Agenda item

To consider a report by the Traffic, Parking and Road Safety Manager (copy attached) providing an update regarding the implementation of the Car Park Investment Plan and other car parking issues and seeking members’ views thereon.

12 noon – 12.30 p.m.

The Lead Member for Waste, Transport and the Environment introduced the Traffic, Parking and Road Safety Manager’s report (previously circulated), the purpose of which was to update members on the progress made to date with the implementation of the Car Park Investment Plan and associated initiatives.  During his introduction he drew members’ attention to the work undertaken during 2018/19, the first year of the five year investment plan, and the work undertaken to date in 2019/20.

Responding to members’ questions the Lead Member, Head of Planning and Public Protection and the Traffic, Parking and Road Safety Manger –

·         advised that following a second tendering exercise the contract for the development of the former Post Office site in Rhyl as a new short stay car park should be let in early autumn 2019

·         confirmed that the costs associated water-proofing work on the decks of multi-storey car parks was inflation proofed

·         confirmed that Prestatyn Town Council subsidised car parks within the town therefore the Council did not receive any revenue from those car parks, consequently Streetscene services were delivered at these sites under a Service Level Agreement (SLA) between the County and Town Council.  In recent years these type of SLAs had become far more specific in relation to which services would be delivered for the price charged.  Similar SLAs had now been developed for comparable amenities across the county, this approach helped the Service to effectively monitor the maintenance work undertaken

·         emphasised that the county’s car parks were often the gateway for visitors to the county and to its towns, it was therefore important that they were aesthetically welcoming due to their potential to support and develop the local economy, hence the importance of undertaking the investment programme;

·         advised that the five year development plan had been drawn-up on a priority basis with a view to avoiding further deterioration which would require significantly more investment to remedy in the long-term.  The larger structural investment projects had been scheduled for years 1 to 4, with year 5 focusing more on smaller aesthetic work.  As time progressed more detail of maintenance work to be undertaken at specific locations and the financial years when they would be undertaken would appear in the Investment Plan.  It was anticipated that eventually regular maintenance work would form part of the Service’s ‘business as usual’ financial planning and financed from within the revenue the Service generated

·         advised that circa 33% of the county’s car parks were currently able to accept cash free payments, the eventual aim was for all car parks to have facilities to accept cash free payments and in due course to be paperless via a digital payment recognition system

·         confirmed that the present mobile phone payment facility for car parking would shortly be replaced by a smartphone app facility

·         acknowledged that the provision of electronic signs denoting the number of available car parking spaces would be a useful facility in the county’s tourist towns, these were extremely expensive therefore it would be essential that a feasibility study was undertaken in order to justify the investment

·         confirmed that parking enforcement action was undertaken when required at all 47 car parks operated by the Council’s Traffic, Parking and Road Safety Service.  Car parking enforcement action in county operated car parks in rural areas were the responsibility of the Council’s Countryside Service

·         confirmed that entering into an agreement with local businesses to enable people who purchased parking tickets to receive a discount in small or large businesses in a town or village i.e. via a redeemable voucher/tear-off portion on the parking ticket was feasible.  Similar promotions had taken place in previous years.  Businesses in Rhuddlan had expressed an interest in entering into this type of scheme and costings were currently awaited in relation to facilitating the scheme.  Costs were not anticipated to be excessive or prohibitive, and

·         confirmed that the situation which had operated in Denbigh for a number of years which had permitted people attending places of worship on a Sunday morning to park free of charge in Council-owned car parks was unique and had been a long-standing local agreement.  Discussions were currently underway with local churches and chapels with  a view to resolving the situation and aligning the charging policy for the town’s Council-owned car parks with that of the rest of the county where charges were payable between 8am and 5pm on a Sunday.

At the conclusion of the discussion the Committee –

RESOLVED that, subject to the above observations –

(a)       to support the continuation of the work to implement the Car Park Investment Plan and the other parking initiatives detailed within the report, and

(b)       requested that an Information Report be submitted to the Committee in 18 months’ time to update members on the progress made with the delivery of the Car Park Asset Management/Investment Plan and associated activities.