The council officially took parking enforcement back in-house at the beginning of April in order to cut down on traffic congestion and provide a better service to residents. The new service will be managed by Greener Ealing Ltd (GEL), which is wholly owned and run by the council.
An additional 20 enforcement officers have been employed to take action on a range of offences including pavement parking, parking in cycle lanes and other contraventions of the Highway Code. A new shift system will also see late night patrols up to 2am, with improved enforcement in town centres across all 7 towns, including in late night hot spots in Southall and Park Royal.
Peter Mason, leader of Ealing Council and Councillor Deirdre Costigan, deputy leader and cabinet member for climate action, visited the GEL headquarters at Greenford Depot on Monday, 8 April, to meet some of the enforcement team.
Councillor Mason said: “Most road users play by the rules, but there are still far too many that engage in inconsiderate, dangerous and antisocial behaviour.
“Parking on pavements in our high streets damages business trade and is dangerous for pedestrians. Illegally parking across cycle lanes makes it incredibly dangerous for cyclists and other road users.
Our message is very simple. Break the rules and you will face consequences. That is why we have taken back control of parking enforcement, bringing it back under the council and are significantly increasing our enforcement activity.”
Councillor Deirdre Costigan said: “With 20 extra enforcement officers, new late night patrols in our 7 towns and a base in Acton to add to the one in Greenford, I’m confident our decision to bring the parking service back in-house was the right decision for residents and for safety on our streets.
“The new service will take a firm but fair approach to enforcement, with officers wearing body cameras to ensure fines are correctly issued. New GPS enabled computerised handsets and better enforcement of resident-only parking rules will help ensure we are doing everything we can to keep Ealing moving and to reduce air pollution from traffic congestion.”
Since 2020, the council’s wholly owned environmental services team GEL has provided an improved rubbish and recycling service, with customer satisfaction significantly up and customer complaints down. The borough is consistently one of the top performing councils in London for recycling.
Last year, it successfully started running the council’s graffiti cleaning service.
GEL is also modernising its vehicle fleet, switching to electric vehicles.
