Issue - meetings

That (A) the comments of the joint meeting of Scrutiny Committees be noted;

(B)     the proposals for off-street pay and display charges as detailed in this report and Essential Reference Paper ‘B' be approved for consultation;

(C)    the following associated budget changes be approved:

(i)                a one-off special item of £30,000 to fund extensive consultation through the publication of relevant Traffic Regulation Orders and any subsequent costs of signs and machine programming, to be funded from the Contingency budget in the 2014/15 budget;

(ii)              an increase of £50,000 to the budget for the Council’s Enforcement Contract to enable evening enforcement, to be funded from the contingency budget in the 2014/15 budget and will form part of the overall budget setting process in future years;

(iii)            additional one off funding of £1,500 in year one and £1,000 per subsequent year for additional reports to monitor car park usage, to be funded from the contingency budget for 2014/15 and for future years will form part of the overall budget setting process;

(iv)     £255,000 of the Priority Spend budget be vired to car park income budgets for 2014/15 to address any shortfall in income from these proposals, the full year effect in 2015/16 being £340,000;

(D)    Officers be requested to:

(i)                progress the required Traffic Regulation Order ensuring the consultation process is robust and wide ranging;

(ii)              commence discussions to establish whether Jackson Square can be included within the car park pay and display policy;

(iii)            commence negotiations with the enforcement contractor to establish an evening enforcement operation to cover Hertford, Ware and Bishop’s Stortford; and

(iv)     submit a further report to the Executive following analysis of consultation feedback.

The Executive Member for Economic Development submitted a report outlining policy proposals for off-street pay and display charges in 2014/15 and 2015/16.  The joint meeting of Scrutiny Committees, held on 11 February 2014, had considered the proposals and had expressed support for them.

The Executive Member reminded the Executive of the key principles of the adopted fees and charges strategy and detailed the economic context within which charges had been frozen since 2010.  He proposed to extend the freeze for another two years, but to restructure charges with a view to increasing support for the economic vitality of town centres.  This included adjusting charging bands to incorporate a free 30 minute period in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertford and Ware and introducing a flat rate £1 charge for more than 30 minutes after 4.00 pm and until 10.00 pm in the evening.

The Executive Member detailed the modelling of a range of users’ behaviour, the risks associated with the new charges and the additional enforcement that would be necessary. 

Finally, he emphasised that additional consultation needed to be undertaken which would be wider and qualitatively different  to that which would be undertaken in promoting a statutory Traffic Regulation Order (TRO).  To this end, he suggested amending recommendation (C)(i) to allow for a number of different TROs to be promoted, if the informal consultation indicated that would be appropriate.  In response to questions, the Executive Member commented on the need for flexibility, so that the consistent approach taken towards the three main towns could be amended if the consultation so demanded.

Members considered the financial risks and the difficulties associated with measuring the impact on economic activity.  The Leader advised that monitoring within the corporate healthcheck report would be included on a quarterly basis.

Councillor J Wing commented on the need for increased publicity in regard to the “Ringo” service.  The Executive Member agreed to raise this with Officers and to consider its relevance to these proposals.

In response to comments by the Executive Member for Strategic Planning and Transport, the Executive Member for Economic Development welcomed any interaction with retailers and their representatives.

The Executive approved the proposals as now detailed.

RESOLVED - that (A) the comments of the joint meeting of Scrutiny Committees be noted;

(B)      the proposals for off-street pay and display charges as detailed in this report and Essential Reference Paper ‘B' be approved for consultation;

(C)      the following associated budget changes be approved:

(i)                    a one-off special item of £30,000 to fund extensive consultation through the publication of relevant Traffic Regulation Orders and any subsequent costs of signs and machine programming, to be funded from the Contingency budget in the 2014/15 budget;

(ii)                  an increase of £50,000 to the budget for the Council’s Enforcement Contract to enable evening enforcement, to be funded from the contingency budget in the 2014/15 budget and will form part of the overall budget setting process in future years;

(iii)                additional one off funding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 571

The Executive Member for Economic Development submitted a report to present policy proposals for off-street pay and display charges in 2014/15 and 2015/16, for consideration by Members when making recommendations to the Executive.

The Executive Member for Economic Development advised that the Parking and Transport Strategy focussed on promoting commerce and ensuring the availability of parking.  Members were advised that there was now an increased focus on what residents wanted to use car parks for.  The car parks were increasingly being used for evening activities.

Members were referred to Essential Reference Paper ‘B’ for the proposed new structure for pay and display charge tariffs.  Members were advised that there would be capital costs of implementing the new charging regime.  Essential Reference Paper ‘C’ contained a summary of the financial implications of the proposed changes.

In response to a query from Councillor K Warnell, Members were advised that the new regime included free parking for a half an hour period, an all day charge that went through to the end of the charging period at 22:00 in the evening and a flat rate fee of just £1 after 16:00 hours.  Councillor G Williamson referred to the identified £340,000 deficit should the new regime be approved.  He commented on whether this shortfall would have to be funded by Council taxpayers.

The Executive Member for Economic Development referred Members to Essential Reference Paper ‘F’.  He stated that Council taxpayers would not be funding the proposals as there was currently an overall £610,000 revenue surplus in the car parking budget which contributed to the general fund for managing Council services.

Councillor J Wing stated that he was supportive of the proposed changes as they answered many of the key criticisms he had of the previous proposals put to scrutiny in respect of 30 minutes of free parking in the evening.  He sought and was given clarification that the public would need to have a valid ticket displayed on their vehicles at all times including for the first free half hour.

Members enquired about the method by which parking would be monitored, asking about the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR).  Members were advised that ANPR might be one of many options for the future management of the Council's car parks and that the proposal would require the display of a valid pay and display ticket using the Council's current system of operation.

The Head of Information, Parking and Customer Services advised that a full review of the options for the future management of car parks, including ANPR, was being progressed and was part of the Parking Service Plan.  Changes to the current management system would require investment and Members would receive reports recommending the best operational system and a cost and benefit analysis of alternatives, to enable selection of the most appropriate system.  Funding any investment would need to be considered against the Council's policy of the users of car parks paying for their use as opposed to the taxpayer at large.

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 546