The Saturday List #88 - The Top Ten fiascos from Barnet Council

As everyone knows, Barnet Council cocked up the 2016 Mayoral elections. You may think that this omnishables is a one off. Think again, here is our top 10 shambles from our flagship Tory Council!

1. Mayoral/ GLA election 2016. Voters disenfranchised for up to four hours due to incorrect lists being cieculated. Voters turned away from polls, even though registered to vote.

2. General Election 2010 - Dismore denied victory by poling station cock ups.

3. Icelandic banks scandal - Council loses millions of taxpayers money in dodgy investment schemes.

4. Aerodrome Road scandal - £12 million Bridge renewal project goes over budget by £11 million.

5. Metpro scandal - Council employs unlicensed security company for security of vulnerable people.

6. Catalyst care homes - Legionella outbreaks and suing the council for not making enough profits (you couldn't make this one up!).

7. SAP project - Council spends £24 million on an IT system that was only supposed to cost £6 million.  

8. Your Choice Barnet - Council outsources adult care and a year later has to bale out the private company running it with millions.

9. Barnet CPz fiasco - Barnet hiked the cost of CPZ zones. Residents took them to court and had the decision overturned. Barnet had to pay millions back to residents and hundreds of thousands in legal costs. 

10. Abolition of Pay and Display parking. Barnet Tory parking svengali Brian Coleman was on the rampage in 2011. Bouyed by the Tories election victory in 2010, he embarked on a war on motorists. He took on residents with the CPZ price hike (see item 9 above) and High Street retailers in the Borough by abolishing pay and display parking. Coleman paid the price losing the plumb job at the GLA in the 2012 election and pay and display meters reappeared. The council lost millions on the cost of scrapping the old ones and installing new one.

There are plenty of other cock ups, but these are the top ten. Every Barnet resident has been affected by the ineptitude of the Tory administration. The millions lost could have been spent on many things to improve our Borough, the business damaged by the CPZ problems could have employed hundreds of local residents and the vulnerable, disabled and elderly could have had a better quality of life. All rather sad, isn't it>

Barnet Council Perking Permit Refunds - Have you had yours yet?

In August Barnet Council announced the procedure for claiming CPZ parking permit refunds. I immediately applied for a refund for each of our cars. The Council had been illegally overcharging us for permits and having been actively involved in the campaign, I felt entitled to my cash back ASAP. We also put details up on the sidebar of the blog, so everyone could see it.

As well as this, we also distributed a bunch of leaflets to neighbours on behalf of BAPS telling them that they were entitled to a refund.

That was August, it is now nearly November and we've not seen a penny of our cash back. We hear that since Capita took over running Barnet Council, they are supposed to bring private sector efficiency to such processes. We hear anecdotal stories of a far tougher regime chasing up debts at Barnet Council. Could this be because Capita are using their own bailiffs and make more cash if they send them in? It seems to me that two months is far too long to wait to get my own money back.

Has anyone had a refund yet? The council have no right to hold on to our money. They were found to have acted illegally. I for one don't like being robbed and I don't like being skint. If you haven't received your refund yet, let us know and we'll chase it up. I will be writing to Barnet Council Leader to ask. We will keep you informed.

Saracens CPZ zone set to turn Mill Hill into a wasteland !

Barnet Council have just released a map showing the extents of parking chaos and disruption which will be caused to Mill Hill by the arrival of Saracens at Barnet Copthall Stadium. The extent of the "match day CPZ" is humungous, extending on the western side from Mill Hill Broadway Station in Station Road, to the large viaduct on Dollis Road in the East. The most northerly point is Hartley Avenue (just off Mill Hill Broadway) and the the most southerly point is Church Road Finchley.

The zone operates from the 1pm to 6pm on match days and other times if match times vary. What this means is that most of Mill Hill's residents will not be able to have visitors on the days that Saracens are playing. For many working people, Saturdays are the prime time for visiting relatives. What about the effect on the shops in Mill Hill Broadway? The new CPZ will remove much of the parking for the Broadway on the Woodlands Way/Sylvan Avenue roads. After the abolition of Pay as You Go, this is yet another blow for traders.

