New St Jude ward councillor Dr Graham Heaney took the Lib Dems to task yesterday over their controversial parking plans. Their cavalier manner and piecemeal approach led to the manipulation of the decision-making process. The short notice of the special cabinet meeting meant residents and local businesses have been denied the opportunity to have their say.

On Monday the special Lib Dem cabinet meeting where the decision on the current proposed parking zone was made, and recommendations for it agreed, despite overwhelming feedback that the proposed times were not suitable for residents.

Over 500 comments were received by the city council with 300+ of those being objections. The Lib Dem administration removed the item from the normal traffic and transportation meeting, where our Labour councillor would have had unlimited time to represent views, and called a special cabinet meeting instead to make and approve the decision, out of the normal process and completely disregarding your views.

Despite a deputation from Cllr Graham Heaney representing the views of local residents, the clear and overwhelming objection to the proposed times of 16.30 to 18.30 the Lib Dems have approved them. This means the majority view of residents that these times are unsuitable and need to be amended, has been ignored.

You can read the full report and recommendations by the city council here.

Graham said; “Hundreds of you have told us you were unhappy about the proposed times either on the doorstep or in emails. Labour will continue to push for better and fairer consultations to help stop further parking chaos”.

“The Lib Dems have promised another informal and formal consultation of the zones before the 6 months is up”.

We have persuaded the Lib Dems to review the operation of the scheme within six months to make sure it meets the needs of the residents. We will now start pushing for a review to take place sooner than the recommended 6 months so this parking nightmare can be reassessed.

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