Merged topic - High Point Village, Hayes and Harlington

[whole diary]

[SByers]

Briefly ever since the start of Crossrail works at Hayes & Harlington Station there have been parking issues. The original station building was quickly demolished to make way for a building site. Also the original turning circle for drop-off / pick-up cars and cabs was fenced off - and this too is a building site. Nothing has been done in two years. Since then the road leading to the main Station entrance (for platforms 4 and 5) called Station Parade has become a private road 'owned' by the High Point Village complex. This road is aggressively monitored by PCM and is effectively a 'no-go' zone for all private cars and cabs. Indeed Black Cabs from Heathrow refuse to go there.

This has resulted in an estimated 60 parking tickets and fines per day for motorists caught unawares of the draconian restrictions. Indeed many motorists have only spent a few seconds dropping off passengers at the entrance to platform 4, or have done a pick-up at the Staycity Rental Apartments  hotel, been photographed by security and consequently fined even to the threat of bailiffs.

Even cars inadvertently entering this dead end road and requiring to turn round to leave have been photographed and fined.

It has been witnessed that not only are cars photographed, but drivers, passengers and even innocent passersby.

Trade at the adjacent Tescos has also been affected due to the lack of loading facilities for folks doing the weekly shop, and even families taking kids to the local coffee bar / play centre cannot drop off or collect children and wives. All of these outlets are in Station Parade.

This draconian policy is also potentially illegal in that it discriminates against the elderly or infirm who cannot be safely dropped-off or picked-up near the Station.

It has been rumoured that the security staff are on a commission basis. But their aggressive and bullying attitude has meant that Roundabout Cars reportedly is losing drivers. Yet their competitors Station Cars are reported as being exempt. Go figure that one out.

There is a lot of background to this issue, including the greed by the owning company of High Point Village.

But the fault also lies with Crossrail for taking so much space for its building works which have yet to actually begin. It has recently been reported that there is now a two year delay before work actually starts. That is a lot of parking tickets and fines at 60 per day.

Meanwhile both the Network Rail and First Great Western web sites still FAIL to warn passengers that there are NO drop-off / pick-up facilities at the Station. And this is after TWO years of this scandal.

http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/west-london-news/drivers-fined-after-crossrail-construction-10798709

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=106364

SB^▸ (Signal Box)

[SByers]

Two important links ...

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/pcm-uk-signage-does-not-create-contract.html?m=1

https://www.facebook.com/groups/fightyourprivateparkinginvoice/?ref=bookmarks

[SByers]

Background ...

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=106364

"As the registered owner of the vehicle I have responded but after reading the helpful advice given on this site and BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Watchdog I have not said who the driver is. I have done some research on Parking Control Management (UK^▸ (United Kingdom)) Ltd and the Director is Ian Derek Cordingley who has been under investigation by BBC Watchdog, Daily Mail, Top Gear and Windsor & Eton Council since 2009 for the despicable way in which this company runs its business."

[SByers]

Entrance to Platforms 4 - 5

[SByers]

No drop-offs / pick-ups at Station Entrance. Nor outside Staycity foyer.

[grahame]

Hi, SByers and welcome to the forum.    I wondered when you signed up if you were the Stephen Byers who was minister for transport on 2001 ... 2002?    Guessing not ... as I don't know of any Hayes and Harlington connection with the former minister, but (for our members) could you confirm?

The thing that I've found about the current Hayes and Harlington is what an awful station it is at the moment to change when heading to / from Heathrow from Reading and beyond with heavy baggage ... seems very much like a project that's underway still.   I've not left the station to be aware of the road (as opposed to rail) side issues - will leave that for others to comment.

At times, I find I have posted something, then find something to add.   There's a "modify" button that lets you do that on the top of your posts, and you'll probably find that helps you get more responses as it keeps your message in a  single passage, rather than members having to wade through multiple posts.

[eightf48544]

We've all stopped thinking.

There's all these new trains, electrification,  new stations, extra services, Crossrail & HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)), all designed to increase rail traffic but nobody has thought how are all these extra passengers going to get to and from station to enjoy all these extra goodies.

[SByers]

Not THE S Byers - but a local tenant resident. BTW^▸ (by the way) I tried to add photos to the first thread but the system insisted upon creating a new thread.