I have to state a vested interest here. My business is in Bunns Lane Works, which is also included. Whilst on the face of it, this shouldn't affect us, as we have off street parking, given the size and extent of the zone, we may well suffer as inconsiderate car owners try and park on our properties.

The plan exposes the lies that were peddled that there is ample parking provision at the stadium. If this were true, then we wouldn't need this massive exclusion area. All along, Mill Hill residents have had suspicions that they have been taken for a ride. This is now proven by this map.

It is quite clear what will happen. As ever Barnet Council have not thought this through at all. Roads on the edge of the zone, with access to the 221 bus, which serves the stadium will be stuffed full of cars. The roads slightly nearer will be dead, with residents unable to have visitors. Businesses in Mill Hill Broadway, Mill Hill East, Salcolme Gardens etc will see a massive downturn in business.

The timings for the CPZ are truly idiotic and show just how out of touch Barnet Council are. The solution is so simple and obvious. If the time of the match is 3pm-5pm, make the exclusion zone from 3.30pm to 4.30pm. That way, Rugby traffic will not be able to park, as they will miss the match, but the rest of us will not be largely inconvenienced. How hard is that to figure out?

If you are a Mill Hill resident or a Mill Hill based business, please contact your local councillors ASAP and let them know what you think.

As I am sure you guessed, I will be.

Their email accounts are :
cllr.j.hart@barnet.gov.uk
cllr.s.Khatri@Barnet.gov.uk
Cllr.B.Schama@Barnet.gov.uk

The DPR giving details is here

http://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=4285

Here is the map

Saracens CPZ Map

Open letter to Richard Cornelius and Barnet councillors: time to get a grip on parking!

Brian Coleman - Parking Stealth tax supemo

The 'Famous Five' bloggers of Barnet yesterday sent a joint letter to the Leader of Barnet Council, Richard Cornelius and all of the other Barnet Councillors. As a signatory we are asking our local Conservative Council and all of our councillors to do what they were elected to do and look after the interests of residents and local businesses. The document detailing the paring mayhem in Barnet, caused by Brian Colemans parking stealth tax has been laid bare. He is clearly not up to the job. It is time for him to be sacked and replaced by someone who is not completely out of touch with reality. 


It beggars belief that a supposedly Conservative Council can be so anti business, anti car driver and anti local resident. Whilst David Cameron speaks of less regulation and business friendly policies, Brian Coleman, the GLA Car tax and regulation rampage, causing irrepairable damage to business, local communities and the environment. 


I spoke to one specialist shopkeeper in Barnet who is now considering relocating to Boreham Wood in Hertfordshire, as most of his customers are not Barnet residents, are not registered to pay by phone and so are refusing to use his business. This is being repeated all over Barnet. It beggars belief that a Conservative administration, which has been made fully aware of the problem, is still burying its head in the sand.


This is a major test of the Leadership of Richard Cornelius. It is clear that Brian Colemans park and tax policies are an abject failure. How will he respond?
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Dear Leader and Barnet Councillors,

On 20th March a document was placed upon the Barnet Council website entitled - Bittacy Hill_Introduction_of_Waiting_Restrictions - (http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/reports/reportdetail.asp?ReportID=11110).

This document details the mayhem caused by the abolition of free bays in Controlled Parking Zones as part of Councillor Brian Coleman's parking policies.
This document details how the Barnet Police have had their time wasted, congestion has been caused, buses have been delayed, residents inconvenienced, and people's safety has been endangered. In short, it is the most damning indictment of a Council policy possible.
The background information section of this document says:

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8. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

8.1 In June 2011 the Council completed a scheme whereby all ‘Free’ parking bays were converted to permit holder or paid for parking bays in the borough’s Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs). As a result of the changes made to the Mill Hill East CPZ, a proportionate level of displaced parking is occurring on both sides of Bittacy Hill on the outskirts of the CPZ boundary.

8.2 The council has been contacted by roads users and local residents, complaining of the congestion being caused as through vehicles are being obstructed by the displaced parking.

8.3 London Buses have reported to the council that the displaced parking is obscuring sightlines and obstructing through traffic, preventing their buses from gaining suitable access through the road, resulting in the delay of their services. They also stated that this situation has caused major congestion in both directions on Bittacy Hill and therefore, have had to temporarily put some of their buses on diversion.

