Decision details

Parking Strategy & revised tariff

(1)        That a revised Car Parking Strategy based on the following principles be agreed:

                        (a)     in order to support the economic vitality of town centre businesses, a low-cost         tariff level for the first 30 minutes in all car parks be retained, but that the tariff be       increased from 10p to 20p;

            (b)      with the exception of locations in (c) below, new tariffs be implemented as set         out in the table in paragraph 9 of the report;

            (c)        no tariff increases to take place in the Waltham Abbey and Ongar car parks           (which             did not offer access to the train and London underground systems) except for an        increase in the tariff for the first 30 minutes from 10p to 20p;

            (d)    except as provided in (e) below, a free 2 hour parking period followed by a charge     of £1 to park all day be introduced in those car parks that were currently free on      Saturdays, with the same charges applying in all other Council car parks on Sundays and Bank Holidays, with the exception of Waltham Abbey and Ongar where the current             free all-day parking would continue;

            (e)    parking to remain free of charge on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays during   the month of December;

            (f)    charging to be introduced at the Civic Offices car park, with free stays for visitors      to the Council offices; and

            (g)     Blue Badge holders to continue to be exempt from payment in Council car parks.

(2)     That the revised tariffs be commenced on a target date of 1 July 2015, following the installation and commissioning of new pay-and-display machines;

(3)        That capital and revenue budget estimates in 2015/16 be agreed for the following improvement and enhancement works in the Council-owned Car Parks:

            (a)        £100,000 capital allocation for the purchase of new pay-and-display            machines, ‘smart’ meters;

            (b)        £15,000 District Development Funding for the making of new traffic orders and      installation of new information boards in the car parks;

            (c)        £ 100,000 capital allocation for the installation of new CCTV systems to ensure     all car parks had full coverage; and

            (d)        a Continuing Services Budget growth bid in the sum of £26,670 in 2015/16,            £5,280 in 2016/17 and £8,189 in 2017/18 be approved for the additional costs associated with the changes agreed above;

(4)   That Contract Standing Order C1(10) be waived to instruct the North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) to carry out the necessary work associated with the introduction of the new tariff structure in the Council car parks; and

(5)   That a Portfolio Holder Advisory Group be established to review the impact of the new Car Parking Strategy and to make recommendations for the future.