Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Delyn Committee Room, County Hall, Mold CH7 6NA

Contact: Sharon Thomas 01352 702324  Email: sharon.b.thomas@flintshire.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

50.

Declarations of Interest (Including Whipping Declarations)

Decision:

Personal interest declared by Councillor Joe Johnson on Agenda Item 3.

Minutes:

During discussion on Agenda Item 3, Councillor Joe Johnson declared a personal interest as a Flintshire private hire licence holder.

51.

Flintshire County Council's Car Parking Strategy pdf icon PDF 83 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

(a)       That the Committee recommend Cabinet approves the County Parking Strategy at Appendix 1 to the report;

 

(b)       That the Committee recommend Cabinet approves the Council wide charging sheet which lists the proposed charging bands (Appendix 2)and provides delegated authority to the Chief Officer (Streetscene & Transportation) following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment, to review the charging arrangements applied at each car park on an annual basis;

 

(c)       That the Committee recommend Cabinet approves the introduction of car parking permit schemes at County Hall and Flint to allow staff and visitors to utilise the car parks within the local parking strategies;

 

(d)       That the Committee recommend Cabinet approves the proposals to make a contribution to any T&CC with car parking charges above the base rate as highlighted in the Council wide summary charging sheet - detailed in paragraph 3.16 of this report;

 

(e)       That the Committee recommend Cabinet approves the proposed charge for the residents parking permit and the continued rollout of the residents parking scheme if required by the local parking strategy;

 

(f)        That the Committee recommend Cabinet grants delegated authority to the Chief Officer (Streetscene and Transportation), following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment, to review the proposed charge for residents’ parking permits on an annual basis and report back to the Environment Overview & Scrutiny Committee; and

 

(g)       That the Committee recommends that a report detailing the progress made in delivering the proposals is brought back to the committee in 12 months’ time.

Minutes:

The Chief Officer (Streetscene & Transportation) introduced a report to seek recommendations from the Committee to Cabinet to approve the Council’s Car Parking Strategy and to introduce parking charges at all viable town centre car parks within the Council’s ownership.  A recommendation was also sought for Cabinet to approve the introduction of a workplace and visitor parking permit scheme at specific Council office facilities and the level of charge for the issue of residents’ parking permits associated with local residents’ parking schemes.  A revised copy of the proposed charging bands had been made available in advance of the meeting.

 

The Chief Officer explained that following deferment of the item at the previous meeting, consideration had been given to the queries and concerns raised by Members, together with the feedback received from the consultation exercise.  As a consequence, a number of changes had been made to the report, a copy of which would be submitted to the next Cabinet meeting, with a verbal update detailing comments raised at this meeting.  The Chief Officer went on to highlight the main areas of change and enforcement arrangements, as set out in Section 3 of the report, and explained that the removal of charges for Caergwrle and Hawarden would reduce income levels by around £18K which would need to be identified elsewhere in other areas of the budget.

 

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment explained that the same report would need to be submitted to Cabinet due to the committee timescales involved, but gave assurance that comments raised at this meeting would be shared at Cabinet to enable any further changes to be agreed and the report updated prior to its consideration at Cabinet.

 

The Chair read out an email from Councillor Ron Davies who, as Chair of the Cymru Theatr Clwyd Board, had raised concerns about the impact of a possible £2 charge for parking at the Theatr.  The Deputy Leader explained that similar feedback to this initial proposal had resulted in agreement to eliminate evening charges at the Theatr (comparable with other town centre car parks) and an alternative proposal for a levy applied to Theatr ticket prices to be explored further, subject to agreement with the Board.  This would represent a contribution towards the maintenance cost of the car park.

 

The Chair pointed out the disparity in charging all Theatr customers in this way, as some did not use the car park, and added that this increase in ticket prices could prove detrimental to the Theatr.  On County Hall, whilst she agreed that the parking charges should apply to both elected Members and staff, she remarked on the potential for Members to reclaim the amount as part of their expenses, as they were not employed by the Council.

 

The Deputy Leader reiterated that the aim was for Council staff and Members to be charged the same, and that it was the decision of individual Members whether or not to include this in their published expenses.

 

In welcoming some  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

Car Parking Strategy - Revised Appendix 2 pdf icon PDF 25 KB

52.

Members of the Press and Public in Attendance

Minutes:

There was one member of the press in attendance.