Forum Topic

Where oh! where?

After the shenanigans of the Council meeting on 17th October will somebody elucidate matters for me please?I've read the posting of 20th October made by the Council concerning the Streetspace review which states that as a resident of Chiswick East (where did that one come from?) I am exempt from the Staveley Road restrictions and presumably the can use that road at any time. My  questions are: How will the Council check that my car is exempt?Previously there was talk of prohibiting traffic from entering Burlington Lane from the Great Chertsey Road. I did not find any mention of this in the Streetspace review Is this / will be the case?The restriction time for Thames Road is 7.00am to 8.00pm. May I use this road for access during those hours?Has there been any progress in defining what "access" is in terms of duration?Previous comments on the Forum inferred that to comply with "access" I must enter and leave the road by the same path and to enter via Grove Park and leave by Kew Bridge would be construed as passing though and automatically incur a fine no matter how long the journey took (perhaps lunching at a riverside 'pub? Is this correct?I'd be grateful for any guidance

John Davies ● 1816d10 Comments

I believe the restrictions were due to come in on or around 9th November.  However all residents east of the A316 including Staveley Gardens will be exempt.  This entails obtaining a residents permit from the Council. To date I have had  no letter from them informing me of this, and Staveley Gardens and the rest of the exempt area do not appear on their website where you apply for the residents permit. So your guess is as good as mine. Hopefully someone out there knows something

Janice Jones ● 1816d

Is it all worth it?

Maggie Dodge ● 1816d

I won’t stop fighting it despite being offered a sop. It is outrageous that we will need a permit to access certain streets.  Shameful decision by Hounslow Council

Janice Jones ● 1816d

There is an update to the Streetspace pages on the Hounslow website which may answer some of your questions. See Chiswick School ‘school street’ and Burlington Lane Frequently Asked Questions - updated: 1 Nov 2021"The restriction time for Thames Road is 7.00am to 8.00pm."  I don't recognise those times at all.  The current Thames Road 'for access' restriction applies at all times."Has there been any progress in defining what 'access' is in terms of duration?"  No.  'Access' means access to one or more premises in the area covered by the restriction.  Duration may be used by the council to judge whether you have  made an access during your journey. Providing you make an access, you may leave the area by any route.  Entering from  Grove Park, stopping for lunch, and leaving via Kew Bridge is certainly allowed.It's possible that a quick access (in order to deliver an urgent document to a resident for example) might be misjudged by the council as disobeying the No Motor Vehicles signs. In that case you might get a PCN and would need to explain in your defence why you made the journey.

Richard Jennings ● 1816d

Dear Janice,LBH Traffic Department have sent a letter to residents in this scheme today.I've persuaded them.to include nine additional properties previously excluded.Further details on how to apply for a permit are awaited.BestJohn

John Todd ● 1816d

Why do I have to prove I 'Accessed' somewhere along the stretch of road in question?  Surely it's up to the council to prove conclusively that I drove straight through, which quoting two separate time checks doesn't actually do. Is there anything in the legislation that allows an alleged offence to be inferred on the basis of two time checks without actually being observed?  I gather they're unwilling to reveal what the target time is within which an offence is deemed to have been committed, which I suspect is because this can't in practice be the basis of any offence.

Peter Evans ● 1816d

I think the problem is that the Council can issue a ticket, and unless you contest it and prove your innocence, then it will take a chunk out of your bank account. I have been saying for many years that they won’t stop until they risk a penalty for every wrongly issued ticket.

Maggie Dodge ● 1815d

It's not a criminal offence that you would be committing so, I imagine that if the council can provide evidence that convinces (on the balance of probabilities) an adjudicator that an offence has indeed occurred, I think that evidence from the council would be sufficient (in the absence of any evidence from you to the contrary.)If you genuinely accessed somewhere along the stretch of road in question, then any timing evidence from the council would likely not be sufficient to convince an adjudicator.

Andrew Jones ● 1815d

Should anything be this difficult or complicated, to the point that locals keepasking each other what the rules are. This has been in place for a long time now and people are still not sure.

Maggie Dodge ● 1815d

Thanks for the information. Hopefully I will get the letter soon. But the fight continues. We should nit need permits to access our street

Janice Jones ● 1815d