Decision details

Report of the Head of Transport, Highways and Parking to seek approval for charging for first permits in zones 1-12 &16 and temporary permits.

The Cabinet, on 16^th July, delegated authority to the Director of Environment and Economy to advertise the relevant Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO’s) and consider and determine any representations received to those proposals in accordance with the Council’s procedures for determining Traffic Regulation Orders.

The proposals to charge £30 per year for first Resident’s Permits and £15 for Temporary Resident’s Permits valid for 3 months were advertised on the 16^th August. In response, the Council has received 828 representations with concerns or objections, which have been summarised and reviewed as part of this report. This report is presented to the Director for Environment & Economy for the representations to be considered and the matter to be determined.

(i)  To approve the introduction of a £30 per year charge for renewals and new applications for First Resident Permits effective from 1^st November 2013;

(ii)  To approve the introduction of a £15 charge for Temporary Resident Permits for first time applicants with a validity of 3 months, effective from 1^st November 2013;

(iii)  To ensure that future Civil Parking Enforcement Annual Reports include details of permit income and costs in Residents Parking Zones, which will then be used as material consideration for any future variations in permit charges;

(iv)  To ensure that funding contributions are requested for Traffic Regulation Orders, in the form of parking restrictions, for developments where it is deemed appropriate to do so to mitigate against the impact of the development on the safety and amenity of local residents;

(v)  To review and update the Council’s Resident Parking Scheme operational strategy in early 2014 to ensure that it reflects the current parking issues, community needs and sustainable travel policies. This will be used as the basis for review of existing Zones and the consideration of future requests; and

(vi)  To undertake a phased series of surveys, commencing in early 2014, of residents (Z1-12 & 16) eligible for First Residents Permits over whether they would wish their residents parking scheme to be changed or removed. Also to prioritise any changes to the existing scheme restrictions, over any possible expansion of Zones 1-12 & 16.

1. Cabinet have approved the principle of introducing charges for First Resident’s Permits in order that the schemes have a higher level of self-funding.
2. Cabinet has also approved the principle of introducing charges for Temporary Resident’s Permits in order that the full cost of administration and issue are met.
3. There is a need to ensure that the assessment and justification for permit charges are transparent, so that residents may benefit from improvements in how the schemes are operated.
4. Members of the public have concerns that the expansion of the Southampton General Hospital and the University of Southampton, without adequate parking or travel arrangements is the root cause of many parking problems and there is therefore a need to ensure future development at these key sites is undertaken having regard to the impact on residents and parking.
5. There are significant concerns raised by residents as to whether the existing permit restrictions are still appropriate or whether they need to be amended or removed, subject to due process in the various zones.
6. Previous Council policy and practice has been driven by the need to deter weekday, non-resident/commuter parking, rather than the increasing issue of excess levels of resident parking overnight or at week-ends.

Not introducing these charges was rejected on the basis that the costs would otherwise have to be met by further Council subsidy funded by service reductions elsewhere such as further reductions in enforcement costs or by reducing expenditure in other priority areas such as CCTV. In the current budget restricted environment if a proportion of costs are not recoverable, then the council may not be able to implement new Residents parking Schemes or manage existing ones properly resulting on a detrimental impact on resident amenity and safety.

The Decision Maker took into account the representations from Respondents as described in the report, prior to taking his decision.

The Decision Maker took into consideration the following draft Recommendations from Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee (OSMC) on 10 October 2013 when making the decision:

1)  That a breakdown of consultation responses by parking zone is circulated to the OSMC

2)  That officers identify if the feedback from residents indicated whether residents would still favour  parking zones if charges were imposed

3)  That an assessment of the proposed residents parking schemes consultation costs and timescales is circulated to the OSMC 

4)  That when consulting residents on parking permits they are made aware of proposed developments in the vicinity

5)  That a breakdown of parking enforcement costs is circulated to the OSMC alongside the areas that parking income can be spent on

6)  That the Cabinet Member discusses with the Universities and University Hospitals Southampton the possibility of them contributing financially to the costs of the relevant resident parking schemes in the City.