Agenda item

To assist Members, the following documents are attached:-

 

Appendix 1 (a) -        A copy of the Cabinet report of the Director of Environment.

Appendix 1 (b) -        A copy of the Record of Decision.

Appendix 1 (c) -         A copy of the Call In letter.

Appendix 1 (d) -        A copy of the report of the Director of Environment which was due to be submitted to the Environment Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting on the 9 January, 2013.

That the Cabinet Report of the Director of Environment, relating to Civil Parking Enforcement be referred back to Cabinet for reconsideration.

The Member Engagement Manager referred to the call in of the decision of the Cabinet, from its meeting held on 18 December 2012 on Civil Parking Enforcement.  A call in notice had been received, signed by six members of the Council.  To assist Members in their deliberations on the issue, the following documents had been circulated with the agenda;

 

            a)         A copy of the report considered by the Cabinet on 18 December 2012.

           

            b)         A copy of the Cabinet Record of Decision.

 

c)         A copy of the call in notice signed by Councillors M.J. Peers, A. Woolley, C.A. Ellis, D. Hutchinson, N. Phillips and R. Jones.

 

            d)         A copy of the procedure for dealing with a called in item.

 

                        The Democracy and Governance Manager was in attendance to explain, if required, decisions he had made on the Call in procedure.

 

                        The Chair invited the call in signatories to address the Committee via a spokesperson or individually to which the decision makers could respond.

                       

                        Councillor M. J. Peers explained that the decision had been called in due to concerns about the inconsistency of car parking charges under consideration for implementation at this stage, in the former Delyn and Alyn and Deeside areas.  He argued that out of the 33 car parks in the report which related to Queensferry, Shotton, Connah’s Quay and Flint, only 3 of these would have parking charges implemented.  In the Buckley area, it was planned to implement charges in 4 out of the 5 Council Controlled car parks, which he felt was disproportionate and would have an adverse effect on business in the town.  He pointed out that whilst it was proposed to implement charges at Flint railway station, there were no plans for Shotton railway station, which again demonstrated an inconsistent approach.  He asked why the results of the car park usage surveys quoted in Appendix D, point 3 were not included in the report and asked why there were no details available in Appendix E concerning comparable costs associated with car parking management that pre-dated 2013/14.  He asked if any figures were available to compare the costs of operating car parking charges against the income and asked if the option to make all car parks free of charge had been explored. He summed up his opposition to the report by saying that it lacked clarity, substance and financial detail.

 

                        Councillor C. A. Ellis said that the report lacked information about the cost to residents to park in the car park at Argoed Road.  She said that on a number of occasions, Planning Officers had said that proposed new residential developments would not require additional parking spaces as they could use free car parks in the vicinity.  A number of new businesses had recently opened in Buckley and there was concern that parking charges would adversely affect them.  She said that there was a lack of detail in the report.  The report quoted consultation with Mold and Holywell town councils and she asked if Buckley Town Council would be consulted. 

 

                        Councillor Ellis went on to express concerns about proposed charges at Brunswick Road car park which would deter customers from using the pharmacy there and encourage them to drive to the pharmacy at Mynydd Isa precinct which had free parking.

 

                        Councillor N. Phillips said that the previous administration had looked at car parking charges the previous year and were to consider zero car park charges throughout Flintshire.

 

                        Councillor R. Jones confirmed that he was aware of planning inspectors citing the use of free parking in Buckley for residents of proposed new housing developments.  He said that the planned parking charges were contrary to the priorities of the council such as promoting the local economy and sustainable living.  He said that the plans conflicted with the regeneration strategy and that shoppers would seek alternative places to shop with free parking which would cause harm to local businesses.

 

                        The Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member of the Environment in response said that no decision had yet been taken at Cabinet in relation to car parking charges and that the item had been referred to Scrutiny for discussion with the intention that comments would then be reported back to Cabinet to inform their final decision making process.

 

                        The Leader of the Council said that it was unfortunate that the report could not have gone to Scrutiny as planned and then back to Cabinet listing their concerns. He said that the issue of off street parking needed to be addressed and that Highway Officers would offer clarity around the criteria used to produce the report.

 

            The report was necessary for the following reasons:

 

• Every North Wales local authority except Flintshire had a Civil Parking Enforcement Policy

 

• There were historic inconsistencies with charges already in force in Mold and Holywell and not in the rest of Flintshire.

 

• Mold Town Council’s wish to retain car parking charges in Mold.

 

• The need for new sources of income to protect statutory services within a reduced budget.

 

The Director of Environment said that there had been a workshop in October 2012 around Civil Parking Enforcement which explained the Traffic Management Act and the duty placed upon the authority should they take responsibility for on street parking enforcement from North Wales Police.  He advised the committee that once Civil Parking Enforcement was agreed, the council could not hand the responsibility back to the Police.  He said that in order to address on-street parking, that off street parking had to be addressed at the same time.

