Harpenden’s Conservative Parliamentary candidate in the last election has questioned why a council officer who lives 75 miles away from our town should have the final say on controversial plans for on-street parking charges.
Nigel Gardner, who ran for the constituency of Harpenden and Berkhamsted in July’s General Election, made the fight against the proposed charges one of the pillars of his campaign.
Retailers and residents alike have opposed the measures, with and e-petition opposing the scheme was signed by 1,774 people, and a further 1,264 and 6,022 signing paper and Change.org versions.
Because the changes would be authorised by a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) a final say on whether to issue a TRO will be made by the council’s strategic director of community and place delivery Chris Traill in consultation with parking lead Cllr Helen Campbell.
Ms Traill, who lives in Leicester, is one of several senior council officers who don’t reside in the district, which Nigel believes means she is not best placed to make this decision.
He said: “Many of us simply couldn’t understand why St Albans council was pressing ahead with these dreadful new parking charges, given their unsuitability and the overwhelming and cross-party local anger.
“People across and around Harpenden know these crazy charges will cause so much hurt to our pensioners, our high street traders and our local economy.
“Now we learn thanks to first class local journalism in the St Albans Times that the senior St Albans council official in charge of the new charges doesn’t live in Harpenden. They don’t even live in Hertfordshire.
“Ms Chris Traill lives in Leicester and as far as we know has never tried to park in Harpenden.
“Given that, I believe she is not the best placed to make a decision of this weight for the people of Harpenden.
“If she won’t step back, then maybe she is the wrong person for such an important post.”
A spokesperson for SADC said: “Our officers work closely with councillors, the locally-elected representatives of our various communities, and are well aware of the views of residents, businesses and other organisations about the issues we deal with every day. Our work with our contractors and partners takes us into all areas of the district.
“Everyone who works for the council lives and breathes St Albans district whether they live locally or not.”