RESIDENT'S GET SECOND CHANCE TO GET THE CPZ THEY ASKED FOR (Islington Liberal Democrats)

Islington Liberal Democrats <Islington_ld@cix.co.uk>

RESIDENT'S GET SECOND CHANCE TO GET THE CPZ THEY ASKED FOR

April 10, 2006 12:00 AM

Liberal Democrat Islington Councillors have succeeded in getting East Area Committee to re-examine their Labour and Tory councillors' decision to impose a 4 hour CPZ scheme to the Quadrant area, despite 49% local residents showing a clear preference for longer hours, against 29% supporting the shorter hours.

Five Lib Dem councillors called in the decision to ask the Overview Scrutiny Committee to decide whether the issue should be looked at again. Overview upheld the Call-in at a meeting on Thursday (30th March) night, meaning that East Area committee will have to look at the decision again, giving local residents another chance to make their views clear.

Cllr Terry Stacy, Highbury East Ward (which contains Quadrant) says: "Local residents were gobsmacked to have their views ignored. Now they will have the chance to make their views on the decision clear to the committee. It's clearly a complex issue, and the final decision will of course stay with East Area committee, but now at least they will get a second chance to take residents views into account."

At the Overview Committee, Cllr Theresa DeBono, representing the decision, made it clear that she did not believe she should be held to account for the decision, stating: " Why should I have to explain why I made a decision. You have no right to question my decision." This is despite the fact that the Overview scrutiny structure was set up by the Labour Government specifically to scrutinise Council decisions.

Labour group leader Cllr Catherine West also repeatedly made clear she felt the call-in of the issue was 'a waste of my time' and that she resented having to attend the committee meeting to discuss the issue, 'having better things to do', despite being a member of the Overview Committee.

The committee noted that the decision broke one of Labour's election pledges, to impose shorter CPZ hours only 'where residents want it'. Cllr DeBono made it clear that Labour had decided before the meeting to vote this way not for Quadrant's interests, but to help the Gillespie area in Cllr DeBono's own Highbury West ward. Despite this, two Labour Councillors, Cllr Lisa Spall (Chair of the Committee) and Cllr Barbara Sidnell, refused to vote with their colleagues, abstaining instead.

The decision will now be re-considered at the next East Area Committee on 18th May.