Agenda and draft minutes

No declarations of interest.

No urgent matters were raised.

Councillor Graham Timms was nominated and seconded for the role of Vice-Chair of the Communities Scrutiny Committee.  No other nominations were received and it was:

RESOLVED that Councillor Graham Timms be appointed Vice-Chair of Communities Scrutiny Committee for the 2017/2018 municipal year.

To receive the minutes of the Communities Scrutiny Committee held on 15 June 2017 (copy attached).

9.35 a.m. – 9.45 a.m.

The minutes of the meeting of the Communities Scrutiny Committee held on 15 June 2017 were submitted.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 15 June 2017, be received and approved as a correct record.

To consider a report (copy attached) providing an update on the development of the Car Park Asset Management Plan and the other recommendations that were contained in the car park report that went to Communities Scrutiny in October 2016.

9.45 a.m. – 10.20 a.m.

The Lead Member for Highways, Planning and Sustainable Travel, introduced the report (previously circulated) to provide an update on the development of the Car Park Asset Management Plan and the other recommendations which were contained in the car park report which went to Communities Scrutiny in October, 2016.

The recommendations related to the development of a car park asset management plan and income generation initiatives with a view to increasing resources to invest in the county’s car parks.  Members were advised that the proposals presented to them at the meeting had also been presented to most of the Member Area Groups (MAGs) with the exception of the Elwy MAG. Officers were due to present it to the Elwy Group prior to the end of July.  All five MAGs visited to date had been receptive and supportive of the proposals.

Responding to members’ questions the Lead Member and officers advised that:

·       the proposed investment plan, if approved by the Strategic Investment Group (SIG), would be financed from within the Car Parking Service’s budget along with an element of Prudential Borrowing, which would be necessary due to the scale of investment required to realise the Service’s ambition for its facilities;

·       the previous report presented to the Committee in October 2016 had contained detailed analysis of the impact of the increase in car parking charges on their usage;

·       the increase in car parking charges in 2016, the first increase for 7 years, had been necessary in order to address a budget deficit.  Committee members at that time had been clear that they supported a consistent pricing policy across the county;

·       latest statistics on car park usage in the county indicated that current usage levels were on a par with usage levels prior to the increase in charges.  Generally, usage levels had remained consistent for some period of time.  Similarly the income received from the Council’s car parks had increased slightly;

·       new pay and display machines which were to be installed in the Council’s car parks could be easily re-programmed by staff if the need arose i.e. if subsidised parking was to be provided by a town council.  They would also accept both coin and card payments;

·       if the investment plan received SIG’s approval it was anticipated it would take approximately five years to deliver the car park asset management plan in its entirety;

·       the plan would include providing improved, clearer signs in Council owned car parks with a view to improving the user experience and enhancing car parks to be gateways to Denbighshire for tourists;

·       some of the current signs and information boards sited within the county’s car parks had been funded by other services or organisations i.e. countryside services, town councils etc.  Funding for some of these signs had been secured through specific grant funding streams i.e. European funding;

·       it was anticipated that the current option of paying for car parking by mobile phone would be phased out.  This would be due to the introduction of the new pay and display machines having a facility to accept cash and card payment.  The current contract for transacting mobile phone payments was due to expire within two years; and

·       the 2014/15 Denbighshire Town Centre Parking and Traffic Management Study had examined in detail the extent of the misuse of town centre on-street parking and car park facilities and their consequential impact on businesses and residents.

At the conclusion of the discussion the Committee:

RESOLVED:

(i)    that as part of its consideration, it had read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment (Appendix D);

(ii)   having considered the information presented in the report  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To consider a report (copy attached) whether holders of Disabled Parking Badges (Blue Badges), should be allowed to park free within the Council’s Pay and Display car parks.

10.20 a.m. – 10.50 a.m.

The Lead Member for Highways, Planning and Sustainable Travel, introduced the report (previously circulated) to consider whether holders of Disabled Parking Badges (Blue Badges) should be allowed to park for free within the Council’s Pay and Display Car Parks.

During the introduction the Head of Planning and Public Protection Service advised that it was the Community Support Services, within the Social Services Department, that administered and issued disabled parking badges (blue badges).  He informed the Committee that the report had been presented to members in response to a notice of motion to County Council in January 2017 relating to the principle of charging ‘blue badge’ holders for parking their vehicles in council-owned car parks.

During the discussion members raised the following points:

·       they felt that as Denbighshire was the only Council in North Wales to charge ‘blue badge’ holders for parking in council car parks, this led to confusion, particularly for those visiting the area;

·       people with a disability would generally require an extended period of time to undertake the same activities as able-bodied people i.e. shopping, visiting the bank etc.   Therefore they would require to purchase a more expensive parking ticket to allow for the extended period of time they would require to undertake their activity;

·       that, compared to other local authorities, Denbighshire seemed to be adopting an ungenerous approach to ‘blue badge’ holders;

·       that the report did not contain details of the financial implications to the Council if it decided to change its policy to allow disabled badge holders to park free of charge in its car parks;

·       that it would be useful for all local authorities if the Welsh Government (WG) gave a clear directive in relation to charging ‘blue badge’ holders for parking in council owned car parks;

·       there was a need for a consistent policy in relation to disabled parking in both the county’s urban and rural areas;

·       to avoid confusion and uncertainty in relation to charging clear signage was required in all car parks.  It was suggested to facilitate this, discussions should take place between the County Council and town and community councils;

