Agenda item

LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS AS REQUIRED BY LAW

(Papers relied on to write the report, which do not contain exempt information and which are not published elsewhere)

Cllr T Adams – Council Leader introduced the report and informed Members that the report now included income from the Council’s parking app, and whilst revenue may not match 2022 it would help to support many of the discretionary services provided by the Council. He added that there was more work to do, such as consideration of future management and enforcement options for larger car parks. It was noted that several of the car parks had received investment to ensure surfaces were maintained and ticket machines were up to date, which would continue as and when required.

Questions and Discussion

       i.          Cllr V Holliday asked if the costs associated with each car park were known, as it would be difficult to know where to invest without this information, and suggested that it would be helpful to see net income for each car park. She noted that Weybourne car park appeared to have very low use, and asked whether this was correct given that it was usually a popular destination. Cllr Holliday referred to carbon impact and suggested that it was disingenuous to suggest that the Council’s car parks did not have an impact as they encouraged car usage. The DFC replied that work was underway to determine the management and maintenance costs of each car park with the intention to include this information within future reports. He added that Weybourne figures had been noticed by officers and an investigation was taking place to determine the cause of the reduction. It was noted that in terms of the carbon impact, as a tourism destination that was not served particularly well by public transport, car use was to some extent inevitable across the District and without car parks, visitors would likely park on residential streets. Moreover, it was noted that the content of the report itself did not have a carbon impact, as it was only intended for monitoring with no decision required.

      ii.          Cllr C Cushing referred to the Limes car park in Fakenham and noted that there was no income beyond October, and asked if there was any explanation. The DFC replied that it was possible that it may be the result of a reporting error, but the car park was also subject to a permit system for a local business, which could have reduced the number of tickets being purchased.

     iii.          Cllr H Blathwayt referred to the Stalham data and asked why the revenue had been so high over the summer period, to which the DFC replied that the data appeared to show that it had been sustained over some months and the income would be investigated. Cllr H Blathwayt asked whether contactless ticket machines would be rolled out across the District, as it was his understanding that they generated higher levels of income. The DFC replied that these had been installed where possible, but they relied on good network coverage, which was not available across all locations, which meant that some would remain cash based for the foreseeable future, though phone/app payment were an alternate option. Cllr H Blathwayt asked whether officers were satisfied that enforcement was effective across all of the Council’s car parks. The DFC replied that parking enforcement was undertaken by a third party and whilst there were some perceptions that enforcement was lacking at peak times, officers did pursue the contractor to ensure that their obligations were being met. The Chairman asked whether ANPR had been considered to improve the enforcement process, to which the DFC confirmed that all technology would be considered but local authorities were not permitted to use ANPR.

    iv.          Cllr L Withington referred to the impact of free parking spaces for short-term shopping trips and noted that it had a positive impact on Sheringham during the sinkhole issue, and asked whether there had been any investigation into increasing free parking provision. The DFC replied that further free parking provision had not been considered to any significant extent, as it had to be balanced against the value of car park income providing a crucial revenue stream for the Council to fund discretionary services. He added that free parking had been introduced in other town such as North Walsham to support high streets and it was right that this should be considered, where possible.

      v.          Cllr J Toye referred to comments made regarding the potential carbon impacts of car parks and suggested that whilst car parks needed to be retained for local residents, it could be helpful to consider an integrated transport strategy to boost public transport usage and reduce emissions in town centres. Cllr P Heinrich noted that the introduction of the travel hub in North Walsham had improved the bus service and increased usage numbers. He added that the Hornbeam Road car park had also increased train use now that residents could park elsewhere.

    vi.          The Chairman suggested that in order to determine where to invest in car parks in the future, it would be helpful to see net operating figures in future reports to better understand the costs of providing services. The DFC agreed but noted that maintenance works may be unevenly spread with much higher costs in some years than other for matters such as resurfacing works.

   vii.          Cllr T Adams stated that air quality testing was undertaken across the District with the worst recorded being Hoveton, though it was suggested that the coastal areas were helped by stronger winds. He added that historical data from 2011 showed that approximately 11% of visitors were using public transport in the District, but more up to date data was required.

RESOLVED

1.     To receive and note the report.

ACTIONS

1.     Future reports to include net income, taking into account management and maintenance costs.