After huge pressure from local residents led by Sandra Ackland and Conservative opposition councillors, Sutton’s Lib Dems have today seemed to back down on banning company vans from parking in residential areas, forcing people out of work.
Vans in residential streets can cause problems, but heavy-handed Lib Dems plans would have banned them from residential streets right across the borough. People whose job needs a company van would be put out of work.
But while the Lib Dems have finally admitted that their van ban won’t work, they’ve confirmed their plans to cover what seems to be most of the borough with punitive parking controls that could cost households hundreds of pounds to park in their own street.
However, this is only the first of many problems with the Council's disastrous parking plans, including parking fines for carers, inadequate visitor hours and expensive permits which penalise older vehicles.
There is still a long way to go until the Council’s parking plans are even close to acceptable, and I will continue fighting alongside Sandra, local residents and fellow Conservative councillors to stand up for residents.