Agenda item

This report sets out the findings of the recently published car parking study in respect of the Council car parks across the South Kesteven District.

The Deputy Leader of the Council introduced the report.

The Finance and Economic Overview and Scrutiny Committee recently recommended that an independent car parking study was carried out to assess the utilisation of the Council operated car parks in the four market towns – Grantham, Stamford, Bourne and Market Deeping.  The study was also to advise on the future of free parking at Bourne and the Deepings as well as to review the appropriateness of the Council’s arrangements for Blue Badge holders.

The Deputy Leader informed Members of the action plan within the report and invited comments and scrutiny from the Committee.  The parking charging proposals were going out to a public consultation shortly after the relevant statutory bodies had been consulted.    

The Deputy Chief Executive stated that a similar report was commissioned by the Council two years ago.  This report was mainly observational and endorsed the findings of the Council’s own analysis.  The district-owned carparks in Grantham were underperforming and there was an oversupply of parking in the town, influenced by carparks owned by the private sector.  A capacity issue was evident in Stamford, particularly on peak-time days of Friday and Saturdays.  Both Council-owned multi-storey car parks in Grantham were currently operating at a loss which created a burden on the tax-payer.  It may be considered that capacity in Grantham may be required to be reduced rather than to unsuccessfully try to compete with the private sector.  Free-parking times may have negative financial consequences if capacity was not increased sufficiently to cover the cost, even though free-parking would have a positive impact on attracting visitors to support local business.  The Officer recommended that the Committee may wish to hear an update six months after the implementation of the new charges to consider whether any further modifications were required.

During discussion, Members raised the following points:

·       A Member asked why Morrisons was included in the study and not Asda.  It was noted that Asda had two hours of free parking and a lot of people parked at Asda to do their shopping.

·       The study may not be representative because it only captured one weekend in November.  It was hoped the current status in Stamford, including free overnight parking, was maintained, a petition had collected 2,600 signatures in reference to the matter.

·       The towns must be considered separately as all had different needs.

·       It was noted that some of the council-owned car parks were used by some as long-term residential parking. The Member also commented that some significant council-owned car parks, were not mentioned in the survey, and suggested that all council-owned car parks should be included in future surveys.

·       Was there any data found by the study regarding accessibility and motorcycle parking spaces?  It was noted that the SKDC website stated that seven council-owned parking lots had motorcycle spaces, and the Member asked if the council intended to keep them free of charge and if they were taken into account for the capacity numbers.  Were there any confirmed motorcycle parking spaces in Watergate, Grantham?

·       Would the proposed charges and reductions increase or decrease the council’s income and by how much?

·       The cost for new car parks seemed quite high.  At what point would the Council have had made enough income to break even on the expenditure?

·       Had ‘future-proofing any investment been considered?

The Deputy Chief Executive informed Members that not all facets of parking in Grantham were included in the study, but Morrisons was observed due it being in the same parking area as the council parking.  The Council had usage information that informed the proposals and therefore was representative of the characteristics of parking in each town.  The scope of the study was linked to the economic centres of the towns.  The consultation had not formally started and comments would be invited.

The Deputy Chief Executive confirmed that the study did not mention motorcycle spaces but that he would supply that information to Committee Members.

ACTION:  

Data on motorcycle spaces within each car park to be circulated to Members.

The Deputy Chief Executive stated that the Watergate car park was currently being re-configured due to the building of a housing development and that the status quo for motorcycle charges was to be maintained.  The Officer added that it would be difficult to predict either an increase or decrease in income as there were many variances to consider.

The Deputy Leader confirmed that the future was a consideration and these were incorporated into the Local Plan as the Council were expecting local towns to expand. 

It was proposed, seconded, and AGREED that:

The Finance and Economic Overview and Scrutiny Committee:

• Considered the findings of the car parking study.

• Made any observations in relation to the Survey findings and the current car parking tariff proposals.

 • Supported the extension of the Cattle Market car park in Stamford in order to provide additional parking.

• Agreed to commission a further car parking study six months after the implementation of the new car parking tariffs to assess their impact.

• Requested that further work was undertaken with respect to:

o The future car parking arrangements in Bourne and the Deepings

o The current parking arrangements for Blue Badge holders

o The future capacity requirements for Grantham and Stamford

It was proposed, seconded, and AGREED that the Committee pause for a 10 minute break.  (The time was 12:45).