Explainer: Controlled Parking Zones in Alperton

Why is parking a problem in Alperton?

When we are out talking to residents or reading your emails, concerns around over-parking are one of the most common complaints.

Residents & their visitors can’t park near their home, bin lorries can’t access their streets, contractors can’t properly maintain verges and collect fly tipping. And in at least one case an ambulance couldn’t make it to the correct address, putting patient safety at risk.

Understanding what’s causing the issues is key to designing the right solutions.

1. A large number of garages (and some residents) dumping cars for extended periods.
2. Commuters driving into the area and parking through the day.
3. Many new large tower blocks with limited parking capacity — and increasingly no parking at all (with the biggest are yet to open).
4. An increase in House of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) — leading to an increase in the number of cars per property.

If no steps are taken to tackle these issues — the problems will continue to get worse. CPZs are one potential solution to these challenges.

What is a CPZ?

Controlled Parking Zones are designated areas where on-street parking is restricted to permit holders during certain hours. They’re designed to give priority to residents and prevent excessive or long term parking by non-residents or commuters which can cause a variety of issues for local residents.

CPZs times and days can vary based on the needs of the local community, and they often include a combination of permit holder only bays, as well as some paid-for bays.

Permits are usually paid for by residents, but they can also be offered for free if other funding is available to maintain the CPZ & employ staff to manage it. Currently, Brent Council collects contributions from developers to pay for residents permits, for as long as possible.

Are CPZs the only solution?

All the issues highlighted can be tackled at least in part by CPZs — but they are not the only way to solve them — and wider changes will also be required including e.g.:

Residence / street specific changes such as:

• Implementing more double / single yellow lines at key choke points.
• Helping residents get white courtesy lines, dropped curbs and where applicable disabled bays for blue badge holders.

Broader policy changes / investment:

• Improving public transport / active travel routes to reduce reliance on cars; we need more tubes on the Piccadilly line especially.
• Attaching conditions to HMO Licences (if/when implemented) limiting the number of cars.
• Incentivising developers to build more parking for new tower blocks.
• Investigating the development of dedicated car parking.
• Investment in car-sharing solutions like Zip Car.

Some of these solutions might mean CPZs are not needed everywhere, but it is likely we will end up needing a combination of all of the above to fully resolve the issues.

What is the Brent Liberal Democrats position on CPZs?

As Liberal Democrats, we believe in community-led politics. That means we believe you should be included in decisions about your area. When it comes to Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs), our view is clear: they should only be introduced where residents want them.

But given the volume of complaints and concerns, we do want the council to actively consult all residents on whether they would like a CPZ installed on their street;  to ensure that residents are given clear choices on the operating hours/days.

As and when these consultations happen we would then encourage all residents to register a view — whether for or against: Make sure your views are heard.

The Benefits of CPZs

• Prioritising residents: CPZs are designed to ensure those living in the area can park close to home.
• Blocking long term dumping: CPZs give the council the ability to issue penalty notices to any car without a permit, and such permits will not be available to garages.  As such, any CPZ will immediately enable to council to act on the worst offenders.
• Limiting Commuter parking: Aside from paid-for-bays (which raise money for maintenance) CPZs will severely limit commuter parking, and encourage more use of public transport. Good for residents and good for the planet!
• Reducing car ownership within HMOs and tower blocks: Once implemented, people moving into HMOs or tower blocks with no parking space will be less likely to have a car. Over time that will reduce excess parking from these sources*. Until then, people moving in will see that the streets are available for parking and are more likely to have a car as a result.

The Challenges CPZs Can Bring

• Costs for residents: Although Brent Council is funding residents’ permits for a few years at least, at some point residents are likely to have to pay for all of their permits. Over time, the council is also able to increase these costs as they see fit.
• Access for Visitors, Tradesmen, Carers etc: CPZs, especially those with longer hours, can make it very difficult (or expensive) for residents to receive visitors who need to travel by car.
• Shifting the problem: Introducing CPZs in one area can simply push the problem into neighbouring streets without restrictions. This is something to be aware of when considering whether to reject a CPZ for your streets.
• Impact on tower block residents with cars: People living in tower blocks without a designated space will not be eligible for permits under current council policy, even if they own a car. This could catch many people out who have a genuine need of a car and have only acted in good faith.

Longer vs shorter hours

• Longer hours (e.g. 8am-6.30pm) offer stronger protection for residents, making it much more likely that you’ll find a space near your home at any time of day. However, they also make it harder for friends, family, carers, or tradespeople to visit without needing a permit. It’s likely to increase the cost of running the CPZ as well.
• Shorter hours (e.g. 10am-3pm) still deter car dumping and commuter parking, while making it easier for visitors to come by car outside those hours without requiring a permit. The trade-off is that it is easier for other residents to take advantage of the looser restrictions and park in your area.

There’s no one right answer—it depends on what matters most to your community. That’s why we believe residents should be given a real say on both whether a CPZ is introduced, and how it is designed.

If implemented, how would Liberal Democrats work to offset the challenges of CPZs?

1. Costs: We will continue to push the council to request developer contributions to keep permits free for as long as possible. We will campaign to ensure the cost of residents' permits remain frozen, and do not become a way for the council to extract more money from residents beyond the minimum needed to operate the CPZ.
2. Minimising limitations: We will recommend to all residents who want a CPZ to request they operate between 10-3pm, to minimise the impact on visitors & lower costs to manage (through reduced enforcement hours), but still ensuring commuters & long term dumpers cannot use your streets. Similarly we would recommend they are not active on weekends.