8.4 In addition, the Police have also expressed concerns regarding this location, and have requested for waiting restrictions to be introduced.

8.5 Following investigations including site observations, Officers concluded that major congestion occurs on the hill at this location, and in order to keep traffic moving through the borough considered that the provision of waiting restrictions would be appropriate given the obstructive parking which is taking place.

8.6 Therefore, proposals to introduce lengths of ‘at any time’ waiting restrictions on certain lengths of Bittacy Hill including around its junctions with Bittacy Close and Engle Park, were designed in order to deter obstructive parking and improve traffic flow, sightlines and safety.

8.7 In anticipation of the statutory consultation, Mill Hill Ward Members were consulted on the proposals with all advising of their agreement and support of the measures for the area. In particular, Councillors Khatri and Hart stated that they had also received complaints on this matter or have experienced problems themselves. Councillor Hart did raise the issue that more restrictions may cause more problems to the wider area as did Councillor Schama.

8.8 However, Officers consider that any displaced parking that may occur as a result of the introduction of the restrictions can be absorbed into the local network with minimal impact.

8.9 In mid August it was necessary to introduce emergency temporary waiting restrictions on the eastern side of Bittacy Hill, as nearby Devonshire Road was closed to allow for essential maintenance works to take place, which resulted in an increased traffic flow on Bittacy Hill that exasperated the problems occurring at the location.

8.9 Traffic cones were placed on street to indicate the temporary waiting restrictions, and the location was monitored by Officers. Observations showed that displaced parking was minimal and what did occur had little impact on the area. It was concluded that the removal of the parked vehicles at this location was very effective in relieving the congestion normally experienced.

8.10 Additional supporting evidence underlining the concern via photographs showing buses being obstructed and the congestion experienced were sent to the council and a petition signed by all residents of Bittacy Close was also submitted, asking for waiting restrictions to be implemented at the junction of Bittacy Close and Bittacy Hill.

8.14 Councillor Khatri and Councillor Hart have since also reaffirmed their views and support for the proposals. In particular, they advised of their concerns regarding safety being an issue at this location. Councillor Hart also re-iterated his concerns for residents of Bittacy Close, who suffer from obstruction at the junction of Bittacy Close and Bittacy Hill.

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Councillor Brian Coleman ignored all wise counsel in order to introduce these policies. He ignored all efforts to mitigate the problems caused.As a result, we have a situation where ever more parking restrictions will be required to fix a problem that did not previously exist.
To what end? To inconvenience and overcharge local residents.

It is time for Barnet Council to have an urgent rethink. It is time to reinstate free bays, cut parking charges on Barnet’s high streets, and, most of all, it is time to put someone in charge of parking who is competent.

There is no way that Barnet Council can pretend that Coleman’s parking policies are anything other than an unmitigated disaster. Your own document says so in black and white.

Signed:

Derek Dishman
John Dix
Vicki Morris
Theresa Musgrove
Roger Tichborne

Official document prove Brian Colemans parking policies are a disaster

Have you noticed how people in Barnet seem to be parking their cars in the strangest places, how congestion has got worse recently, how roads which previously were quiet are now awash with cars during the daY?

Last July Councillor Brian Coleman sneaked through a whole raft of changes to Parking restrictions in Barnet. He is well known for his stealth tax his parking policies. The five main ones, which have affected just about everyone are as follows :-

1) Hiking up parking charges on High Streets and car parks, driving away customers and shutting shops
2) Aboloshing pay and display parking on High Streets
3) Hiking up the price of Resident CPZ permits
4) Abolition of "free bays" in Resident CPZ parking zones
5) Outsourcing the parking warden contract to a company with a reputation for overzealous enforcement

All of these measures are designed to do one thing. Squeeze more money out of motorists and residents. Sadly for Brian Coleman (and the rest of us), not only have these policies failed miserably in their target of raising extra cash ( rumour has it that the parking account is down by £500,000 as people shun council car parks). As people have sought free spaces outside of the restrictions, roads have become clogged, congestion has risen and residents have been inconvenienced.

