Issue - decisions

RESOLVED:

Cabinet recommend that Council approve:

       i.          that the 2024 town & village and amenity car park tariffs be increased by £1.00 per tariff, except for the 1-hour tariff which will remain at £1.00, and the “up to 20 hours” tariff which will increase by £3.

      ii.          that the 1-hour tariff is applicable in all car parks throughout the year.

     iii.          that the increase in charges for NFDC parking clocks

be agreed; namely;

·        Short stay annual clocks from £30.00 to £40.00

·        Long stay annual clocks from £140.00 to £220.00

·        Long stay quarterly clocks from £40.00 to £65.00

    iv.          that the Council allocate 4 days of free parking in town centre car parks to support local businesses during December 2023, as detailed in section 7 of the report.

      v.          that the Keyhaven fees and charges as detailed at Appendix A to the Cabinet report be approved.

    vi.          That the intention to develop a Parking Strategy is noted.

KEY DECISION:

Report to Cabinet and Council

PORTFOLIO:

Environment and Sustainability

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED/REJECTED:

As set out in report.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST:

None

DISCUSSION:

The Portfolio Holder for Environment and Sustainability presented the report.  He thanked the Overview and Scrutiny Panel for its input and comments.  The approach to the fees and charges in the current economic climate was felt to be fair and balanced and the recommendations were fully supported.  Moving forwards, the Portfolio Holder reported that the development of a parking strategy was essential and he looked forward to working with members of a Task and Finish Group.

The Assistant Director for Place Operations reported that the fees and charges for car parking and Keyhaven moorings were proposed to be introduced from 1 January 2024 and therefore needed to be determined in the autumn.  There were 44 Council owned car parks in the District and the council also sold short and long stay car parking clocks to 32,000 people.  Historically, the District Council had not raised car parking charges, in some cases they had not increased since 2018.  The proposed charges were set out in the recommendations.  Benchmarking had been carried out with other comparable local authorities, in Fareham and Christchurch.

There was a proposed price increase to the short and long stay parking clocks and this cost had also been benchmarked.  It was proposed that a Parking Strategy be developed on the longer term development of the service.

In relation to Keyhaven Moorings, a 10% increase was recommended across all fees and this was comparable with other mid-stream moorings in Lymington and Hamble.

Some non Cabinet members raised concern about the rise in parking charges and in particular to the parking clock, suggesting this was a significant percentage price increase, particularly in relation to the long stay parking clock.  It was felt that people could stop using town centre car parks, opting to park on the street as an alternative.  There could potentially be a detrimental impact on local businesses, particularly those who might purchase the clocks for their members of staff.

The Portfolio Holder for Environment and Sustainability responded acknowledging that increases were never welcomed, however he felt the proposals still offered exceptional value for money.  He spoken about the charges in adjoining areas being significantly higher than those proposed in the report.  A short stay parking clock with the proposed increase would cost less than 80p per day to park in a car park for up to 3 hours and could be used 7 days a week.  Other charges had not increased for up to 6 years, however, it was no longer sustainable to leave them as they were.  The hourly rate of £1 in car parks would remain, which was positive in order to support local residents and businesses.  This would continue to be available in all car parks.

Other members expressed the view that the proposed new car parking charges would provide good value for money when compared to the surrounding local authorities.  It was also acknowledged that the fees and charges needed to pay for the maintenance and upkeep of the car parks.

Finally, other Portfolio Holders spoke in support of the recommendations contained in the report, reiterating previous comments that the proposed rise in cost would continue to provide exceptional value for money, particularly when looking at the benchmarking with comparable authorities.  The car parking strategy would enable a further analysis of the costs involved to maintain the car parks.