ISLINGTON Council officers have produced a report on the results of the consultation on the hours of the Residents’ Roamer, only four days after the consultation closed.

According to the report the council received 173 e-mails and 135 phone calls. The majority of the e-mails were “opposed to the scheme” and the majority of the phone calls were “in favour of the scheme”.

The council concluded that the hours would be changed and ignored the objections to the overall scheme.

Parking permit holders received a letter about the proposed change of hours and were invited to phone or write in. As no one else was given a phone number for parking services, this presumably generated the large number of calls which were “in favour”.

The council report thus compares apples with pears by making no distinction between e-mails opposed to the scheme overall and phone calls in favour of the change of hours.

Only the residents with on-street parking were consulted (by letter), that excludes all council tenants, people that live on car-free estates and the majority of Islington residents who don’t have cars. This, despite the negative impact the scheme will have on congestion and air quality affecting us all.

This council gives the impression that it is not interested in the views of residents and appears uninterested in the negative implications of its policies for the environment and the health and well-being of residents. – Caroline Russell, Islington Green Party.