 

The Director of Environment then outlined the contents of Appendix ‘D’ to the report.  Copies of two documents entitled ‘Capacity between Maximum Demand’ and ‘Analysis of Use between 0800 hours and 1500 hours’ were handed out.        

 

The Head of Assets and Transportation said that the maximum occupancy and usage of car parks from 8 am to 6pm had been investigated as part of the study.  The Argoed Road, Bistre Avenue and Black Horse car parks had high usage.  The Brunswick Road car park was a very intensively used car park with high levels of turnover.  The Precinct Way car park was being considered for redevelopment and hence this had not been included in the list of car parks for charging on.

 

All of the car parks across Flintshire had been reviewed against the criteria in Appendix ‘D' namely:-

 

Ø      Town Centre location, as identified in the Council’s UDP

Ø      Occupancy levels of the car parks

Ø      Vibrancy of the Town Centres

Ø      Proximity of the Town Centre to public transport

Ø      Percentage use by surrounding residents not having access to a private parking space or on-street parking

 

Councillor M.J. Peers asked about the costs to eradicate charges completely.  The Director of Environment said that Mold Town Council wanted to retain charges and that the Traffic Management Act put a duty on the council to manage car parking demand.  He said that the cost of 20 pence per hour to park was not disproportionate in comparison with other town centres in neighbouring authorities.  The use of all car parks had been reviewed, so there was no inequality within the proposed policy.

 

Councillor P.J. Curtis said that the report lacked detail and that proposals had not been put before Holywell Town Council.  He added that Holywell Town had suffered with car parking charges for the last 20 years and that Holywell Town Council had never been in favour of car parking charges. He said that he recommended option 3 of the call in procedure which was to refer back to Cabinet for reconsideration which was seconded by Councillor D. Wisinger.

 

Councillor D. Evans said that for over 20 years there had not been on street parking enforcement in Shotton and that residents parked in the streets outside their properties.  He said that whilst he supported enforcement in Shotton High Street, that residents should be able to park cars outside their properties.  The Head of Assets and Transportation said that street signs would be removed if no longer relevant, before the implementation of Civil Parking Enforcement Policy.

 

Councillor A. Minshull said that she was fully supportive of Councillor D. Evans’ comments.  She voiced concern at the proposed charges at the Somerfield car park in Connah’s Quay in relation to the impact on the residents of nearby flats.

 

                        Councillor C. A. Thomas asked if the size of the 1.5 car parking spaces allocation per dwelling could be increased and if there could be resident only parking areas.  She said that the proposed fees represented good value for money and that it would not deter people from using the car park.  She asked if there were plans to change the parking machines and whether town centre managers and town and community councils had been consulted.  The Director for Environment said that the planning of car parking spaces was part of the Unitary Development Plan (UDP) and said that this could be looked at.  He said that the resident only parking areas had not yet been fully investigated. He confirmed that Town and Community Councils would be informed and that new car park ticket machines were being sought.

                       

                        Councillor C. Dolphin said he welcomed the explanations of the Head of Assets and Transportation and said that the proposals offered a good deal for Holywell, in that the leisure centre and Somerfield car parks would be free of charge.

 

                        The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment emphasised that no decision had been taken on charging and that the report would go back to Cabinet and that they would look at the issues that had been raised.

 

                        Councillor N. Matthews asked if there could be options for one hour or long stay rates on the car parking charges tariff, or even a free short stay provision, after which fees would be payable.

 

                        Councillor D. Evans sought assurances from the Director for Environment that he would look at road markings in Shotton prior to the implementation of Civil Parking Enforcement.  The Director for Environment said that he would look at the matter, but could not guarantee that it would be done prior to Civil Parking Enforcement implementation.  He said that he would advise the enforcement operatives as to the situation.

 

                        Councillor V. Gay voiced concerns about inconsistency and lack of detail in the report and asked if the report could go to County Forum.  The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment said that this had not been addressed and that an update report would go to County Forum at some stage in the future.

 

                        In summary, the initiators made the following comments:

           

                        Councillor C. Ellis said that the report lacked logic, fairness and equality.  Councillor M. J. Peers said that the utilisation survey figures and assumptions may not have given an accurate picture of visits and projected income.  Councillor R. Jones said that he proposed Option 4, to take the report to full Council.  Councillor N. Phillips concurred with Councillor R. Jones regarding Option 4 and said that the report lacked consistency.

 

                        The Chair thanked the Initiators, Decision Makers and the Committee for their contributions to the Call In Procedure.

                       

                        On being put to the vote, Option 3, proposed by Councillor P. Curtis and seconded by Councillor D. Wisinger was carried by thirteen votes for and one abstention.

 

            RESOLVED:

           

            That the Cabinet Report of the Director of Environment, relating to Civil Parking Enforcement be referred back to Cabinet for reconsideration.