·       whilst accepting that the need for a ‘blue badge’ was not means tested people with a disability often incurred additional expenses related to their mobility needs, although some disabled people did receive benefits to help meet their mobility costs;

·       with the current demographic changes taking place in the county, there would likely be an increase in the number of disabled parking permit requests in the near future;

Responding to the points and questions raised by members, officers:

·       advised that whilst Denbighshire was the only authority in North Wales that charged ‘blue badge’ holders for parking in its car parks, it was not unique in adopting this approach.  A number of other councils in Wales and across the UK adopted a similar approach.  Of those that charged, some adopted the same approach as Denbighshire, others permitted additional time for the same charge i.e. an extra hour on top of the time charged;

·       emphasised that being a ‘blue badge holder’ did not reflect a person’s ability to pay for parking.  ‘Blue badges’ were issued to people who required assistance to access services or facilities due to mobility problems, not because they were of limited means.  Disabled parking badges were not ‘means tested’, they were issued to people who met a mobility criteria assessment and the badges belonged to the person and not to a specific vehicle.  There could be a number of other car park users who were more likely to struggle financially from having to pay for car parking than ‘blue badge’  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

At this juncture (11.00 a.m.) there was a 15 minute break.

The meeting reconvened at 11.15 a.m.

To consider a report (copy attached) regarding the ongoing regulation of holiday caravan parks within the county and how the council is monitoring and enforcing possible breaches thereon.

11.00 a.m. – 11.35 a.m.

The Lead Member for Highways, Planning and Sustainable Travel, introduced the report (previously circulated) to update members about the on-going regulation of holiday caravan parks within the county and how the council was monitoring and enforcing possible breaches thereon.

The Head of Planning and Public Protection and the Development Manager (Planning and Public Protection) informed members that the initial work relating to the Project had commenced around four to five years previously and had been based on anecdotal evidence relating to alleged breaches of planning and licensing conditions on some of the county’s holiday parks.  At that time both members and officers had concerns in relation to the perception that some individuals were living as permanent residents in holiday caravans, and whilst they were not paying Council Tax they were accessing Council Services, as well as other public services i.e. health services in the county.

With a view to corroborating the anecdotal evidence, enquiries were instigated with a number of Council services to determine whether caravan occupiers were accessing Council run services as was suspected.  The enquiries did confirm that some ‘holiday’ caravan occupiers were actually accessing various services.  Following this initial piece of work the Council’s Business, Improvement and Modernisation (BIM) Service was approached with a request to undertake further work to help co-ordinate Council databases in order to make it easier for Enforcement Officers to gather evidence of recent access to services by caravan dwellers.  BIM developed a monitoring tool specifically for this purpose – a demonstration of the tool’s evidence base and its capabilities was given to members at the meeting.  This monitoring tool had the capacity to drill down to Member Area Group (MAG), Council ward, and individual caravan detail, which was extremely useful to Enforcement Officers when undertaking their work.  Information recorded in the tool was updated on a monthly basis.  The confidential document at Appendix 1 to the report illustrated the tool’s effectiveness in reducing the number of services delivered to holiday caravan dwellers since 2015.  This reduction had been achieved through effective partnership working with the British Holiday and Home Park Association (BHHPA) and other partners.  With its limited resources of 1 Planning Compliance Officer and 0.5 of a Licensing Officer the Council would have encountered difficulties in undertaking compliance and enforcement work in relation to the 6,000 static and 400 touring caravan pitches in the county.  Partnership working was therefore crucial if compliance work was to succeed.  Through working with the BHHPA it soon became evident that the root cause of caravan dwellers accessing Council services from ‘holiday caravans’ was that a handful of large caravans sites had either been unable to effectively manage their site records or had disregarded the planning and licensing conditions granted for their sites. The BHHPA’s assistance had been crucial in assisting the Council to reach the position it was at currently.  As a result of this work the number of holiday caravan dwellers accessing Council services had reduced, caravan site owners were now more willing to co-operate with the Council and take responsibility for managing their sites in line with the conditions granted.  One pending prosecution for breach of planning conditions had also resulted from the work involved with the Project.

Officers were now confident, on the basis of the work undertaken to date and the strong working relationship that existed between officers and BHHPA officials, that compliance work could be undertaken on a ‘business as usual basis’ from now on.

Responding to members’ questions officers:

·       outlined how in their opinion a situation had developed over an extended period of time which had led to ‘holidaymakers’  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To consider a report by the Scrutiny Coordinator (copy enclosed) seeking a review of the committee’s forward work programme and updating members on relevant issues.

11.35 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.

A copy of a report by the Scrutiny Co-ordinator, which requested the Committee to review and agree its Forward Work Programme and which provided an update on relevant issues, had been circulated with the papers for the meeting.

A copy of the Members Proposal Form had been included in Appendix 2.  The Cabinet Forward Work Programme had been included as Appendix 3, and a table summarising recent Committee resolutions and advising on progress with their implementation, had been attached at Appendix 4.

It was confirmed that the Chair, Councillor Huw Williams would sit on the Planning and Public Protection Service Challenge Group and serve as the Committee’s representative on the Strategic Investment Group.

RESOLVED – subject to the above to approve the appointments and the Committee’s forward work programme.

To receive any updates from Committee representatives on various Council Boards and Groups.

12.00 p.m. – 12.10 p.m.

None.

The meeting concluded at 12.05 p.m.