No? ok...


Posted By: FayR
Date Posted: 28 March 2018 at 1:09am
So Church Lane was allegedly full on the opening day of M&S. I actually went to M&S at 10.30am not long after it opened and the shop was heaving! Ridiculously so! However in order to get to M&S I had to walk right through the centre of Church Lane Car park and it was not full!
I could sit on a day off and post pictures every hour to show that it is never full.

Also whilst I agree the grange will see more people in the village, I don’t actually think it’s that causing the issues on lower road. It is the commuters! I also don’t see that the grange will have a huge impact on parking in a church lane or lower road as it is probably further to walk to village from there than the Grange. It is clearly the offices and commuters that are the problem.

I fail to see how it can take so long to get permission to double yellow line one side of the lower road or single line one side / both sides with restricted hours. Having worked in Slough for many years and seen similar issues in areas, this can be quickly and easily resolved. It wouldn’t take long to see how much extra parking is actually needed.

Has anyone actually approached the offices and tried to come up with a solution together?! Suggest they liaise with Chalfont Park offices who have shuttle bus from station etc? I know that takes work but so does all the above and the second may actually be easier!


Posted By: EmmaO
Date Posted: 28 March 2018 at 11:17am
I've just left Church Lane Car Park and there are only 11 spaces free in there including the one I've just vacated, none in Co-op, two in the Precinct.

I drove around the Church Lane car park looking for a space the day M&S opened and couldn't get one, I accept when you went through there were spaces but when I went through there weren't, so please don't make me out to be a liar because I am absolutely not and have no reason to lie or exaggerate. And 13 spaces free in the whole village centre at 10.45am isn't enough IMHO. There are other posts on facebook by people saying they've been in there when it's nearly full too so maybe it depends on the time of day or whatever is going on at the church.

If you had been at the meeting then you would have heard the explanation of why it takes so long although I totally agree with you that to take so long is absolutely unacceptable and very difficult to understand. It's kind of irrelevant what happens in Slough, it's in Berkshire and it's a totally different council although I take your point that if they can move things quicker why can't we? If you have experience in pushing through these kinds of parking restrictions even in a differing authority maybe you could approach the NAG or the parking manager Mark Davies at chiltern and offer them some advise and assistance?

Yes the NAG have approached the offices, The COC have approached the offices, I have the details of the HR manager from RWS as I have approached them several times myself to suggest solutions and to complain about some individuals parking. I understand so have other residents and local organisations. There are lots of people in the village who are working really hard to resolve this problem and have done hours and hours of research and studies.

As for people being ostriches I'd say judging by this thread people are far from that, they are looking for solutions where they can, maybe the only answer will be to move the allotments eventually and use it for parking but if it can be avoided then that would be brilliant as you say we have already given so much in the name of development.

Talking of the real ostriches.....My question one again is, we have 3 parish councillors on the CDC Planning Committee and another parish councillor who is also head of CDC. I believe we have some of them posting on this forum from behind pseudonyms (not counting Dickybird who is very up front about who she is), how did they let this happen?



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The artist formerly known as Bobblehead :)


Posted By: ArtB
Date Posted: 28 March 2018 at 1:21pm
Originally posted by EmmaO EmmaO wrote:



...... Talking of the real ostriches.....My question one again is, we have 3 parish councillors on the CDC Planning Committee and another parish councillor who is also head of CDC. I believe we have some of them posting on this forum from behind pseudonyms (not counting Dickybird who is very up front about who she is), how did they let this happen?


IMHO... Oh that they actually had any real power to do anything about it! Until someone (I'll be PC) persuades the London centric ostriches that there is life outside of London the local councillors don't stand a cat in hell's chance to protect our local communities.

Art


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*** If you're not part of the solution, you may be part of the problem!


Posted By: watsy
Date Posted: 28 March 2018 at 1:33pm
CDC is being scrapped isn't it? Power shifted to Bucks CC and locally? Off topic.


Posted By: EmmaO
Date Posted: 28 March 2018 at 6:46pm
With some things Art B I would agree with you but CDC are responsible for planning permission, not much of a chance to blame the london ostriches.

The more I look into it the more I am disturbed by how much of a cross over there is as people seem to have multiple roles across different councils and multiple roles within the Conservative party, there seems to be some conflicts of interest that I don't believe would be allowed in private companies so I'm not sure why it's acceptable in political parties or councils, I shall continue with my gathering of information and see if I can find an answer......

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The artist formerly known as Bobblehead :)


Posted By: EmmaO
Date Posted: 28 March 2018 at 6:47pm
Yes Watsy they are being 'unified' I believe.....

