Agenda item

This report presents to Cabinet a set of updated proposals in relation to off-street parking in the district.

Purpose of report

A set of updated proposals in relation to off-street parking in the district.

Decision

Cabinet:

1. Reconsidered its draft parking charging tariff proposals for Grantham and Stamford in response to the informal and initial feedback from the public, community groups and other stakeholders and approved the revised proposals set out in Appendix B (as amended).

2. Agreed the following amendments to Appendix B:

·         the charging period for Grantham and Stamford would be 8am-6pm Monday to Saturday

·         the application date of new charges was ‘to be advised’ rather than from April 2025

·         Long stay season tickets for the period Monday to Saturday in Grantham and Stamford would cost £21.50 per week, £75 per month or £200 per quarter and there will be no Monday to Sunday season tickets

3. Withdrew the proposal to introduce evening charging at Grantham and Stamford car parks.

4. Withdrew the proposal to introduce Sunday and Bank Holiday charging at Grantham and Stamford car parks.

5. Approved the introduction of 2 hours free parking in short stay car parks and 3 hours free parking in long stay car parks on Mondays to Wednesdays between 2^nd and 24^th December 2024 in both Grantham & Stamford.

6. Noted that the recommendations of the Capacity Study were supported unanimously by the Finance & Economic Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 20 February 2024 and therefore agreed to:

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

·         request officers undertake further work in relation to the future car parking arrangements in Bourne and the Deepings, the parking arrangements for Blue Badge holders, and the future capacity requirements for Grantham and Stamford

7. Request Officers consider proposals to enable enforcement against unauthorised parking in designated play parks and green spaces.

8. Request Officers prepare a policy on the provision of free parking permits and discounted season tickets to nominated persons or organisations.

9. Approved the drafting of the variation to the South Kesteven District Council (Off-Street Parking Places) (Civil Enforcement Order) 2023, with or without amendments, for consultation in accordance with the Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996.

10. Delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Property and Public Engagement to review any feedback received following the publication of the intention to vary the car parking tariffs in Grantham and Stamford.

Alternative options considered and rejected

Cabinet considered other options at their meeting on 18 January 2024 and this report updated the proposals that had been considered since that time.

Reasons for decisions

The proposals for introducing updated parking charges had been considered and this decision demonstrated the need to ensure that any changes to tariffs met the needs of users and the objectives that had been identified by the Capacity Study whilst ensuring each town’s economic activity continued to thrive.

Parking charges had not increased in the last 2 and a half years during which there had been considerable inflation. Not amending parking charges was not an option, particularly due to the amount of backlog maintenance required to be addressed for the Council’s car parking assets.

Members wanted to ensure that Grantham and Stamford had adequate car parking capacity, and that existing capacity was fully utilised. In response, in Stamford there would be an extra 143 spaces made available at the Cattlemarket car park, (including 8 electric vehicle charging points) to address its capacity needs and in Grantham there would be an hour’s free parking to attract higher utilisation and attract more footfall.

CCTV was being upgraded in the Council’s car parks to increase safety for the users of these facilities. Alongside this was a desire to include car parks in the rollout of public Wi-Fi.

The following points were highlighted during debate:

• A variation of the existing Civil Enforcement Order would be appropriate, and therefore the changes approved to parking charges could be fast-tracked. A 21-day notice period would be required to implement any new charges. Notice to users of the car parks would usually be given via a printed notice within the relevant car parks.
• The decision to grant 2 hours (short stay) and 3 hours (long stay) free parking in Grantham in the lead up to Christmas would lead to an under-achievement of the parking income budget. However, it was argued that this was a price worth paying to stimulate additional footfall in the town centres.
• Parking in open and green spaces was an enforcement, rather than a parking issue, and would be followed up using different powers. Wyndham Park in Grantham was highlighted as an open space that contained a car park and therefore formed part of the parking order. Misuse of open spaces occurred where there was no parking provision provided.
• Parking arrangements in Bourne and the Deepings had been previously reviewed – whilst it was important to look again at these areas it might be more appropriate to undertake a ‘light-touch’ review. For example, the Council car park in Market Deeping was not ideal for parking charges as the infrastructure was not there, with similar issues being experienced in Bourne.
• The intention was to permit one hour of free parking at Guildhall Street, Welham Street, Watergate and Conduit Lane car parks (all Grantham), and two hours’ free parking in the Wharf Rd car park in Grantham. Stamford had no requirement for such an initiative as there was already a very high take up on the car parking offer.
• A councillor in attendance at the meeting stated that changing the free parking offer to two hours within Grantham on market days would lead to increased footfall for the market and would allow more time for drivers to return to their cars. In response it was pointed out that the market footfall was already increasing even before the introduction of the one-hour free parking and so this could be more appropriately revisited as part of the six-month review of the new charges.
• Other ways of exploring and shopping within Stamford, such as walking and cycling were being encouraged.
• A councillor in attendance at the meeting expressed concern that the current works at Watergate car park in Grantham which have meant a reduction in the number of parking spaces might distort the figures used in the six-month review.
• The tariffs applied for using of EV charging points would be part of the six-month review. Effectively two services (charging and parking) were being utilised; therefore, users should pay accordingly. Commuters charging their vehicles and then parking the rest of the day free of charge was one issue to be picked up as part of any review.
• Blue Badge holders currently can park for free for an unlimited amount of time within Council car parks.