Issue - meetings

RESOLVED:

Cabinet agreed that:

1.    That Local and Joint Committees should consider, as part of the parking review process, the introduction of on-street parking charges where appropriate to help improve access to retail areas or other facilities be agreed.

2.    That where there is no parking surplus or other funding source to contribute towards a parking review, proposals in the review will be limited to dealing with road safety and obstruction problems rather than parking schemes be agreed.

3.    That the council’s intention be advertised, in accordance with the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 be agreed  to make the following changes to on street parking permits:

            a.        Amend the charge for the first resident permit issued to a household from £50 to £80.

            b.        Amend the charge for 2nd and subsequent resident permits issued to a household from £75 currently to:

·         2nd permit charge £100

·         3rd and subsequent permit charge £130

            c.        The maximum charge for visitor permits can be set at £3 per day where it is considered appropriate by local or joint committees. (Note: the £2 daily charge remains the default)

            d.        We introduce a 2 hour visitor permit, to be available in all permit schemes, costing £1 (see recommendation e. for annual eligibility limits)

            e.        Greater discretion is given to district and borough enforcement teams (and local/joint committees) to set annual visitor permit limits as particular circumstances allow. The maximum however should be set at 150 for daily permits or 250 for 2 hour permits per household per year.

             f.        Carers permits (as described in annex 1) will be issued for free (currently £10 per year, permits for medical and care professionals remain free)

            g.        There is no change to our current policy of assessing and providing disabled bays free of charge.

            h.        We introduce a child care permit (as described in annex 1) at the same rate as a resident permit, the charge dependent on how many resident permits had been issued to the property.

              i.        The statutory notice includes the intention of the council to increase the charge for annual resident parking permits by £4 every 2 years for 6 years.

4.         That following the statutory advertisement of changes described above, the decision to implement the changes be delegated to the Head of Highways & Transport in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Highways.

5.         That paper permits be phased out by 2021 with a shift to ‘virtual permits’ to reduce waste and improve convenience be agreed.

6.         That new residential developments built within the boundaries of existing permit parking schemes (or CPZ’s) should not automatically qualify for resident permits be agreed and eligibility be determined by a local/joint committee in a parking review or by the Cabinet Member for Highways.

7.         That the following changes to charges made for suspensions and waivers be introduced from April 2020:

a.      The initial charge for a suspension (valid for up to 3 days) be changed from £65 to £75

b.      The charge for each additional day that the  ...  view the full decision text for item 15

The Cabinet Member for Highways introduced a report that set out changes to the council’s on- street parking strategy that had taken account of changes to national legislation, new technology, environmental considerations and to reduce dangerous parking and help keep traffic moving on Surrey roads.  He explained the update of fees and charges for parking permits and on-street parking related services and that whilst it may seem like a big hike in charges, the strategy had not been reviewed for nine years.  He also described some of the many benefits of the new strategy.

Mrs Hazel Watson spoke to this item and objected to recommendations 1 and 2 in relation to Mole Valley and described the detrimental impacts this would have to Dorking town centre.  The Mole Valley Local Committee had voted unanimously against introducing on-street parking charges.  She explained that parking was limited in small clusters over seven sites and the cost of parking machines was prohibitive.

The Cabinet Member for Highways responded that it was for local and joint committees to consider this and no proposals were being made for specific areas. He also stated that Mole Valley operated up to £90K deficit in civil parking enforcement and that it wasn’t appropriate to continue these amounts of deficits going forward without looking at all other options.  He and parking officers were happy to talk to local committees.

Several other members spoke in support of the recommendations.

RESOLVED:

Cabinet agreed that:

1. That Local and Joint Committees should consider, as part of the parking review process, the introduction of on-street parking charges where appropriate to help improve access to retail areas or other facilities be agreed.

2. That where there is no parking surplus or other funding source to contribute towards a parking review, proposals in the review will be limited to dealing with road safety and obstruction problems rather than parking schemes be agreed.

3. That the council’s intention be advertised, in accordance with the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 be agreed to make the following changes to on street parking permits:

                    a.        Amend the charge for the first resident permit issued to a household from £50 to £80.

                    b.        Amend the charge for 2nd and subsequent resident permits issued to a household from £75 currently to:

·         2nd permit charge £100

·         3rd and subsequent permit charge £130

                    c.        The maximum charge for visitor permits can be set at £3 per day where it is considered appropriate by local or joint committees. (Note: the £2 daily charge remains the default)

                    d.        We introduce a 2 hour visitor permit, to be available in all permit schemes, costing £1 (see recommendation e. for annual eligibility limits)

                    e.        Greater discretion is given to district and borough enforcement teams (and local/joint committees) to set annual visitor permit limits as particular circumstances allow. The maximum however should be set at 150 for daily permits or 250 for 2 hour permits per household per year.

                     f.        Carers permits (as described in annex 1) will be issued for free  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15