Local residents living near the tube station have long complained of being unable to park in their own roads, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

Blessbury Road is one of the streets affected by commuter parking (credit Google)

Barnet Council has announced plans to tackle long-running parking problems blighting residential streets near Burnt Oak Station.

A trial controlled parking zone (CPZ) is set to be introduced in April after local residents complained that they struggle to find spaces because commuters frequently leave their vehicles in the streets.

CPZs only allow residents who hold permits to leave their cars in marked-out spaces, with fines issued for those who break the rules. The ‘Burnt Oak North CPZ’ will be launched on 3rd April and will operate between 8am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

In November 2019, the council was accused of dragging its feet over introducing a CPZ after a resident complained commuter parking was causing a “nightmare” in streets near the tube station. The introduction of a CPZ in Gervase Road was said to have worsened the problems.

Two years later, in November 2021, the council held an informal engagement exercise with residents on proposals for a CPZ in the area. But last week, Marek Vojcik, who lives in Blessbury Road, said it had not revealed the results of the consultation and there had been no sign of any further action from the local authority – despite the commuter parking problems getting “far worse”.

When approached for comment, a council spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that an experimental CPZ was being introduced following consideration of “a number of factors, including the feedback received during the engagement”.

The council sent out letters last week to inform residents about the decision to introduce the 18-month-long trial CPZ, with comments received during the first six months constituting the statutory consultation.

The spokesperson added: “An experimental scheme gives officers time to consider any comments received, assess the effectiveness of the parking controls, and make changes if required.”

Work on the scheme was set to begin on Monday (27th) and be completed within one month, according to the letter sent to residents. The letter adds that details of the CPZ will be published on the council’s website on 13th March.

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