Issue - meetings

Following the meeting on 22 August, the Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee had called in the following decision of the Cabinet

a)            the proposed new tariffs for each of the council owned car parks in Mid Devon be approved as detailed in the annexe to the Working Group report apart from overnight charges from 1800 - 0800 which are to revert to being free of charge, with the exception of Tiverton Multi Storey and Phoenix House car parks (which will remain 24 hour charging).

for the following reasons:

·         The decision is illogical

·         The decision diminishes legitimate income

·         The decision goes against the balanced recommendation of the Car Parking Working Group

The Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 2 September 2019

RESOLVED that the Cabinet be requested to reconsider the decision to abolish night time car parking charges. (Minute attached)

Following the meeting on 22 August, the Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee had called in the following decision of the Cabinet

a)            the proposed new tariffs for each of the council owned car parks in Mid Devon be approved as detailed in the annexe to the Working Group report apart from overnight charges from 1800 - 0800 which are to revert to being free of charge, with the exception of Tiverton Multi Storey and Phoenix House car parks (which will remain 24 hour charging).

For the following reasons:

·         The decision is illogical

·         The decision diminishes legitimate income

·         The decision goes against the balanced recommendation of the Car Parking Working Group

The Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 2 September 2019 resolved that the Cabinet be requested to reconsider the decision to abolish night time car parking charges.

The Cabinet had before it the relevant *report and a copy of the minute from the Scrutiny Committee on 2 September 2019.  The Chairman stated that there was a need to reconsider the recommendations of the working group and the Economy Policy Development Group in light of the discussions held at the Scrutiny Committee. 

He reflected on the initial decision by the Cabinet at its meeting on 22 August 2019, where the Cabinet had agreed with the new tariffs for each of the Council owned car parks but did consider in the majority of council owned car parks that overnight charging should cease, with the effect of reducing the Council’s income from car parking by £28k a year.  He felt that, given the Council’s substantial in year budget deficit coupled with the recent decision to agree significant capital investment in the MSCP, that it would be inappropriate to forgo this sum.  He considered the requirement that a Council cannot use net income from car parking charges to support revenue expenditure across the Council, even with any increased income no breach of legislation would take place.  Capital expenditure had already been proposed for the car parks which would extinguish any net income gained over the period.  He felt that the recommendation of the working group to purchase a permit for overnight parking for £100 per year which was less than 30p per night, offered good value.

Consideration was given to:

·         The original decision which some felt was reasonable and sound seeing that there had been a recommendation to increase tariffs during the day time

·         The need for any net income to be used to maintain and/or make improvements to Council owned car parks

·         The costs of running the car parks and the amount of income received per annum

·         Parking in William Street car park

·         Free overnight parking would alleviate on street parking problems

·         The views of the Scrutiny Committee

·         The need  to encourage the purchase of permits by better advertising

It was therefore RESOLVED that:

a)    The proposed new tariffs for each of the Council owned car parks in Mid Devon be approved as per the annexe in the Working Group Report

b)    Overnight  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54

To consider any decisions made by the Cabinet at its last meeting that have been called-in.

The Chairman informed the Committee that two decisions made by the Cabinet at its meeting on 22^nd August 2019 (with regard to the Car Parking Working Group report and the Disposal of Land at the Park Road Nursery Depot) had been called in for consideration by the Scrutiny Committee in accordance with the Council’s Constitution.

To consider:

a)    Car Parking Working Group report*

•           The decision was illogical

•           The decision diminishes legitimate income

•           The decision went against the balanced recommendation of the Car Parking Working Group

The Chairman explained that he had called in the decision as he felt that having different charges for night time parking in different car parks across the District was illogical and that the findings and recommendations of the Working Group were balanced.

The Committee discussed the Cabinet decision to abolish night time car parking charges and the Chairman of the Car Parking Working Group explained that over the course of the Group meetings night time car parking charges had been discussed. He explained that the working group had a long discussion about the charges and had decided to retain the £1 charge but to introduce a lower priced permit which would be able to be paid in monthly instalments and would cost the user less than 30p per day.

The Cabinet Member for the Working Environment and Support Services explained that she was part of the original Car Parking Working Group and she felt that the decision to remove night time charges was not illogical. She explained that the charges in the Multi Storey Car Park had always been different than the Council’s other car parks. She explained that in her opinion the policy to charge people to park overnight had increased the amount of car parking on local streets. She explained that no other local authority in the South West charged people to park overnight and that the decision would not have a detrimental effect on the Council’s income. She further explained that the Cabinet had understood and considered the Working Group recommendation but they didn’t accept them in their entirety.  

The Chairman of the Working Party explained to members that those neighbouring authorities that didn’t charge for overnight parking had a residents’ parking scheme which raised income for overnight parking but in a different way. He explained that this had been looked at by the working group, but it was felt that the Council should assist residents to park securely at night but with a lower fee.

The Cabinet Member for the Working Environment and Support Services informed members that people were driving around and around in Cullompton looking for a free car parking space. She addressed the points about residents’ parking permits and suggested that this was something that could be looked at.

