Agenda item

To consider the report of the Assistant Director Public Realm.

The Assistant Director Public Realm presented a report on parking tariffs, designations and permit changes to be introduced in January 2017. She provided the background which included a new strategic approach to off-street parking which was adopted in March 2016, following a detailed parking review by consultants, and a number of Spotlight Reviews during 2014/15.  The report outlined the approach  to deliver the optimum impact  on  each of the four City Council’s strategic objectives outlined in the ‘New Strategy for Parking 2016 – 2026’ including economic growth; maximising capacity, reducing congestion and maintaining income.  It was noted that the City Council had not made wholescale changes to parking tariffs since January 2012. The Parking Strategy had highlighted that the current tariff structure encouraged high turnover in Premium and short stay car parks.  However, stays beyond three hours were discouraged by the sharp increase in price. 

The report set out a proposed tariff structure, which should provide a more gradual rise in price with a clearer ‘per hour’ rationale. A table setting out the projected impact of the linear tariff was attached to the report.  Members had previously expressed a wish to ensure that tariffs would be at a level, so as not to encourage car use over other more forms of sustainable transport.  It was considered that the linear approach should help to achieve this.  Any evidence of a significant adverse change in car parking habits and footfall in the city centre would be monitored. It was hoped that a culture change by making all Premiercar parks equally attractive would deter unnecessary movements cross city, thus reducing levels of congestion.

As well as the revised parking tariffs, the report set out the review of season tickets and permits, car parking designation and zonal strategy in relation to gateway routes and key attractions.  Proposed changes to the evening parking offer and the extension of the day time linear tariff into the evening would provide more clarity, and additional staff would be needed to support an extension of the opening hours of the Guildhall and John Lewis car parks.  A separate business case was due to be presented to Executive to address the additional staffing implications.

A Member commented on the difference between the residents’ annual season ticket against the quarterly commuter season tickets, as he was aware that some residents were using that option where parking was not included and he hoped that some parity could be considered.  The Assistant Director Public Realm noted the Member’s comment on the purchase of commuter season tickets by residents and reassured the Member that she would see if this anomaly could be overcome before the Parking Places Order was confirmed. A Member also suggested that the level of charge for the commuter season ticket was justified and comparable to the public sector season ticket used by commuters travelling in from more rural areas outside of Exeter.

Councillor Denham, as Portfolio Holder Economy and Culture, referred to the work with Exeter City Futures to gather data and create transport modelling for commuter movements as well as other car journeys.  That would also offer the opportunity to inform the pricing element in a sophisticated way and build up a picture of car movements.  She hoped that this would come to this Scrutiny Committee in the future.

Place Scrutiny Committee supported and recommended approval by Executive of the following:- 

(1)     the adoption of a linear approach to parking tariffs in order to simplify the pricing structure and encourage increased visitor dwell time, as set out in the table below:-

(2)     the extension of the new linear tariff to midnight at Mary Arches, Guildhall and John Lewis car parks, replacing the current £2.00 evening parking charge at Mary Arches Street after 6pm, subject to approval of the business case to extend staffed evening parking facilities at these sites;

(3)     the operation of Mary Arches Street and Guildhall car parks until midnight and John Lewis until 9pm, monitoring demand at John Lewis to ensure closing time remains proportionate to demand; 

(4)     the re-designation of Topsham Quay as a long stay car park;

(5)     the re-designation of Haven Road car park to offer both long stay and local rate parking options;

(6)     to facilitate, and better advertise, long stay parking (up to 3 days) at Tappers Close car park to encourage rail use at adjacent station;

(7)     to maintain, but not extend, existing resident and business annual season ticket schemes to support city centre living and smaller businesses;

(8)     to increase the cost of an annual season ticket from £260.00 to £300.00 per quarter to help encourage commuter use of public transport;

(9)     to continue to offer free parking support to Blue Badge holders in all Pay & Display car parks and to consult with appropriate groups to better understand why certain disabled parking areas are underused; and

(10)   with the exception of Mary Arches Street, Guildhall and John Lewis, the current charging hours of 8am to 6pm in all Exeter car parks and 9am to 5pm in all Topsham car parks be maintained.

Councillor Keen requested that his name be recorded as having abstained from the vote.