Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources seeking Members to review and update the current car park tariffs and car park zoning across the City to ensure that they appropriately reflect changing local demand brought about by the regeneration of the City Centre and the Council’s carbon neutral aims.

RESOLVED that:

(1)       the car parking tariffs are increased to reflect inflationary pressures, encourage people to consider other alternative modes of transport and better reflect current parking trends

(2)       the number of parking zones is reduced from 3 to 2 zones through the combination of the current zones 1 & 2 into a single zone to reflect the changes being bought about by the redevelopment of the City Centre and bring regularity across our City Centre car parks

(3)       the tariff options are regularised for purchasing tickets for users of the car parks, by removing the 1-hour option, in line with other comparable car parks and to encourage a longer visit to support our city centre businesses

(4)       the Director of Policy and Resources in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Policy and Resources is authorised to undertake the necessary statutory procedures to implement these changes as outlined in the report and in appendix 1 to the report

(5)       a review of car parking charges is undertaken biennially

Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources that sought to review and update the current car park tariffs and car park zoning across the City to ensure that they appropriately reflect changing local demand brought about by the regeneration of the city centre and the Council’s carbon neutral aims.

The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources advised Members that the recommendations (2.2) would be for them to consider as they were no longer intended to be presented to Council as indicated in the published report.  She emphasised the importance that the administration attached to facilities for residents and visitors and reminded Members of the more than £2m invested in them since 2012.  The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources noted that maintenance costs had increased since the last review in 2017 and that the proposed tariff increase would still be low in comparison to other authorities and substantially lower than the National Car Parks (NCP) facilities (Appendix 2).  She stated that she had accepted the recommendation of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (9 January 2023 minute 80.18) for an additional narrative be added to future quarterly financial monitoring reports on car parking usage should the tariff be increased.

The Cabinet Member for Environment noted that there had been five years of inflationary pressures since the last review and that the proposed biennial re-evaluation would allow the Council to be more responsive to changing costs.  The Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure commented that although this review had been held off for 5 years, now was the right time for it to take place.  The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources reminded Members that the COVID-19 lockdown would have made an earlier review inappropriate and that the general rate of inflation was beyond the control of the Council.  She reiterated that the proposed tariff change was a measured response that would keep it one of the cheapest in the region.

RESOLVED that:

(1)       the car parking tariffs are increased to reflect inflationary pressures, encourage people to consider other alternative modes of transport and better reflect current parking trends

(2)       the number of parking zones is reduced from 3 to 2 zones through the combination of the current zones 1 & 2 into a single zone to reflect the changes being bought about by the redevelopment of the City Centre and bring regularity across our City Centre car parks

(3)       the tariff options are regularised for purchasing tickets for users of the car parks, by removing the 1-hour option, in line with other comparable car parks and to encourage a longer visit to support our city centre businesses

(4)       the Director of Policy and Resources in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Policy and Resources is authorised to undertake the necessary statutory procedures to implement these changes as outlined in the report and in appendix 1 to the report

(5)       a review of car parking charges is undertaken biennially