Agenda item

Purpose of the report: For the Select Committee to review the Cabinet’s report on the review of charges for parking in countryside estate car parks.

Declarations of interest:

None received.

Witnesses:

Denise Turner Stewart, Cabinet Member for Community, Safety, Fire & Resilience

Alan Bowley, Head of Environment

Key points raised during the discussion:

1. The Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Fire & Resilience stated that the Council was looking to maximise health and wellbeing in the population of Surrey by encouraging as much use as possible of Surrey’s countryside. A cabinet decision was taken in January 2018 to introduce charges at the five busiest countryside sites. In July 2018, it was agreed that a review be undertaken after 12 months of the charges being introduced and, unless significant contribution had been made to the countryside in terms of income, the charges would be removed. The net income was stated as being £42,000 for Newlands Corner and £61,000 for the wider estate, with £0.3 million in capital costs. The review concluded that the financial benefits of charging to access the countryside was outweighed by extensive physical and mental health and wellbeing benefits, as well as providing quality of life and community interaction for residents. The Cabinet Member stated it was important that access to the countryside not be constrained by fixed financial outlay. She informed the members that the Council was investigating a voluntary payment scheme, as adopted at many National Trust sites. Newlands Corner would be subject to a local access agreement and, in the event of removal of charges, Albury Estate would be required to engage in discussion, which had already commenced. The recommendations were set out in the report and the Cabinet Member asked the Committee whether it had any questions.

2. A Member asked the Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Fire & Resilience to emphasise the point about Newlands Corner not being included in the proposal due to considerable lack of understanding on part of most members of the public that the land was not public property. The Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Fire & Resilience pointed to paragraph 25 of the report where there was explicit reference to the Member’s query. The Cabinet Member assured the committee Member that this would be emphasised at the Cabinet meeting.

3. Another Member of the Committee stated that they thought car parking charges should not be scrapped rather lowered to a nominal fee to cover some maintenance costs. The Cabinet Member referred to the National Trust which had a donation system in place and said that she would be looking into the prospect of voluntary contributions in Surrey’s countryside estate car parks for which most of the existing infrastructure would stay in place.

4. A Member of the Committee informed the Cabinet Member that he had concerns that scrapping parking charges would be to the detriment of Surrey Wildlife Trust and asked whether the trust would be negatively impacted by this decision and experience a reduction in revenue. The Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Fire & Resilience stated that Surrey Wildlife Trust received the majority of its funding from Natural England and that conversations between the council and Surrey Wildlife Trust were progressing favourably. There would be some withdrawal of responsibility from the Trust which would drive an income stream and thus the cost of managing the countryside could be done for less.

[Jan Mason left the meeting at 12.14pm]

5. The Vice Chairman and Chairman asked the Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Fire & Resilience whether it was guaranteed that the parking charges would not be reintroduced in the medium term and the long term. Both the Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Fire & Resilience and the Deputy Leader assured the Committee that the parking fees would not be reintroduced in the medium-term but could not guarantee the same in the long-term. The Deputy Leader concluded the discussion by reminding the committee that both the health and wellbeing agenda and the environment agenda state that residents should have access to the countryside for their own health.

Actions/ Further information to be provided:

No actions identified.

Recommendations:

1. The Committee endorses the decision to end car parking charges;

2. The Committee periodically monitors countryside usage to gauge impact on Surrey resident’s health and wellbeing.