Agenda item

5.1

The Executive Director, Place submitted a report providing a response to two petitions which had been received requesting:

1) That parking permit prices be returned to pre-2011 levels, which were £10 for a first residents permit, compared to the current £36.

2) That permit prices be reduced for people on low incomes.

5.2

RESOLVED: That:-

(a)

the requests contained in the two petitions be noted;

(b)

the permit prices already agreed for 2014/15 be endorsed without further charge; and

(c)

officers be instructed to advise the petitioners of the decision.

5.3

Reasons for Decision

5.3.1

The parking permit prices be used in the 2014/15 financial year have already been set and endorsed by the Cabinet Member in April 2014.

5.3.2

Service budgets for the 2014/15 financial year have already been set in anticipation of Parking Services achieving income targets, which include around £423,000 from income from parking permits in parking zones. Any reductions in the permit prices would be a pressure on the Parking Services budget.

5.3.3

The cost of a permit is demonstrably modest and confers a significant degree of benefit to the permit holder. Therefore, no justification is found for the contention that fees are unfair or excessive.

5.3.4

Offering a further discount to people on low wages would add complexity and costs to the permits administration process and would provide limited relief when compared with the cost of running a car.

5.4

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

5.4.1

The costs and impacts of reducing permit prices have been considered.

5.5

Any Interest Declared or Dispensation Granted

None

5.6

Reason for Exemption if Public/Press Excluded During Consideration

None

5.7

Respective Director Responsible for Implementation

Simon Green, Executive Director, Place

5.8

Relevant Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee If Decision Called In

Economic and Environmental Wellbeing

5.1

The Executive Director, Place submitted a report providing a response to two petitions which had been received requesting:

1) That parking permit prices be returned to pre-2011 levels, which were £10 for a first residents permit, compared to the current £36.

2) That permit prices be reduced for people on low incomes.

5.2

Councillor Sarah Jane Smalley attended the Session to make representations to the Cabinet Member. She had submitted one of the petitions prior to becoming a Councillor and was therefore able to make representations. She commented that she had been promised by officers the figures for each area but had not yet received them and therefore asked if these could be sent to her.

5.3

Ms. Smalley further stated that more income was being received from permits than was being spent within the area she lived in and asked why this was the case as the income should not be spent elsewhere.

5.4

In response, Paul Fell, Business Manager, Transport, Traffic and Parking Services, acknowledged that income from parking permits was running at a surplus. However, it was Council policy that income received was spent across the City and not just in the areas from which it was received.

5.5

Councillor Leigh Bramall, Cabinet Member for Business, Skills and Development added that income from parking permits was £500k and the cost of enforcement was greater than that. It was only right that residents should pay a proportion of the cost. He acknowledged that the cost of permits had risen in recent times but highlighted that the present cost was only £1 more than when they were introduced in 2004 and compared favourably with other local authorities across the country.

5.6

RESOLVED: That:-

(a)

the requests contained in the two petitions be noted;

(b)

the permit prices already agreed for 2014/15 be endorsed without further charge; and

(c)

officers be instructed to advise the petitioners of the decision.

5.7

Reasons for Decision

5.7.1

The parking permit prices be used in the 2014/15 financial year have already been set and endorsed by the Cabinet Member in April 2014.

5.7.2

Service budgets for the 2014/15 financial year have already been set in anticipation of Parking Services achieving income targets, which include around £423,000 from income from parking permits in parking zones. Any reductions in the permit prices would be a pressure on the Parking Services budget.

5.7.3

The cost of a permit is demonstrably modest and confers a significant degree of benefit to the permit holder. Therefore, no justification is found for the contention that fees are unfair or excessive.

5.7.4

Offering a further discount to people on low wages would add complexity and costs to the permits administration process and would provide limited relief when compared with the cost of running a car.

5.8

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

5.8.1

The costs and impacts of reducing permit prices have been considered.