Issue - meetings

That (A) the comments of Corporate Business Scrutiny Committee be received;

(B)     the car parking income budget be increased by 7.5% from April 2017;

(C)    the option for tariff changes as set out in Essential Reference Paper ‘C2’ of the report submitted, be approved;

(D)    changes to a small number of the Council’s car parks as detailed at Essential Reference Paper ‘E’ of the report submitted, be approved;

(E)     the advertisement of a Traffic Regulation Order to give legal effect to these changes be authorised; and

(F)     the resolution by Officers of all Traffic Regulation Order objections received using existing delegated powers, be confirmed.

The Executive Member for Economic Development submitted a report seeking approval for proposed increases to the car parking income budget to be effective from April 2017.

The Executive Member advised that car park charges in East Herts had remained the same since 2010/11 and in some cases had been reduced.  Since then, the Council had reduced its short stay tariffs in September 2014 as part of a two year trial, resulting in the erosion, in real terms, of the value of the Council’s car park income by nearly 12%, since 2010/11.

The Executive Member further advised that new “pay and display” machines had been installed offering improved functionality, including the facility to pay by credit/debit card and the option to pay on exit.  The Executive noted the increased operating and licensing costs.

The Executive Member also referred to alternate options for tariff changes at Essential Reference Paper ‘C’ of the report submitted and small changes in some car parks at Essential Reference Paper ‘E’ of the report submitted.

The Corporate Business Scrutiny Committee, at its meeting held on 29 November 2016, had considered the proposals and had supported the proposed increases.  The Committee had expressed a preference for the tariff changes set out in the option detailed at Essential Reference Paper ‘C2’.  Although some Members had supported the idea that there should be no increase in charges until the impact of the new machines had been assessed and a Task and Finish Group had been established to review the wider issue of car parking and Sunday charging, this had not been supported by the Committee.

Councillors S Bull and J Jones both commented on the impact of the proposed changes on Buntingford and the reduction in the free parking period.  They argued that Buntingford should be treated as a special case, given it was the only town in East Herts without a train station.

The Executive Member responded by suggesting that Buntingford was being treated as a special case, as the free parking period would still be an hour longer than other towns in the District.  He reminded Members of the need to meet the Medium Term Financial Plan and the equity in asking all to contribute.

The Executive supported the proposals as now detailed.

RESOLVED - that (A) the comments of Corporate Business Scrutiny Committee be received;

(B)      the car parking income budget be increased by 7.5% from April 2017;

(C)      the option for tariff changes as set out in Essential Reference Paper ‘C2’ of the report submitted, be approved;

(D)      changes to a small number of the Council’s car parks as detailed at Essential Reference Paper ‘E’ of the report submitted, be approved;

(E)      the advertisement of a Traffic Regulation Order to give legal effect to these changes be authorised; and

(F)       the resolution by Officers of all Traffic Regulation Order objections received using existing delegated powers, be confirmed.

The Executive Member for Economic Development submitted a report seeking the Committee’s support for an overall 7.5% increase to car park budgets from April 2017.  The report also sought to ascertain the Committee’s preferred approach to implementing car park tariff changes as well as the Committee’s support for additional proposals affecting a small number of the Council’s car parks.

The Parking Manager advised that car park charges had remained unchanged for some years and in some cases had been reduced.  Members were advised that when measuring inflation via the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), the value of the Council’s car parking income had been eroded in real terms by nearly 12%.

Members were advised that the Council’s decision to absorb the increase in the rate of VAT in 2011 had further eroded income.  Car park charges had been unchanged and in some cases had reduced over the last six years and as the costs of operating the service would increase, it was proposed to increase tariffs from 2017/18.

The Parking Manager advised that although the proposed changes would deliver savings in some areas, costs would increase in others.  The Council would pay a charge every time a credit or debit card was used and it was anticipated that these charges would amount to £50,000 per annum.  Also, new operating and licencing costs associated with the new machines were projected to cost a further £27,000 per annum.

Following initial comments from Councillor M Casey, the Executive Member for Economic Development stated that the proposals would not discourage town centre parking and the 7.5% increase was in line with the Council’s own policies.  The Director (Adele Taylor) emphasised that the extra revenue would cover the costs of other elements of the service such as the work of the Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs).

Members were advised that the check in/check out process would reduce frequent overpaying by motorists and would assist in the avoidance of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs).  The Parking Manager explained the check in/check out process.

Following queries from Councillors J Kaye, M Pope and D Oldridge, the Parking Manager explained in more detail the rationale for the changes and the loss of blue badge bays.  He explained that the loss of the smart cards was due to the functionality of the new machines and was mitigated by increasing charges towards short stay tariffs, subject to approval.  He explained the operating procedures and costs associated with the work of CEOs and summarised the main differences between the options detailed in Essential Reference Papers C(1) and C(2) of the report submitted.

Councillor J Wyllie commented on whether the Council could charge for Sunday parking on the basis that the additional income would avoid weekday tariff increases.  The Parking Manager advised that Sunday charging could lose the Council money due to the need to employ CEOs on Sundays.  The Executive Member for Economic Development added that Sunday charging could cause on-street parking problems as yellow lines were not currently enforced  ...  view the full minutes text for item 461