An email to Councillor Geraint Hopkins

(another) Email to Councillor Geraint Hopkins

Copied to Roger Williams MP; Kirsty Williams AM; Councillor E M Jones OBE, Councillor Garteh Ratcliffe and various other interested parties


Dear Councillor Hopkins

It is now almost one year to 1st April 2012, the first anniversary of Powys taking over control of Civil Parking Enforcement from the police.

1. Prior to April 1st last year, you stated that the purpose of taking over CPE responsibility was to:

Improve Safety.
Reduce the misuse of disabled parking bays.
Improve conditions for all road-users, particularly pedestrians and disabled people.
Reduce parking problems, especially around schools and in residential areas.
Improve public transport reliability and journey times.

After almost one year of becoming responsible for enforcing this policy can you provide any evidence of it meeting its wholly admirable aims?

You will hopefully recall the six months work that we, the Campaign for a Responsible Approach to Parking (CRAP) and the Hay-on-Wye community in producing outline proposals for Traffic flow, safety and parking in Hay-on-Wye. We hoped the plan might be used a blueprint for a prospective county wide policy.

On 11th October last year you will recall our meeting (postponed at your request from September) at the Powys County Council Offices in Llandrindod Wells at the end of which meeting you promised to respond to the campaign’s proposals “in detail by the beginning of December”.

Although we received no direct communication from you, in January 2012, we understand that you informed Councillor Gareth Ratcliffe that you would be unable to respond to us by the promised date, but instead “would come back to us in January”.
In response to further emails forwarded among others to Kirsty Williams AM, on January 29th 2012, you sent us an email in which you told us that you were “certainly not ignoring” our proposals. “actually it is the opposite” our “proposals along with others from other parts of the County are forming the basis of the review.” You explained that lack of money was not allowing you to make speedier progress but promised to contact us again when you had “firm dates for various aspects of the review.

Since that date, six weeks ago, we have heard nothing from you.

2. Can you please tell us whether any further progress will be made on your plans or our proposals before the elections scheduled for May 3rd?

3. On 15th May 2011, I emailed a request for a Residents’ Parking Permit on the lines outlined in Section 4 item 80. of the (Prohibition and Restriction of Waiting and Loading and Parking Places) (Civil Enforcement and Consolidation) Order 2011. I have never received the courtesy of an answer to that request. Can you please explain why?

4. At the County Council meeting of July 14th, in response to Motion CC84-2011, proposed by Councillor Gareth Ratcliffe, you confirmed a decision to bring forward the first stage of the review. How far has the review been brought forward as a result of that promise?

5. Will the promised deadline of April 1st 2012 be met for the introduction of your ‘consolidation order’?

I understand that on March 19th Powys County Council will go into ‘Purdah’ and after that date we should expect no response to any questions we may have until after the elections on May 3rd. Would you kindly respond to our questions before that date.

Regards