Purpose

To
consider increases to parking charges to move the service to full
cost recovery

Content

It
was RESOLVED: -
 

1.1         
That Cabinet approved Option 2, with the
amendments as set out in recommendation 1.2, and agreed its
implementation as soon as practically possible, and noted that this
was likely to be approximately three months following a formal
decision being made.

 

1.2         
That Sunday charging be removed from Sudbury,
Hadleigh and Pin Mill car parks, and that delegated authority be
given to the Director – Operations in consultation with the
Cabinet Member – People and Place to agree final charges at
Pin Mill. 

 
 
REASON FOR DECISION
 
Benchmarking of tariffs (Appendix B) suggested the proposals
will not exceed local market rates, which continued to place the
Councils car parks favourably where price is considered by
motorists in choosing where to park and visit. 
In
establishing the Councils approved Parking Strategy for 2022-42,
Ethos (formerly 2020 Highways and Transportation) Consultants
confirmed that the cost of parking was one of a range of
considerations when setting parking charges (see summary Appendix
E).
Data
on visits, dwell times, premises vacancies, and spending from the
three Council car park locations (see Appendix C) indicated there
has been no substantial change or significant detrimental impact on
these figures during the nine months since the revised charges were
introduced in January 2025.
The
validity of this data, which was also examined by Overview and
Scrutiny Committee in September 2025, has been qualified by the
University of Suffolk in their independent report (Appendix A). The
report concluded that ‘the introduction of parking charges
had not had a significant overall impact on these towns’,
which in turn backed up the findings of Ethos which underpin the
Councils strategy in relation to charge setting.
The
affordability of season tickets had been carefully considered to
support both residents and local workers, ensuring these tickets
remained available at a substantial discount for parking users who
had fewer options for where they can park.
A
range of ‘concessions’ continued to be provided where
appropriate and practical to operate and these would be kept under
review.
Free
parking in blue badge bays continued to be offered within all
Council owned car parks across the districts.
Free
parking options remained available in all locations, although it
was accepted at times these could be less convenient or in higher
demand.
The
planned changes would continue to support on street enforcement
which was known to improve turnover of these free
spaces.
Given the Council’s
overall MTFP budget pressures in delivering a wide range of
services for residents, it was no longer sustainable to continue
subsidising parking services without recovering full costs,
especially as further income opportunities had been thoroughly
assessed and benchmarked. If these proposals were not implemented,
equivalent reductions in other services would be necessary
instead.
 
Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:
 
Option 1 – do not
implement proposals
 
If chosen, this option would leave
a modelled total subsidy (amount adrift from full cost of service
recovery - see Appendix D) in the 2026/27 budget of
£355,626 which would have to be
found from other savings and service reductions.
 
This option is not
recommended.
 
Option 3 –
implement proposals with amendments
 
Any amendments made
could vary the overall benefit of the proposals and this would need
to be considered in respect of other identified savings elsewhere
within the Councils budgets.
 
This option is not
recommended. 
 
Any Declarations of
Interests Declared: None
Any Dispensation
Granted: None