Meanwhile I have spoken with the local police. The officer in the group I spoke to mentioned that a few months ago he'd been called to Tescos to handle a shoplifting incident. He had left the police minivan on the double yellows outside Tescos. Apparently the reg. plates were then photographed by the HPV security neanderthal. When he had sorted out the shoplifting he curtly told the security idiot that as police on a call he had every right to park where he needed to be. The security idiot then made a formal complaint about him. You couldn't make this stuff up. 

It has been rumoured that the security guy is on commission, which is a nice little earner ripping off the unwary public at 60 tickets a day times £200 each.

[SByers]

So whilst the station building is demolished - NOTHING has been done or is being done to the site. All work has stopped. And reportedly will be so for the next TWO years

Meanwhile the rip-offs being perpetrated against innocent and unwary motorists by High Point Village management will continue because no-one cares.

Crossrail and FGW^▸ (First Great Western) are to blame in creating this situation. But it is also illegal discrimination against the elderly and disabled by not allowing drop-offs and pickups at the station entrance.

Indeed the entrance to platforms 4 and 5 is via private land. Indeed it is ALL private land in Station Parade ever since the railway sidings were sold to build the High Point Village carbuncle on.

Sadly John MacDonnell (H&H MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) (Lab)) has got other things to contend with rather than his constituents being ripped-off. But Hillingdon Council are equally useless.
 
BTW^▸ (by the way) there are also numerous complaints on TripAdvisor about StayCity Apartments which is part of HPV.
 

[SByers]

My TripAdvisor report was accepted twice, but then rejected...

"Staycity Aparthotels London Heathrow Hayes

One star - should be zero.

AVOID - Draconian and Abusive Security

Well we WERE going to stay there, BUT talking to some folks on our flight to Heathrow they said do NOT go there. Black Cabs wont drop off or pick up there because security photographs everyone in the area, even passersby. AND cab drivers are fined £200 plus if they venture into the Station Parade road outside. Staycity. Hayes & Harlington Station must be the ONLY one in the country without a proper drop-off / pick-up area."

[plymothian]

So whilst the station building is demolished - NOTHING has been done or is being done to the site. All work has stopped. And reportedly will be so for the next TWO years

Meanwhile the rip-offs being perpetrated against innocent and unwary motorists by High Point Village management will continue because no-one cares.
 

Maybe the builders are fed up of being fined by HPV every time they access the site.

[grahame]

Not THE S Byers - but a local tenant resident. BTW^▸ (by the way) I tried to add photos to the first thread but the system insisted upon creating a new thread.

Thanks for that confirmation.

I'm not sure what happened with your request to add photos to the original thread; that's a new one on me.   I'll merge the two thread to avoid bring them and comment together - meeting your initial intent, I believe, and making it easier for people to read and follow up on the whole subject should they wish.   Also have an eye open for any similar reports of photo posting problems in the future; should a pattern emerge we have a better chance of finding why the system was insisting on a new thread.

[SByers]

So whilst the station building is demolished - NOTHING has been done or is being done to the site. All work has stopped. And reportedly will be so for the next TWO years

Meanwhile the rip-offs being perpetrated against innocent and unwary motorists by High Point Village management will continue because no-one cares.
 

Maybe the builders are fed up of being fined by HPV every time they access the site.

And Tescos delivery vehicles too. Indeed just about every vehicle that enters the Station Parade dead end road has to do a three-point turn to exit, and since this is on High Point Village land they are fined. Even cars dropping off residents of HPV are photographed and incur a fine for so doing. I have witnessed this so any times.

[SByers]

This is how the High Point Village management treat their tenants and leaseholders:

Unsocial housing? Gates within gates divide the 'haves' and 'have-nots'

Critics and residents claim High Point Village in west London is a low point for communities in mixed-tenure housing schemes

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/oct/22/unsocial-housing-gates-within-gates

"Tension came to a head in August (2013) after a disruption to the water supply left some residents in affordable homes without water for nearly two days. Some residents found an emergency hosepipe existed for the private homeowners only to be told it could not be used to temporarily supply affordable homes. Families claim that at one point they were reduced to filling up bottles from a decorative fountain at the entrance to the luxury housing area."

[chrisr_75]

Just passed through H&H station which reminded me - there is an alternative drop off area and car park to the south side of the railway which as far as I know has nothing to do with this evil corporation you speak of. Why all the fuss when another (many would say more appropriate) drop off area can be used?!

Travellers could also easily use the multitude of bus services that converge on H&H from a large part of outer west London...