Purpose

Confirm refreshed approach and policy for management of car parks

Decision

Following a review of the Council’s Car Parking Strategy, the Cabinet:

RESOLVED to:

·         Implement a change to the Council’s car parking policy to a charging model.

·         Delegate authority to the Deputy Leader or Executive Member and the Chief Executive to implement the required operating model and necessary changes to the Council's car parking orders to meet the policy change requirements.

·         Add up to £32,000 to the capital budgets to undertake initial detailed design and technical preparation work.

RECOMMENDED to Council, to:

·         Release the remaining required funds and amend the capital and revenue budgets to deliver the policy change outlined in the proforma B (Appendix C of the report).

Reasons for the decision

The Council must make changes to how it continues to provide car parking services to meet the changing needs of our towns and high streets.

The Council need to maintain a balanced budget, and the introduction f a paid parking system – funded by those who benefit most from it is a fair way to achieve this.  This also means that investment can continue in other vital Council activities.

By charging modest fees for car parking with concession periods included, the Council can not only protect the provision of car parking services, but this will also enable a regular turnover of parking spaces and therefore availability. This would enable increased footfall/trade for local businesses.

As per the evidence of the Council’s recent enforcement trials and national evidence, the ability to park (to use the town centre) is more important than any charges levied. A charging model will enable this.

This approach aligns the Breckland area with all the other Council districts in Norfolk, except for one, as town centre car parking is almost universally paid for at the point of use.

Alternative options considered

Option 1: Change the parking policy to implement a new charging model district wide.

This option would involve changing the legal parking orders to a charging model using the approach outlined in the report, installing payment terminals and relevant signage in all the Council's car parks and entering into a contract with an enforcement service provider.

Option 2: Implement an enforcement-only model district wide.

This option would involve implementing further time-limited enforcement in all the council-owned car parks across the district and implementing long and short-stay limitations on a needs-basis to increase churn and change behaviour. It would also involve entering a contract with an enforcement service provider. The ongoing and increased overhead costs would be funded by the existing budgets, and there would be no relief on the budget.

Option 3: Ceasing to provide public car parking.

This option would involve disposing of the Council’s property interest in the car parks in an appropriate method to allow another party to operate and manage the car parking. It could involve entering into an agreement to allow another party to operate and manage the car parking. In either option there is a higher risk of controlling the use of the property assets to continue to provide public car parking and continue to provide parking services that are best value.

Option 4: Do Nothing.

With this option, the car parks would remain under the current strategy, which is a scheme with no enforcement (except for those sites in Swaffham and Attleborough where enforcement is already in place) and remain free to use by the end-user. The ongoing overhead costs would be funded by the existing budgets, and there would be no relief on the budget.