Agenda item

5.1

The Committee considered a report of the Policy and Improvement Officer (Matthew Borland) relating to the call-in of the Individual Cabinet Member Decision on Parking Permit Prices. The report attached a report of the Executive Director, Place, addressing the receipt of two petitions, one requesting that parking permit prices be returned to pre-2011 levels   (£10 for the first permit, compared to the current £36) and the other requesting that permit prices be reduced for people on low incomes. The decision had been made by the Cabinet Member for Business, Skills and Development on 12^th June, 2014 and the report also appended the call-in form, to which Councillor Robert Murphy was the lead signatory.

5.2

The Cabinet Member for Business, Skills and Development, on 12^th June, 2014, agreed that:-

(a)       the requests contained in the two petitions be noted;

(b)       the permit prices already agreed for 2014/15 be endorsed without further change; and

(c)        officers be instructed to advise the petitioners of the decision.

5.3

In attendance for this item were Councillor Leigh Bramall, Cabinet Member for Business, Skills and Development, Paul Fell, Transport, Traffic and Parking Services Business Manager, and David Whitley, Principal Engineer, Business Management, Regeneration and Development Services.

5.4

Paul Fell made reference to the two petitions which had been received, stating that, although there had been price variations in between, the permit prices were now at the same level that they had been in 2008.  The cost of the permits contributed to the Parking Permit Schemes’ enforcement, maintenance and administration, and at current levels, the permit fees alone did not cover these costs fully.  With this in mind, together with the fact that a parking permit allowed the holder a genuine advantage over other motorists, it had been recommended that the current rate of £36 for the first permit and £72 for a second permit be maintained.

5.5

Councillor Leigh Bramall stated that he believed that permit holders should have to pay a reasonable amount of the costs of enforcing and administering, for the benefit of parking within a permit parking zone and that the cost of the permits compared favourably with those in many other local authorities.  He referred to inflation costs of around 5-6% since 2006 and reported on the benefits for permit holders, including the ability to purchase visitor permits. He concluded by stating that permit fees had not been increased for this financial year and, subject to the Council’s budgetary position, there were no current plans for any further price increases.

5.6

Members of the Committee raised questions and the following responses were provided:-

·                The reason for not including the cost of City Centre permits in the table of comparisons with other local authorities was because the petitions related to the cost of permits within the Peripheral Parking Zones. City Centre permits represented a  separate scheme. There were only around 20 permits in existence, which had been distributed historically to pub landlords, chaplains and vicars. 

·                It was considered that permits provided benefits for residents, particularly providing them with a priority to park within their parking zone, at a time when there was an increasing demand for parking on the City’s highways. 

·                It was believed that £36 represented a reasonable charge for parking permits, and considered that this was a fair price to pay in the light of the average annual cost of running a vehicle. 

·                Income from parking permits was part of the Council’s “parking account”. Any surplus in this account could be used for a variety of transport purposes, as set out in legislation.  If the cost of the permits was not retained at £36, the lower contribution from  lower permit fees would make new future schemes less viable.

·                In terms of feedback regarding customer satisfaction, headlines in a report drafted in 2010/11 had indicated that parking for the majority of residents living within parking zones had improved  and that the residents were reasonably happy with enforcement levels in the zones.  Responses from visitors to areas such as Ecclesall Road showed that motorists were finding it much easier to finding parking spaces.

·                The cost of parking permits for owners of low emission vehicles (Band A and B) were halved in 2009. Officers would look into the possibility of extending the criteria further so that the permit charges would be based on a sliding scale relating to emission levels.

·                Details of the income and expenditure within the peripheral parking zone from 2010/11 to 2013/14 was made available at the meeting.

·                In terms of the Equality Impact of the permit parking price increase, relative to the cost of running a car, it was not considered that individual groups of people were either advantaged or disadvantaged by the implementation of such a charge. 

5.7

RESOLVED: That the Committee:-

(a)       notes the contents of the report now submitted, together with the comments now made and the responses to the questions raised; and

(b)       agrees to take no action in relation to the called-in decision, but consider whether issues arising from the call-in need to be added to its Work Programme 2014/15.

(NOTE: Prior to the passing of the above resolution, an alternative resolution was moved by Councillor Robert Murphy and seconded by Councillor Joe Otten, as follows:-

“That this Committee requests that the decision be deferred until the Committee has considered relevant issues and made recommendations to the Executive.”

The votes on the alternative resolution were ordered to be recorded and were as follows:-

For the Resolution (4)

-

Councillors Ian Auckland, Robert Murphy, Joe Otten and Martin Smith

Against the Resolution (5)

-

Councillors Steve Jones, Pat Midgley, Helen Mirfin-Boukouris, Steve Wilson and Paul Wood

Abstained (1)

-

Councillor Cate McDonald.)