Agenda item

The Chairman said that there was a minor change to recommendation A in the report. The recommendation should read ‘climate change’ not ‘climate charge’.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability presented the recommendations in the report. He said that all car parking charges would be increased in April 2024 in line with the annual CPI uplift which was agreed by the Executive in October 2022. He explained that the administration wished to use tools at its disposal to address the priorities of climate change and one such tool was car parking tariffs.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that the differential parking charges proposed would encourage model shift therefore reducing unnecessary journeys, idling, and extra distance travelled searching for a parking space. He said that the promotion of long stay parking in Northgate End would free up spaces for shoppers in the other car parks in Bishop’s Stortford. The financial pressures of the council meant that the scheme had to ensure there was no loss of income and the scheme would be kept under review to see if the tariffs have an effect on behaviour.

Councillor Hoskin proposed that the recommendations in the report be supported. Councillor Adams seconded the proposals.

Councillor Goldspink said that she supported the proposals and said the proposals were partly in response to the BID’s request for 100 spaces for town centre workers in Northgate End and partly to encourage more people to use Northgate End. She said the scheme should free up short stay car parking elsewhere for shoppers to visit local businesses. She said that the proposals would deliver more than 400 reduced charge long stay spaces instead of the 100 originally requested. Councillor Goldspink said that the administration had inherited responsibility for running Northgate End car park but said it was not very user friendly and people were wary of using it. She hoped that encouraging people to park there would mean it would become safer.

Councillor Wyllie said he had read the report but felt there were good parts and bad parts. He said that he supported the previous scheme proposed but said he could not support the new proposed scheme. He said the pricing for Northgate End was sensible but this had impacted pricing in other car parks increasing them by up to 54% and he said he could not support these increases.

Councillor Jacobs said the administration had said that the previous scheme was unacceptable because a bespoke solution for Bishop’s Stortford was not fair and a holistic solution was required across the whole district. He said that he was astonished to hear Councillor Goldspink say that people did not want to park in Northgate End for safety reasons but now wanted more people to park there. He also said that the administration claimed to be listening but there was no evidence in the proposal about any consultation. He said he was opposed to the policy as the money would be coming from residents already facing a cost of living crisis. He requested a recorded vote on the recommendations.

Councillor Deering said that he did not feel the proposals were an appropriate package as there had been no wider consultation. He said the Conservative group would be abstaining.

Councillor E Buckmaster said that he felt the proposals were mixed up. He said he accepted the overall price increase in line with CPI but felt the rest of the policy needed more work.

Councillor Estop said there were three objectives of this policy; model shift, addressing climate change and improving air quality. She felt that model shift came with medium term measures such as cycle routes, improvements to bus services and additional street lighting. She said that the redistribution of long stay parking was right but the messages were blurred because all of the parking charges were increasing. She said she looked forward to the proposals for improving the Northgate End car park.

Councillor Brittain said that the CPI increase would come into effect in April 2024 so felt it was sensible to include the changes to differential parking at the same time. He said that after the last proposal, there was a demand to do something about parking in Bishop’s Stortford and the administration have listened. He said that the status quo was not working and it was unknown as to whether this would change behaviour but the administration did not feel that the BID’s proposals were right as it was only going to benefit 100 people and this proposals was fairer as it was available to everyone in Bishop’s Stortford. He also thanked Officers who had worked on this proposal to meet a tight deadline.

Councillor Swainston said that she supported the recommendations. She felt it was worth trying and was pleased that an extra 400 people would get the chance to park cheaply. She hoped it would work so that there would be an increase in footfall in the town and reduce the number of workers parking all day.

Councillor Daar said that a few Members had mentioned the listening council and public consultation. She disputed those comments and said the Conservatives put forward a motion at the last Council meeting to go forward with the BID’s proposal which would have offered cheaper parking to just 100 people. This policy would open the offer to all in Bishop’s Stortford and it was a trial.

Councillor Hopewell said that there had been occasions in other towns and cities where there had been an adjustment to parking. She felt it was important to run the scheme as a trial and see if the concerns were valid or whether they improve the situation. She said there would be opportunities to make adjustments once the council had evidence and data to work with.

Councillor Copley said that Members should pull out the key facts from the report. she said that all car parking charges across East Herts were going up 6.7% which had been agreed by the previous administration but said in the largest car park, rates would be reduced. She felt that the rate increase was still the same across the district once prices had been averaged out and said there was no admin costs like with a permit scheme and no one was tied to a particular car park.

Councillor Townsend said he hoped this would encourage more people to park in Northgate End to dispel any safety fears. He said he supported the idea of reducing some charges and said there were benefits of model shift.

Councillor Glover-Ward said that she had attended a couple of meetings with the BID and their targets were clear; cheaper all day parking for town centre workers and free up other car parks to encourage shoppers. She said that car park charges under five hours had not gone up by a significant amount and the only charge that had gone up significantly was the 12 hour tariff. She explained that the trial in Bishop’s Stortford would be monitored and would be used to inform a wider roll out across the district.

Councillor Hoskin thanked Members for their comments. He said the council would watch and monitor the effect of the scheme. He said his intention was to provide a holistic approach as there were anomalies throughout the district in terms of car parking. He said the point about communication was important and said they had until April 2024 to explain the CPI increase and the differential increase to residents. He understood the points about the safety of the car park and its appearance.

At least five Members of the Council requested a recorded vote on the motion under paragraph 3.24.5 of the Constitution. The result was as follows:

FOR (25)

Councillors Adams, Brittain, Burt, Butcher, Carter, Connolly, Copley, Cox, Crystall, Daar, Dumont, Dunlop, Glover-Ward, Goldspink, Hart, Hill, Hopewell, Hoskin, Marlow, Nicholls, Swainston, Thomas, Townsend, Watson and Williams

AGAINST (5)

Councillors Clements, Estop, Jacobs, Willcocks and Wyllie

ABSTAINED (12)

Councillors Andrews, Boylan, E Buckmaster, R Buckmaster, Deering, Deffley, Devonshire, Holt, Horner, Redfern, Stowe and Williamson.

RESOLVED – (A) To work towards climate change and air quality aspirations by amending car parking tariffs in Bishop’s Stortford to influence parking behaviour by implementing the amended charges as set out in Appendix A, which also incorporates inflation uplifts; and

(B)       To authorise the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to publish a Notice of Variation under the Road Traffic Regulation Act to give effect to the introduction of the new tariff structure.