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The artist formerly known as Bobblehead :)


Posted By: big baggles
Date Posted: 29 March 2018 at 5:29pm
i am with Fay R  on this  ( yes Fay i am agreeing with you for once ! ) - we keep getting told that church road is full, - its not, i walk through church road car park around 4 days out of 5 .... and there are spaces, -  yes i agree ,school drop offs and school pick up times  swells the number of vehicles in the car park  but  when i alk across the car park during office hours then the car park is  usually about 65 % full.... i detailed this on the facebook page ' chalfont st peter connected'  there are one or two  who disagree and still say its 100% full during the week, but i have chronicled the car park spaces this week with photos, and its not full, as Fay states people choose to park in residential roads because theyre lazy and they dont want to pay for parking.... having attended the meeting at the parish council and having spoke at length about parking issues its clear  that more enforcement and more parking is required, but it was also made clear that CSP would not get another car park until the current one is fully utilised...

if we could get some of these cars  into the car park and off the residential side roads it would be a great benefit for the  village as a whole, i know we cant clear all of the cars  but with managed on street parking, and a warden patrolling i think we could start to alleviate some of the vehicle movement issues csp has.....

i also wish the minibus service which is already provided for  workers at gravel hill could be further promoted, - a mini park n ride !- also the cricket club and others winkers maybe have spaces during the day which could be used and maybe these venues raise funds as a result ?

the rent out your driveway idea is a good one, - but it has pros and cons, - i use just park  and park@my place apps from time to time.... the plus is residents can earn a few quid from renting their driveway, - it helps to look like homes are occupied too with a car on the drive, maybe reducing crime ?

the downside is drive owners  tend to rent out their drive for around £ 5 to 7  a day, thats more than parking all day in church road... also there is a crime risk too with different vehicles coming and going form private driveways,  hard to know what vehicle is authorised to be there  ?  are those strangers collecting their car or casing the house for a burglary ? 

difficult, but i am still a believer in trying to promote the use of the church road car park - lets get it full with erm...... PARKED CARS ! - yes there is a cost, but thats life,  people pay to commute to work, it may be a train a bus, or car  park charges.... its a cost associated with employment.....

this would free up the parking hotspots,  traders in the market place state there are some vehicles being parked there all day, due to no enforcement,  these spaces are needed for shoppers, 1 hour free, 

if there are some managed parking spaces in the lower road, the vale, by the clock say 1 hr max stay then there are spaces for visitors to the village to  stop do some shopping and get back to their car, - if they want to stay longer then use the church road car park and pay....

if the car park is utilised it raises revenue through parking fees for the parish, - if it does become 100% full every day then we can approach Bucks CC and demand additional parking in CSP- we will be able to show there is insufficient infrastructure in the village to support the large numbers of workers who commute into the village by car.... at the moment the council think csp doesnt have a parking issue as the church road car park is half empty most days....


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need a stella and i need one now !


Posted By: ArtB
Date Posted: 29 March 2018 at 6:35pm
Originally posted by EmmaO EmmaO wrote:

With some things Art B I would agree with you but CDC are responsible for planning permission, not much of a chance to blame the london ostriches.
 

I totally agree with your concerns and wouldn't try to stop you fighting the corner, however, CDC are only responsible for planning decisions in accordance with the National Policy Framework. That presumes a right to develop. Worse still the increase in housing by area is centrally dictated therefore CDC have little say on the number, therefore they are almost totally powerless. This is where the developers leap in... They just cry foul, challenge a refusal throwing as much money as needed, to overturn a refusal. OK they may have to cough up a little to provide a local amenity etc. but they are almost on a no loose situation.

Hopefully that helps with the picture that the London ostritches need to be taken under control. Just consider for a moment if the boot were on the other foot. e.g. Without an excellent business case no development allowed is CSP. why?

Transport - Local and regional - Capacity exceeded, not sustainable.
Road Network - Capacity exceeded, not sustainable.
Local parking - Capacity exceeded, not sustainable.
Schools - Insufficient spaces, not sustainable.
Water supply - Capacity exceeded, not sustainable

need I go on?

Art










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*** If you're not part of the solution, you may be part of the problem!


Posted By: FayR
Date Posted: 29 March 2018 at 9:17pm
Originally posted by big baggles big baggles wrote:

i am with Fay R  on this  ( yes Fay i am agreeing with you for once ! )



😂😂😂😂 only took 15 years! 😜


Posted By: EmmaO
Date Posted: 30 March 2018 at 9:17am
Nice to see such passion and debate from us all, we’re all fighting for the same outcome so between us and other motivated villagers hopefully, along with the NAG and other local organisations we’ll achieve something. I do agree with you both that generally church lane has lots spaces but of late that hasn’t always been the case. I and other residents are not lying when we say we’ve been in there recently and not been able to park or there were times when spaces are limited, why would we? Although I’m pleased you both can provide photos of when there are spaces!

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The artist formerly known as Bobblehead :)


Posted By: Chilternman
Date Posted: 30 March 2018 at 9:27am
I wonder if it is possible to temporararily suspend parking to see what the effects are, probably cones would be the best way with some notices like the ones at the top of market place. I still have concerns that if the car park is full all day where would all the school traffic park, at present the car park provides a pretty perfect solution to it.


Posted By: lesleyr
Date Posted: 30 March 2018 at 2:42pm
I'm sure I heard a few months ago that CDC were looking at possible redevelopment of the community center and football club could two storey parking not be incorporated into the plans for this ?



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