CABINET MEMBER: Councillor Gareth Griffith
To consider the
report
Decision:
To accept
the update and support the recommendation of the Task Group that pay and
display fees be increased by 10%.
Minutes:
The Head of Environment Department presented a report giving an
overview of its contents. The main purpose of the report was
noted namely that the current strategy, adopted in 2015, would end in
2021. The committee was reminded that a Parking Task
Group had been established to consider the need to increase income, along with
the new challenges and opportunities that have arisen since the last parking
strategy was established in February 2015.
It was reported that the task group had two main challenges namely to
increase income to the target of £400,000 and secondly to achieve this without
having an excessive impact on Gwynedd residents. It was
explained that there had been several changes in parking practices over
the last few years and these included;
·
More
tourists and as a result a greater demand for parking spaces.
·
More electric cars
were being bought and therefore there was an opportunity to install car
charging points.
·
Increased
use of contactless payments, this highlighted the need to upgrade the pay
machines in the car parks.
·
An
increase in motorhomes parking in inappropriate places.
The above points were expanded upon and the
need was noted to offer a provision for card payments side by side with cash
payments. It was noted that a provision for payment
over the telephone had been established, however, this depended on a mobile
phone and a sufficient signal to make the payments. However, it appeared that offering two
options would facilitate raising more future income as it was possible for
people without cash to use the car parks.
The concerns that had recently been highlighted
were identified regarding motorhomes and their increase as restrictions had
prevented foreign travel. It was explained that this was not an easy matter to resolve
and the problem had existed for some years by now. It was noted that solutions
such as, creating by-laws, increasing the number of enforcement officers and
also adapting car parks to facilitate motorhome vehicles by charging acceptable
fees for the service.
Reference was made to the parking task group's
recommendation to raise fees by 10% in the car parks as a way of increasing
income. It was added that the task group had identified that fees should not be
charged for parking for the disabled in disabled bays and therefore this would
continue free of charge.
During the discussion, the
following observations were made by members:-
·
Concern was expressed regarding motorhomes parking in places without
facilities and in areas of scientific interest and of Outstanding Natural
Beauty (AONB). It was noted that there was evidence of
users disposing of sewage waste in public places.
·
The
suggestion was made that we should press for the
creation of by-laws to protect staying places in order that motorhomes do not
park there.
·
It was noted that local caravan businesses needed support and
therefore the Council should not invest in offering services for these vehicles
in car parks.
·
Some
members felt that the annual pass of £140 was high for some to pay as one sum,
as it was not possible to pay in monthly instalments, however, it was welcomed
that it was possible to buy a 6 months pass for half the cost.
·
Some
members noted that motorhomes were a valuable resource as they were
self-contained now and included water supplies and waste facilities. It was suggested that a fee should be charged that was
comparative to campsites for people to have an opportunity to park in towns and
use shops and local services.
·
Concerns
were raised regarding parking in some villages, with the increase in holiday
homes e.g. Airbnb, where parking spaces were occupied by
tourists.
In response to the members’ observations, the Head of the Environment
Department agreed that the situation with motorhomes had been a concern for a while, however, he noted that it was a long process to
create by-laws to prevent these vehicles from parking. It was noted that
it was an idea to conduct a political conversation on the next steps.
In reference to the annual pass, it was noted
that the possibility of paying monthly was impractical as it was not possible
to ensure that payments continued once a pass had been issued to the residents.
It was highlighted that it was possible to buy a 6 month
pass in an effort to reduce the cost in a different way.
The Parking and Street Works Manager explained the parking fees
structures and noted that the parking enforcement team was self-funding with
income from fees and fines. As the
income had been higher than the costs of employing the team, it may be shown that there was a possibility to increase the
size of the team, which was essential to cope with the parking challenges. As
well as this, he noted that the surplus could be used to
re-invest to improve car parks and to upgrade the machines.
RESOLVED
To accept the update and support the recommendation of the Task Group that
pay and display fees be increased by 10%.
Supporting documents: