Agenda item

To consider the attached report of the Head of Commercial Services.

The Head of Commercial Services presented the Review of On and Off-Street Parking Charges. It had been agreed in January 2011 that parking charges would be reviewed annually and in line with that decision it was considered appropriate to review charges at this time.

It was recognised that the pandemic had a significant impact across all sectors of the community and in particular in the hospitality and retail sector. It was important that the Council ensured that its parking policies and charging structure recognised this while still providing for the effective management of parking spaces and striking a balance between the use of charges and parking restrictions to ensure the turnover of parking spaces in order to meet demand. While there was no general increase in parking charges proposed, there were several adjustments in respect of specific car parks to balance demand and availability needs.

The following points were raised by Members:

·         To welcome the introduction of the new charging structure for residents permits based on engine size as an important contribution towards the climate change agenda. In response to concerns raised by Councillor S H Beer in respect of the proposed reduction in the waiting period for non-permit holders within resident zones from 2 hours to 1 hour it was stated that this proposal had been developed after reviewing a range of options and its impact would be reviewed.

·         Members discussed the charge for hotelier books and concerns raised by Councillor M Rose over the cost and impact of these books on resident parking availability. The Committee was advised that the Council sold only a small number of these books, but officers would monitor the impact of these books on resident parking.

·         The impact of extending the charging period from 5pm to 6pm on local businesses. Members were informed that a survey had found that it would have minimal impact on shopping patterns.

·         The status of proposals to introduce charges in rural car parks. Councillor C D Zosseder expressed concerns that the Council was paying to maintain the car parks but not recovering the cost of that maintenance as it did in the urban car parks. The Head of Commercial Services advised that covid had interrupted the review of rural car parks. There had been some discussion with parish councils in December 2020 and the feedback received had been that the majority had been opposed to the introduction of charging.   

Councillor C D Zosseder requested that a further report be brought to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the review of charging arrangements at rural car parks. The Head of Commercial Services agreed that this would be possible and that a short could be ready for the March meeting of the Committee.

There being no dissent indicated, it was agreed to note the report.

(Councillor S C Manion declared an Other Significant Interest (OSI) in Minute No. 94 (Review of On and Off-Street Parking Charges) on the grounds that he was a parking permit holder withdrew from the meeting for the consideration of this item of business.)