Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Strategic Director for Corporate Resources.

Agreed:

RESOLVED that the amendment of the Parking Places order proceed with the following:

·         reducing Sunday city centre car park charging by 25% for Central, Zone 1 and Zone 2 car parks;

·         the re-introduction of 1hr (£2.00) parking for city centre car parks located in Zone 2;

·         amending the opening and closing hours at the John Lewis car park to 8.00am - midnight;

·         the additional of the following new car parks to the Parking Places Order:

• Central Zone: Paris Street Car Park (Old Bus Station site); and
• Zone 3: Riverside Leisure Centre.

·         changing the cost of seasonal, residential, and business parking permits as set out in the report presented at the meeting;

·         increasing the cost to purchase a seasonal, residential, and business parking permit by 5%;

·         to increase the fee to purchase a discounted business and residential parking permits for existing permit holders, for the next 4 years, as agreed in the Parking Tariffs 2023 (as reported to the Executive on 7 February 2023); and

·         to increase the cost for new permit holders by 5% for the purchase of a permit.

Reason for Decision: As set out in the report.

The Executive received the report which provided the outcome of the public consultation for the 2024 Parking Places Order. Particular reference was made to:-

·         the main change from the original proposal was no increase in parking charges for the 2024 Parking Places Order;

·         the proposals focussed on addressing difficult trading conditions within the city centre;

·         the proposals looked at reducing Sunday parking charges by 25% in central zone 1, and zone 2 car parks to encourage visitors and shoppers on Sundays, to reduce congestion and peak usage on a Saturday;

·         re-introducing one-hour parking in zone 2 city centre car parks, following strong support from the public consultation and supported the business community;

·         the John Lewis Multi-Storey car park opening and closing hours were proposed to be amended to 8am-midnight, following strong feedback to support the evening and night-time economy;

·         two new car parks would be added to the Parking Places Order – the Riverside Leisure Centre and a temporary city centre car park. This introduction would ensure the Riverside Leisure Centre car park was used by its intended customers and to support parking transition following the closure of Mary Archer's car park; and

·         changes to seasonal residential and business would take approximately six weeks, with more significant works for the Riverside Leisure Centre and a temporary bus station car park taking longer.

During the discussion, Executive Members raised the following points and questions:-

·         there were concerns about the misuse of Pinhoe Railway Station and Riverside Leisure Centre car parks and whether these could be enforced as part of the Parking Places Order? and

·         further information on the modelling used to determine the parking usage between Saturdays and Sundays to predict the impact on congestion?

An opposition group leader raised the following points and questions:

·         how did the report align with the Council’s corporate plan objectives?

·         there was concern about the financial implications and impact to Net Zero?

·         the recommendations did not show any commitment to how building a new car park would fund Net Zero work;

·         what were the costs for setting up a new car park and what its income would be? and

·         what would the costs be relating to the Net Zero work and would the car park be temporary until 2030?

The Leader advised that the points and questions raised were quite detailed and requested that the questions be submitted to him for response. The questions and responses will follow and be appended to the minutes.

In response to questions and points raised by Members, the Head of Service - City Centre and Net Zero advised that:-

·         the Pinhoe Railway Station was not part of the Parking Places Order and therefore misuse could not be enforced;

·         the Exeter Leisure members would receive a permit to park  and non-members would be required to pay; and

·         modelling had been undertaken for parking use; however, the exact impact was challenging to predict, adjustments had been made to the income targets accordingly.

The Leader moved the recommendations, which were seconded by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29