Agenda item

The Councils Medium Financial Strategy assumes that income from all charges should be reviewed. This therefore requires certain parking charges for 2021/22 to be varied to find the additional income. The purpose of this report is not to make the decision on the charges, but to ask for approval to commence the consultation.

In addition, this report reviews other car parks initiatives and services improvements.

The Cabinet

            RESOLVED - That

(1)  To approve that the proposed charges in Appendix A are put out for consultation; and

(2)  Give delegated authority to the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services to consider the results of the consultation and take a decision.

The Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services, Councillor Mrs Staniforth, presented this item explaining that this report looked at the parking charges in the Councils Off-Street Car Parks.  This was because, the Council’s Medium Financial Strategy required all discretionary charges to be reviewed and this included parking charges.

Councillor Mrs Staniforth reminded Councillors that a report had been submitted to a previous meeting of Cabinet in September 2020, but this had been withdrawn as it had been felt that it had not been the appropriate time to be looking to increase charges when businesses in the District needed all the support they could get due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This report was looking at increasing car parking charges for only the Council’s seasonal car parks and not car parks situated in the Town Centres which were still suffering from the impacts of the pandemic.  She explained that the Customer & Parking Services Manager, with the support of the Group Head for Neighbourhood Services, had written the report to provide the relevant information on Arun’s car parks and that the Council should undertake a review of its parking charges. The report requested Cabinet approval to consult on varying the parking charges as outlined in Appendix A of the report.  The report also provided the detail of other car parking initiatives and service improvements.

The Customer and Parking Services Manager expanded on the detail provided in the report emphasising that car parking increases had not been increased in the seasonal car parks since 2018. A survey of all car parks in the District had been undertaken to establish what works were required to enable a priority list of work to be confirmed. The survey covered the surface, signage, furniture and planting with car parks.  A priority list was currently being agreed so that works could be planned over the next two years. Separate to this, works had been identified for the Fitzleet multi-storey car park to include the refurbishments of lifts; a fire detection system as well as the painting and decorating of stairwells. Future developments included looking at providing more contactless terminals and virtual permits as well as reviewing all free car parks to see what opportunities there might be to generate future income. A further report would return to Cabinet setting out future plans in due course.

In discussing the report, Cabinet supported the proposals, subject to the outcome of the consultation as it made sense to target the increases to the seasonal car parks not affecting the day to day commercial life of the town centres and shopping parades. However, it was also recognised that there had not been an increase in car paring charges for some time.

Cabinet was also reminded that this report sought approval for the proposed charges which had been set out in Appendix A to be put out for consultation, a decision was not being made tonight. The future developments identified in the report such as the option for cashless parking and the selling of different types of parking permits were welcomed as it was recognised that the offer of contactless payments would sit alongside cash and other options in terms of payments – when this report was initially put forward there had been a comparison of charges proposed set against other nearby coastal towns, questions were asked as to why this information was missing from this report. It was explained that this information had been provided only when consideration was being given to increasing the charges for Town Centre sites which was no longer relevant. 

Viewpoints were made that it was entirely sensible to slightly increase the seasonal car parks charges which were always constantly busy. 

            Having agreed all elements of the report, the Cabinet was asked by the Interim Monitoring Officer to consider slightly changing the wording to Recommendation (2) to read as follows – additions have been shown using bold with deletions shown using strikethrough

(2) Seek Give delegated authority for agreeing the increase via the Cabinet Member following consultation  to the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services to consider the results of the consultation and to take a decision.

The Cabinet

                        RESOLVED – That

(1)          Approve that the proposed charges in Appendix A are put out for consultation; and

(2)          Give delegated authority delegated authority to the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services to consider the results of the consultation and to take a decision.

The Cabinet confirmed its decision as per Decision Notice C/047/11012021, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of the Minutes.