Decision details

The Portfolio Holder for Safer, Greener and Highways introduced a report on the off street parking operations across the District.

The Portfolio Holder reminded the Cabinet that the Council had entered into a five-year contract for on and off street parking enforcement with Vinci Parks Limited in September 2007, with the option to extend by a further two years. Following the formation of the North Essex Parking Partnership, the on street enforcement responsibility would transfer to the partnership at the end of September 2012 when the contract period expired. The Council had the opportunity to extend the off street element of the contract with Vinci Parks by another two years to September 2014.

The Portfolio Holder reported that negotiations had commenced with Vinci Parks Limited for the extension of the off street element of the contract. However, it was also considered prudent to seek from the North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) a bid for the delivery of the off street enforcement functions to sit alongside those being undertaken on street. Subject to ratification by its Committee, the Partnership had proffered a bid of £250,000 to manage the Council’s off street parking enforcement for a five-year period commencing 1 October 2012, and this was recommended for acceptance due to the projected revenue savings that would accrue for the Council. It was likely that there would be an internal staffing impact if this bid was accepted, and this would be the subject of a future report.

The Director of Environment & Street Scene advised the Cabinet that there were no problems anticipated with the Partnership’s bid and that it should be confirmed by the Partnership’s Committee at its next scheduled meeting. If the bid did change significantly after the Partnership’s Committee meeting then the Cabinet would receive a further report, although the legal advice for this scenario was to re-tender the contract. The Cabinet was reminded that the Council always retained the option to leave the Partnership subject to the provision of a twelve-month notice period.

Decision:

(1)        That, subject to ratification by the North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) Committee, the provisional offer made by NEPP for managing the Council’s off street car parking enforcement arrangements be accepted in the sum of £250,000 per annum for the period 1 October 2012 to 30 September 2017;

(2)        That the Portfolio Holder for Safer, Greener and Highways be authorised to amend the Council’s Partnership Agreement accordingly;

(3)        That the projected savings for the Continuing Services Budget in 20112/13 and 2013/14 be noted;

(4)        That any further possible additional savings due to a reduction in internal employee and support service costs be noted; and

(5)        That a further detailed report be submitted to a future meeting of the Cabinet regarding the full impact of the changes on staff, including any potential costs to the Council if the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) applied.

Reason for Decision:

To ensure cost effective off street parking enforcement arrangements were in place when the on street enforcement would transfer to the North Essex Parking Partnership on 1 October 2012.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

To not accept the offer made by NEPP and instead extend with Vinci Parks for another two years.  However, this would not realise the potential savings and lead to possible legal issues concerning extending just a part of the existing contract with Vinci Parks rather than the whole.

To carry out a new procurement exercise for the appointment of a new off street parking enforcement contractor. However, there was a risk that the costs could be higher than those offered by NEPP or the extended contract offer from Vinci Park, coupled with the costs of the procurement exercise itself

To deliver off street enforcement through the creation of an in-house operation.  However, it was unlikely the enforcement could not be undertaken at a cost less than that being offered by the Partnership.