As part of our commitment to engage local residents, Essex County Council recently held an additional drop in session on the legacy proposals for Hadleigh Farm and Hadleigh Country Park in Benfleet and has identified some measures to respond to key issues raised.
One of these key issues was parking and ECC can confirm a commitment to deliver a free of charge, resident parking scheme in the St Mary’s Road area, as an extension to the measures already proposed for the Chapel Lane and Castle Lane areas.
It can also confirm categorically that St Mary's Road will not be promoted as a vehicle access route to Hadleigh Country Park, with the access point and car park being located on Chapel Lane.
In response to the concerns raised by a group of residents in July 2012, the intention is to consult with residents before introducing measures to the area of St Mary’s road to protect residents' parking from visitors. We will look to undertake further consultation with all residents within the proposed parking scheme area later in the year before bringing forward more detailed proposals.
Essex County Councillor Stephen Castle, Cabinet Member for Education, Life Long Learning and the 2012 Games, commented: “I am pleased that we have identified responses to the issue raised by the residents at the latest drop in sessions. We have taken the consultation with the local community in developing these proposals very seriously and the recent meeting takes our total public engagements on the project to over 10 sessions. We are committed to working with local residents to find an acceptable solution.”
As part of the Hadleigh Farm Legacy Proposals, ECC undertook a parking consultation in the area surrounding Chapel Lane and Castle Lane, with a view to introducing a free of charge parking permit scheme in response to issues raised during the consultation in March 2012. The feedback from this consultation was generally very supportive of the proposal.
With plans now in place to extend this parking zone to St Mary's Road, ECC will be looking to begin the consultation later in the year.
To find out more information about the Olympic Mountain Bike event visit www.essexlegacy.org