The Chairman of the Economy PDG addressed the committee and explained that they had accepted the findings of the Working Group. He acknowledged the current poor uptake of night time parking permits but stated that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53

Arising from a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and Group Manager for Street Scene & Open Spaces, the Economy Policy Development Group had made the following recommendations:

a)    The proposed new tariffs for each of the council owned car parks in Mid Devon be approved as detailed in the annexe to the Working Group report;

b)    Overnight parking permits be altered to offer greater value for money for local residents and that the annual one off charge be set at £100. To also approve an option to pay by monthly direct debit at £10 per month with a one month cancellation period.

Arising from a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (S151) and Group Manager for Street Scene & Open Spaces, the Economy Policy Development Group had made the following recommendations:

a)    The proposed new tariffs for each of the council owned car parks in Mid Devon be approved as detailed in the annexe to the Working Group report;

b)    Overnight parking permits be altered to offer greater value for money for local residents and that the annual one off charge be set at £100. To also approve an option to pay by monthly direct debit at £10 per month with a one month cancellation period.

The Cabinet Member for Finance outlined the contents of the report stating that the Economy Policy Development Group had set up a working group to re-examine the effectiveness of the current charging regime and to consider any appropriate recommendations for changes.  The Council had last visited its Pay and Display charges in April 2016 and in 2018/19 it generated £656K from 604,450 vends.  In addition circa £115K was raised in charges for permits and off-street parking fines.  He considered the findings of the working group’s report and explained that the tariff proposals had been put through a pricing model based on historic vend analysis. 

Consideration was given to:

·         A proposition for overnight charges to be removed except for the MSCP and outside Phoenix House

·          Residents parking overnight in narrow side streets and the impact on emergency services

·         Properties within the towns with no parking facilities

·         Climate change issues would not stop people using cars in Mid Devon, especially in the rural areas

·         The lack of bus services in the evenings

·         The views of the Chairman of the Working Group and the work of the previous working group, the proposed suggestions of the Group, the need for the William Street car park to continue to have free time, the need to increase publicity for purchasing permits and the savings that could be made. He voiced concern with regard to the removal of night time charges as that would be an impact on income received.

·         The proposal of £1.25 per hour in short stay car parks and whether that was an awkward amount to charge

·         The amount of parking fees paid digitally

·         The cost of parking across the county and into Somerset

·         A concern that the William Street car park was very busy at school times and that shoppers could not park there

·         Where the money went from overpayments and whether any overpayments collected should be given to charity

It was therefore:

RESOLVED that: 

a)            the proposed new tariffs for each of the council owned car parks in Mid Devon be approved as detailed in the annexe to the Working Group report apart from overnight charges from 1800 - 0800 which are to revert to being free of charge, with the exception of Tiverton Multi Storey and Phoenix House car parks (which will remain 24 hour charging).

b)             the Economy Policy Development Group be requested to consider the issue  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39

To receive a report from the Car Parking Working Group and to consider making recommendations to the Cabinet regarding proposed Pay & Display charges.

The Group had before it a report * from the Deputy Chief Executive and Group Manager for Street Scene & Open Spaces providing it with an update from the Car Parking Working Group on proposals for new Pay & Display charges.

The Chairman of the Working Group, Cllr R Evans, outlined the contents of the report and the approach that the working group had taken. This had been the first review of car parking charges in three years. He thanked the officers on behalf of the Working Group for their hard work in pulling together all of the relevant data.

He stated that car parking was an important income stream for the Council whilst also emphasising that significant consideration had been given to the effect upon Mid Devon residents and visitors. Maintaining consistency across the district had also been an important factor as well as considering the effect of any changes upon local businesses. The working group had considered at length ‘the offer’ in each town and associated car park charges. He explained further that many businesses had complained about the lack of ‘dwell time’ within each town as a result of the current 30 minutes free parking.

The Working Group had had lengthy discussions about the charges relating to the Multi Storey Car Park in Tiverton and had agreed at an early stage that there needed to be a different offer across long stay car parks. A recurring factor continually emerged throughout their discussions in that there was very little up take on the annual permits offered by the Council which provided a significant annual discount.

They had considered each individual car park in turn and reference was made to the subject of their discussions in the attached meeting notes to the report. A significant proportion of their considerations had been focussed on overnight parking in the car parks of each town. Residents in Cullompton particularly were finding it increasing problematic to park outside of their own properties because of the number of non-residents parking their cars on-street and not using nearby car parks. Because of this the Working Group had proposed to reduce the overnight parking permit to £100 as a one off annual payment, or payable by £10 a month for those people opting to pay by monthly direct debit. This equated to approximately 28p per day which was considered to be excellent value for money.

Therefore the Working Group felt that they had given significant thought to the businesses in each of the towns by potentially increasing dwell time whilst also considering the effect upon local residents and offering significant value for money especially when considering  the charges made by other towns in the local area.

Discussion took place regarding:

·         It was very difficult to predict what the take up of the newly priced permits would be. Advertising of the new permits would take place as it had done previously, for example, on the reverse of each Council Tax bill.

·         A report was going to be presented to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20