Given that the sole purpose of parking restrictions is to "ease the flow of traffic", this means that the policy has not only been an abject failure, but it is probably illegal. Coleman cannot claim that the policy is to ease traffic flow, because papers published on the Council website prove this is not the case. The Barnet Eye suggests that a judicial review should be performed of Colemans policies and in the meantime they should be reversed. The complete failure of Colemans policies are laid bare in this document on the Barnet Council website -
http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/reports/reportdetail.asp?ReportID=11110

Let me quote the document :-

8. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

8.1 In June 2011 the Council completed a scheme whereby all ‘Free’ parking bays were converted to permit holder or paid for parking bays in the borough’s Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs). As a result of the changes made to the Mill Hill East CPZ, a proportionate level of displaced parking is occurring on both sides of Bittacy Hill on the outskirts of the CPZ boundary.

8.2 The council has been contacted by roads users and local residents, complaining of the congestion being caused as through vehicles are being obstructed by the displaced parking.

8.3 London Buses have reported to the council that the displaced parking is obscuring sightlines and obstructing through traffic, preventing their buses from gaining suitable access through the road, resulting in the delay of their services. They also stated that this situation has caused major congestion in both directions on Bittacy Hill and therefore, have had to temporarily put some of their buses on diversion.

8.4 In addition, the Police have also expressed concerns regarding this location, and have requested for waiting restrictions to be introduced.

8.5 Following investigations including site observations, Officers concluded that major congestion occurs on the hill at this location, and in order to keep traffic movingthrough the borough considered that the provision of waiting restrictions would be appropriate given the obstructive parking which is taking place.

8.6 Therefore, proposals to introduce lengths of ‘at any time’ waiting restrictions on certain lengths of Bittacy Hill including around its junctions with Bittacy Close and Engle Park, were designed in order to deter obstructive parking and improve traffic flow, sightlines and safety.

8.7 In anticipation of the statutory consultation, Mill Hill Ward Members were consulted on the proposals with all advising of their agreement and support of the measures for the area. In particular, Councillors Khatri and Hart stated that they had also received complaints on this matter or have experienced problems themselves. Councillor Hart did raise the issue that more restrictions may cause more problems to the wider area as did Councillor Schama.

8.8 However, Officers consider that any displaced parking that may occur as a result of the introduction of the restrictions can be absorbed into the local network with
minimal impact.

8.9 In mid August it was necessary to introduce emergency temporary waiting restrictions on the eastern side of Bittacy Hill, as nearby Devonshire Road was closed to allow for essential maintenance works to take place, which resulted in an increased traffic flow on Bittacy Hill that exasperated the problems occurring at the location.

8.9 Traffic cones were placed on street to indicate the temporary waiting restrictions, and the location was monitored by Officers. Observations showed that displaced parking was minimal and what did occur had little impact on the area. It was concluded that the removal of the parked vehicles at this location was very effective in relieving the congestion normally experienced.

8.10 Additional supporting evidence underlining the concern via photographs showing buses being obstructed and the congestion experienced were sent to the council and a petition signed by all residents of Bittacy Close was also submitted, asking for waiting restrictions to be implemented at the junction of Bittacy Close and Bittacy Hill.

8.14 Councillor Khatri and Councillor Hart have since also reaffirmed their views and support for the proposals. In particular, they advised of their concerns regarding safety being an issue at this location. Councillor Hart also re-iterated his concerns for residents of Bittacy Close, who suffer from obstruction at the junction of Bittacy Close and Bittacy Hill.

Here is the full document for your perusal.

Bittacy Hill Parking restrictions

This document lays bare the failure of the parking policies of Brian Coleman. It exposes the fact that rather than easing traffic flow, they are creating mayhem, tying up Police resources, ruining the lives of residents, making buses late and worst of all threatening public safety. In short Brian Coleman and his polices have been thoroughly discredited. Even worse is the fact that rather than admit that Colemans policies are to blame, the lame Mill Hill Conservative Councillors have buried their heads in the sand and refused to address the real cause of the problem.

The Barnet Eye will today be contacting local press, local councillors and the Leadership of Barnet Council to demand a full review of the disaster which Brian Coleman has inflicted on the London Borough of Barnet. Is there anyone in Barnet who seriously thinks that Brian Coleman deserves re-election for a £52,000 a year part time job at the GLA in MAy? His level of competence is laid bare here.