Issue - meetings

As detailed in the recommendations, with an additional recommendation (4) to read:

That officers revise permits to enable part time workers to purchase lower cost permits that do not cover the whole week.

            Councillor Thomas introduced the Six Month Review of the Revised Car Parking Charges report.

            Since the introduction of the revised charging scheme a number of suggested amendments to the charging arrangements had been received from various individuals, companies and public bodies.  All of those suggestions had been assessed and considered against the existing strategy and were now put forward as viable or not viable within the constraints of the approved strategy.

            The full list of suggested changes were detailed in appendix 3 to the report, together with an assessment of their acceptability within the strategy.  The list also detailed the suggestions that could not be considered because they fell outside of the overarching parking strategy and the principles set down in the report to Cabinet in March 2018.

            Councillor Thomas proposed an additional recommendation ‘that officer’s revise permits to enable part time workers to purchase lower cost permits that do not cover the whole week’, which was supported.

The Environment Overview and Scrutiny Facilitator provided details of the discussions which had taken place at the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 11^th December 2018, which were:

·         Request for two designated parking places for the Police in Holywell;

·         Investment needed in the car parks, particularly to fix the pot holes;

·         Free of Charge to continue for disabled spaces;

·         Residents being unable to park outside their homes on Alexander Street in Shotton because of the charges at the nearby car park;

·         Enforcement teams to be strengthened; and

·         The need for a more local approach.

Councillor Peers had proposed that limitation number 2 ‘that any proposal will meet the principles of the Council’s car parking strategy and would promote management of the car parking network to provide available spaces and therefore access to the town centres’, be removed in relation to any proposals to amend or support car parking charges from Town Councils, but the vote was lost.  The recommendations as outlined in the Cabinet report were put to the vote and were carried.

Following a question from Councillor Bithell, the Chief Officer explained that the four main reasons for the under recovery of the projected £240k income were outlined in full in the report.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the content of the six month review of the new car park charging arrangements introduced in May 2018 be noted;

(b)       That the associated changes to the charging arrangements, which are considered to be within the boundaries and limitations of the overall strategy, be approved;

(c)        That the car parking arrangements and charges for railway stations be reviewed and options be reported back to Cabinet within three months; and

(d)       That officers revise permits to enable part time workers to purchase lower cost permits that do not cover the whole week.