Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Corporate Director, Regeneration and Economic Development regarding a consultation concerning changes to a traffic regulation order in Crook (for copy see file of Minutes).

The main changes to the traffic order would see the introduction of parking bays on Church Street and Hope Street with parking restrictions being removed on Sundays and between 6pm and 9am during the week.

The proposed changes had come about following discussions with Crook Community Partnership and business owners who felt that the proposed restrictions would be far more beneficial than what was currently available. It was also considered that the current arrangements in the area were having a detrimental effect on trade within the town. Given the concerns expressed the Council had taken a proactive view and engaged in discussion in an attempt to provide a solution to their needs and formally consulted on the proposals.

The Committee were shown a location plan of the area together with the restrictions that were in place at present which included a length of Hope Street which contained a single yellow line for which general parking was not available with the area being used mainly for loading and unloading. The Committee also viewed images of Hope Street, Church Street and North Terrace.

A small number of objections were received to the proposals which were detailed in full in the report and summarised for the Committee.

Councillor Kay agreed with the recommendation contained in the report and understood the logic of the changes and felt a degree of sympathy with those residents living in Hope Street.  Councillor Kay also referred to the amount of cars being parked all day in Crook Market Place for free and asked if any consideration had been given to imposing some restrictions on the area to allow people to park in the market place for a couple of hours.

The Strategic Traffic Manager informed the Committee that Councillor Kay was correct in that there were currently no time restrictions on parking in Crook Market Place and there were legal issues as to whether this could be introduced and would welcome discussion with local Councillors regarding the issue.

Resolved

That the recommendation in the report be agreed.