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Published: 07 January 2011
by PETER GRUNER

FILM actors Juliet Stevenson and Bill Paterson joined an angry protest on Wednesday against “nightmare” plans for a four-hour parking “free-for-all” in the borough.

They complained that they will lose coveted paid-for parking bays to tube users, hospital outpatients and shoppers under plans to allow Islington permit holders freedom to park anywhere in the borough.

The scheme is expected to divide the borough because many residents will welcome it as a way of visiting friends and making shopping trips during the day. Others maintain the council has not carried out a full consultation. 

Ms Stevenson and Mr Paterson were among more than 70 residents from Archway, Highgate and Upper Holloway who squeezed into a small reception area at Caxton House Community Centre for the impromptu public meeting organised by Hillrise Lib Dem councillor Greg Foxsmith.

Islington’s current parking permit scheme has been gradually introduced over the past 10 years. There are now 24 parking zones with different time restrictions. 

Under  the  council’s  proposed  “roamer”scheme, due to be introduced at the end of this month when a consultation ends, drivers with a parking permit in Islington will be allowed to leave their car for free in any resident’s bay between the hours of 10am and 2pm. It is meant to be a “sweetener” as part of a package to ease in in­creases in parking fees for gas-guzzling cars, as reported in last week’s Tribune.

Supporters argue that it will be good for local shopping and short visits and will not encourage the use of bays by tube travellers, who do not normally park mid-morning to early afternoon. A similar scheme works in Kensington and Chelsea.

In Holloway, David Trimlow, chairman of Ellington Street Residents’ Association, said he was even-minded about the scheme.

“There’s no doubt many people will benefit from being able to drive and park in different parts of the borough,” he said. “However, I accept there is also potential for problems for some. We are currently carrying out a consultation among our members to find out what they think.”

But residents who live close to Archway Tube station and Whittington Hospital, where there are few parking spaces, are worried.

Writers Lynn Barber and Lisa Appignanesi have written to the Tribune opposing the scheme. Ms Stevenson said she was worried that it would mean a return to the “bad old days” before parking permits when it was virtually impossible to park outside homes. 

“I live close to Whittington Hospital, which has no car parking for staff or patients,” she added. “Many times in the past I’d do the school run and get back and couldn’t park. I’d have to go round and round for 20 minutes. It was extremely stressful. 

“When my elderly mother came to visit she couldn’t park. We got to the point where I was going to sell up and move out. We were one of the last areas to get a controlled parking zone and one of the most in need. Now they want to take it away.”

Mr Paterson said that residents would be fearful of making short journeys because of the threat that their parking bay would be taken. “What’s the point of having your own paid-for parking bay if everyone else with a permit can use it?” he asked.

Cllr Foxsmith said that the meeting had been held at short notice because of the huge amount of concern. “I’ve not had so many emails on a subject since the threat to the Whittington’s accident and emergency department.

“There’s been no full consultation on the scheme. We’re calling for the council to defer it until it has been properly assessed.”

Labour environment chief Councillor Paul Smith said it was still early days for residents to object to the scheme.

He added: “We have written to everyone about this. Where there are local issues we’ll be happy to discuss them. There may be special areas like Archway which we will need to look at again.

“But the majority of residents in my experience appear to think it is a good idea. It gives them a little bit of flexibility to visit a relative or a friend in the borough or do shopping in the middle of the day.”