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Moving on from the messy business of local politics as blogged below, it was refreshing on Tuesday evening to be able to attend the Wivenhoe Neighbourhood Action Panel (NAP.) A short walk over to the Town Council offices, and I walked in, shook some hands and was warmly welcomed to sit around the grand Town Council table.

As defined on the excellent Wivenhoe Encyclopaedia, NAPSs are:

“an initiative led by Essex Police - Eastern Division in partnership with the Colchester Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CCDRP) and Colchester Borough Council. Each NAP consists of representatives from the local community, residents’ associations, children and young people, voluntary agencies, schools, faith groups, Town and Parish councillors, Colchester Borough Council, Essex County Council and other statutory groups or organisations that are best placed to make a valuable contribution to community problem solving throughout Colchester.”

The Wivenhoe NAP meets every two months, with the agenda sheet for November making no apologies for being heavy on transport and local parking issues. The first item agenda was the parking of cars on the road along The Avenue. This proved to be a returning theme throughout the evening.

It was pointed out that moving cars often mount the kerb to avoid hitting parked cars. It is a case of either drive partially along the footpath, or hit oncoming traffic.

A possible solution is scope for a breathing space. This is essentially a double yellow line bay, every dozen or so cars. The problem is that with many private properties along The Avenue having no driveway or garage, it is difficult to take away a parking spot outside someone’s home.

The Methodist Church has been identified as a possible location. Dialogue is in place with the Church, but a lengthy consultation period would need to be put in place before any breathing spaces can be sanctioned.

As similar problem was then identified with the next item agenda: parking at the parade of shops near Londis. The NAP Chair, Eugene Kraft, has written to Londis, asking about the possibility of adding parking lines in the small space. This would help by making parking restrictions enforceable.

Some red tape bureaucracy has delayed the plan (Londis lost the original letter…) but it is hoped that this may be the way forward to ease parking congestion around the Cross.

Moving down the agenda sheet, and it was like moving around an OS map of Wivenhoe. The next item under discussion was: disruptive parking outside Millfields Primary School. The problem here is that *some* parents are parking in front of residents driveways, and blocking off domestic access.

Councillor Penny Kraft mentioned that she has spoken with the Head Teacher at the school, but it seems that the problem still persists. The school has put in place a travel plan, with pupils encouraged to either walk or cycle to school. The idea of a Walking Bus has also been discussed, although there is currently zero funding to help set this up.

Sergeant Lou Middleton of Essex Police clarified that if a resident is blocked in their driveway, they can report this to the Parking Service at Colchester Borough Council. The NAP resolved to distribute this information to local residents around Millfields.

The panel also recommended inviting the Essex Parking Wardens to pay particular attention to the area at the start, and at the end of the school day. Once again this issue here is of resources. There are only two wardens able to represent the entire borough. Between them, they can only manage to visit each school in the locality once every seven weeks.

An incredibly lengthy and detailed discussion then followed, basically covering the same ground / road, but this time shifting down to West Quay and around the old port. The suggestion was that given the proximity to the train station of the development, commuters were using the roads to the West of the Quay as a cheap car park.

PC Mick Bond recognised this as a possibility, but suggested that the build up of parked cars can also be explained in terms of multi-car ownership by some households. From a policing point of view, the problem of intervention here is that you are asking residents to move along their own cars from outside their own properties.

With the road yet not adopted under council ownership, it was estimated that it would take up to four years to put in place any parking provision that the police could then uphold. PC Bond suggested that the problem isn’t as severe as to warrant this action as yet.

Seeing as though the local resident who raised the item was unable to attend the meeting, it was decided to pass a formal ruling at the next meeting of the NAP.

Any Other Business included the well documented local issue of the blocking of Queen’s Road to fire engines en route to tackling the recent fire at the Wivenhoe Business Centre. Access to Cook’s Shipyard is still very much a consideration as part of the Phase 3 development of the plan.

Councillor Steve Ford, added:

“Before the fire, Planning paid the area a visit. We were concerned about the flow of traffic around lower Wivenhoe. Planning has asked the Highways department to reconsider the decision to close Queen’s Road to traffic.”

Councillor Kraft stated:

“The Town Council has discussed a report about the fire at the Business Centre. The fire crews in attendance stated that it was the Sat Nav systems that directed them along Queen’s Road. We are going to write to the Highways department, stating that the Town Council is behind the re-opening of Queen’s Road.”

Sgt Middleton concluded the NAP meeting with a round up of local policing developments. A Hate Crime officer is now available to the local area to investigate any racist, sexist or homophobic crimes. The NAP agreed that thankfully this isn’t a major problem in Wivenhoe.

Sgt Middleton noted the recent local headlines about the two sexual assaults at Essex University. He confirmed that a man has been arrested, and is now on police bail.

Finally the meeting ended with Sgt Middleton telling the panel that the very future of Wivenhoe Police Station is in immediate doubt. A trial scheme at Tiptree has just ended, where the police offices relocated to the local fire station. This is currently being discussed as a possibility for other local Essex police stations.

The next meeting of the Wivenhoe NAP will be at the start of the new year, date to be confirmed. Keep your eye on the Diary Page of the Wivenhoe Encyclopaedia.