Parking zone postponed with no future date

The introduction of East Finchley’s controversial new controlled parking zone (CPZ) was abruptly halted at the last minute by Barnet Council last month with no future date being set for its reinstatement.

Some of the 2,600 residents and workers falling into the new pay-to-park zone across the northern half of East Finchley had already started trying to register for parking permits in time for the advertised start date of 19 February when they were confronted by a short message on the council website.
It read: “Please note that the implementation of the experimental zone (EF) CPZ has been postponed. Residents will be advised of the date that permit sales open in advance of the rescheduled implementation date.”

Resident Edward Butler, who organised a petition against the CPZ that attracted nearly 1,000 signatures, said: “If the council is committed to the rollout, then they should engage fully, transparently and with all information available. However, the information I have seen and the decision notice which has been published seems hastily and retrospectively prepared.”

Ziz Chater, headteacher at Martin Primary School who feared she would lose staff if they were forced to pay to park near the school, said: “We are pleased that the CPZ is not being implemented and hope that if any similar schemes are discussed in the future there is a thorough consultation and careful consideration of the impact on everyone in our community.”

Barnet Council carried out an online consultation exercise two years ago which they said resulted in 51 per cent of residents either actively supporting a new CPZ or identifying parking problems in their road. They did not define the split between those two groups.

The proposed new controlled parking hours would be 11am to 3pm Monday to Friday across a huge swathe of roads all the way up to the North Circular.

Time to consider

East Finchley Councillor Alison Moore told The Archer: “Parking problems and parking controls can be a really tricky issue and have come to the fore in East Finchley a number of times during the past 20 or so years. On each of those occasions what’s been really important is hearing from local residents and trying to get the balance right in dealing with those problems.

“The current proposals have raised questions and concerns from residents and local organisations, and as councillors we have received lots of correspondence and had conversations with many residents and others in the community.”

With hardly any of the expected signage and road markings in place and with the need to give residents adequate notice of a new start date, it seems East Finchley will not get its new CPZ for some months.

Council responds

The Archer asked Barnet Council to explain the postponement of the CPZ. Here’s what they told us.
The Archer: Why has the start date for the new East Finchley CPZ been postponed?
Barnet Council: The implementation of the East Finchley CPZ has been paused to enable the council to fully consider the feedback received from residents and ward councillors.
When can residents expect to hear of a new commencement date?
Council officers are in dialogue with elected members currently and hope to be able to confirm details in the coming weeks.
During the postponement period, will the parking team be considering and responding to the feedback and criticisms of the new scheme that is has received?
Although the scheme is not yet operational, we thank those who have made comments so far. These are being collated and will be included as part of the statutory process.
How does Barnet Council think the need to postpone the implementation reflects on the accuracy of the public consultation carried out two years ago?
The results from the public engagement previously undertaken remains valid. The implementation has been paused to facilitate feedback received to the correspondence sent out about the zone to be considered.