Agenda item

To scrutinise developments within the Parking Service.

To recommend to the Cabinet:

·       Increasing parking fees on an annual or biennial basis should be considered with consideration to the inflation position;

·       Enforcement in the short-stay car parks should not be modified due to the impact on the local economy.

·       Further increase of fees should be considered in car parks in specific tourist areas such as Pen y Gwryd.

·       Consideration should be given to increasing Arosfan site fees annually.

The report was submitted by the Cabinet Member for the Environment, the Head of Environment Department, the Assistant Head of Environment Department (Transport) and the Parking and Street Works Manager.

It was explained that the Report included revisions to parking fee arrangements to comply with the Council's savings schemes and address the overspend within the parking services. Members were reminded that two of the projects featured in the report (Increasing Pen y Gwryd parking fees and Increasing the price of an Annual Parking Permit and Local Parking Permit by £5 per annum) had already been approved by the Cabinet.

They drew attention to a scheme to Extend Parking Enforcement Hours at the Council's Short Stay Car Parks, highlighting that the current enforcement hours are between 10:00am and 4:30pm. It was planned to extend the enforcement hours to between 09:00am and 05:00pm. Members were reminded that this had been the Communities Scrutiny Committee's original recommendation in 2021.

It was noted that the fourth scheme in the report was an Adjustment to the Band 2 Long-Stay Fees Structure. The officers explained that this scheme was being introduced to address the inflation increase. They highlighted the challenge in addressing inflation increase, which was to ensure that suitable fees were introduced for anyone who wished to pay with cash without having to find lots of loose change. It was confirmed that the normal arrangement was to wait a few years before revising parking fees in line with inflation, so as to ensure that parking fees were practical for users. It was acknowledged that this led to quite a hike, but that the revisions to the pricing was implemented less frequently. It was confirmed that the revisions introduced in the report constituted an increase of around 30-40%, which ensured that they would not need to be revised further until 2028/29.

During the discussion, the following observations were noted:- 

Agreed with the plans to increase parking fees in Pen y Gwryd and encouraged the department to invest in similar locations as it was being used regularly. Further information was requested about Band 1 - 3 Parking Fees for long stays.

Disagreed with the schemes to adjust car parks' enforcement hours. The member considered that this would have too much of a negative impact on local residents and business, leading to fines. It was noted that increasing the price of an annual parking permit to £145 likely meant that individuals would no longer buy it.

Attention was drawn to the fact that the permitted time within parking fees was changing in some cases. They discussed the example that £2 for 1 hour of parking would adjust to £2.50 for four hours. They wondered whether this would deter people from paying to park because they would not be using the car park for a large proportion of that time. However, the Head of Department agreed that this increase in the time for long-stay car parks had been one of the recommendations of the Communities Scrutiny Committee's task and finish group in 2019. It was explained that the group felt that this would support local businesses because people would have time and would spend money in local businesses.

It was noted that no information had been included on the matter of buses parking in car parks. It was noted that the Department would present information on this in the future, noting that bus use of car parks was increasing.

The Department was asked to reconsider their arrangements for increasing parking fees in line with inflation rates to ensure there was not such a hike in the parking costs when revising them. It was highlighted that the current arrangements led to a large increase in parking costs. In response to the observations, it was acknowledged that parking fees were increased at a higher level. The Cabinet Member elaborated that this was a challenge for the department because internal income targets increased with inflation, and these were being missed until the fees were increased. He emphasised that it was difficult to revise the prices more frequently because the parking fees would be irregular amounts, but it was anticipated that this would not be as problematic in the future and that it would be possible to increase fees annually as card or phone payments became more common. It was also highlighted that this would also reduce the number of cases of pay and display machines being vandalised, but they would always need to be cautious and ensure equal opportunity for anyone who wished to pay with cash.

The Parking and Street Works Manager explained that app users were charged a fee of 5p to pay for parking. She elaborated that this was a general fee for using the app. She confirmed that users could receive a message to confirm payment, or to warn them that the parking period was about to run out and confirmed that these were additional costs for anyone who chose to accept them. It was emphasised that there would be no increase in these fees as the parking fees were adjusted. Furthermore, in response to comments that the app cannot be used at times, she confirmed that officers and the app's operators receive a message when any site experiences difficulties. It was explained that boxes could be installed to improve Wi-Fi in some areas to ensure that the app worked. It was confirmed that the Department worked with the company regularly to ensure that the difficulties were resolved as soon as possible.

In response to a question regarding the public's use of free-of-charge parking spaces in shops and centres, it was confirmed that this was being considered closely by the Department, so as to ensure that anyone who needed a parking space to be able to use those facilities could do so easily.

Many observations were made about trying to ensure that the public were not overly affected by these adjustments, and to make the most of visitor expenditure. The Head of Department emphasised that this was being considered, but it was a very challenging process because a number of locations were being used constantly by visitors and local residents. However, it was considered that some areas were using parking spaces because it was not possible to park outside houses, and such situations would receive careful consideration.

It was considered that the Department's observations on compliance with the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 were not as thorough as other Council departments. The department was asked to provide more detail in this information in future to ensure that individuals from different socio-economic groups were protected and supported. In response to the observations, it was acknowledged that this was a matter that could be better reported in future.

In response to an enquiry about the 'Arosfan' scheme which offered overnight parking spaces and facilities for motorhomes, it was confirmed that these fee revisions would not affect the scheme. It was explained that it was currently a pilot scheme, offering a service for £16.50 a night through a standard pay and display machine (with cash or card/mobile phone payment). It was elaborated that there had been mixed comments about the pilot scheme to date, and that additional income could be received if additional parking areas were established in future. The members were updated that there were two 'Arosfan' locations in use in Dwyfor and Arfon at present, and the Department was searching for a suitable location in Meirionnydd to trial the scheme there too.

RESOLVED to recommend to the Cabinet:

·       Increasing parking fees on an annual or biennial basis should be considered with the inflation situation taken into account;

·       Enforcement arrangements in the short-stay car parks should not be revised due to the impact on the local economy.

·       Further increase of the fees should be considered in car parks in certain tourist areas such as Pen y Gwryd.

·       Consideration should be given to increasing the fees of Arosfan sites annually.