Meeting documents

1 THE ISSUE

1.1 Parking charges were last reviewed in Autumn 2001 with the changes being implemented in stages during 2002 and 2003. In this review various changes to time limits and charges are put forward. Changes are proposed to be introduced in February 2006 and to last until February 2010, but parking income is subject to a number of external factors and it may be necessary for an earlier review to take place.

2 RECOMMENDATION

2.1 the schedule of charges as set out in Appendix A to this report be approved;

2.2 the Head of Transportation and Highways be authorised to take all action necessary to effect such changes.

3 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

3.1 The projections for the revenue raised by the varied charges have been made by looking at the current distribution of ticket sales and comparing this with the sales before and after the last review.

3.2 The aim is to increase charges by around 10% overall which gives an additional income of some £600,000. Parking income is, of course, subject to a number of external factors including the economic performance of the city centre and fluctuations in tourist numbers.

4 THE REPORT

4.1 Parking charges were last reviewed in Autumn 2001. The proposals were approved in March 2002 and new off street prices were introduced in Bath and Keynsham in July 2002. Changes to on-street charges were delayed until May 2003. Before this the last major pricing change had been in 1998.

4.2 The proposals in 2001/02 involved increasing off-street prices and introducing a simpler pricing structure for car parks; increasing season ticket prices; removing the charge for evening and overnight parking; and introducing a variable pricing structure for on-street bays. No changes were made to the costs of resident and business parking permits and for the Coach and Lorry Park.

4.3 Full details of the review are provided in Appendix B. Appendix C provides a brief description of parking charges in a number of comparable authority areas.

4.4 The existing car park "pay and display" payment system is relatively inflexible as users have to estimate the time they need before paying. To help with this difficulty "pay on foot" parking will be introduced in Avon Street and Charlotte Street car parks early in 2006. This will allow users to pay on exit. It is then proposed to extend this approach to Manvers Street and Kingsmead Square car parks as early as possible during the financial year 2006/07.

5 LEGAL FRAMEWORK

5.1 The Council has power under the provisions of The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to regulate and make charges in respect of both on-street and off-street car parking. The proposals in this report to review parking charges will require the procedures set out in the following paragraph to be followed, as are contained in the Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996.

5.2 In essence the regulations require notice of the revised charges. Such a notice needs to be advertised at least once in a local newspaper a minimum of 21 days before the provisions within the notice are due to come into force.

5.3 The notice needs to

o state the date when the new charges are due to come into force;

o identify every parking place to which the notice relates;

o specify in respect of each parking place the charges payable for the use of the parking place at the date that the notice is advertised; and

o specify in respect of each parking place the charges that will be payable when the notice comes into force.

5.4 In relation to a notice of variation for off-street parking places, the local authority shall display a copy of it in the parking place on the date on which the notice is given and take all reasonable steps to ensure that it continues to be displayed in a legible condition until the date on which the notice comes into force.

5.5 If the local authority thinks fit, then it shall display additional copies of the notice in the parking place and in roads giving access to the parking place. In relation to a notice of variation for on-street parking places, the local authority shall, if it thinks fit, display copies of the notice in prominent positions in the road in which the parking place is situated.

5.6 Unlike the making of a Traffic Regulation Order, there is no provision for an objection period and thus no requirement to reconsider at the end of such a period.

5.7 The Council's power to make a charge in connection with the use of parking spaces needs to be exercised with due regard to proper traffic regulation considerations and the effective discharge of the Council's highways and transportation functions. Regard may properly be paid to the cost of the provision of the service and the desirability of encouraging or discouraging use at certain times by the level of charges set.

5.8 In respect of income collected from the regulation of on-street parking, Section 55 of The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 provides that a separate account must be kept with money received and expenditure made. In the event that the account is in surplus there are certain statutory specified purposes for which the surplus must be used.

6 RISK MANAGEMENT

7 RATIONALE

7.1 It is expected that as a matter of course in each year's budget process services should be able to accommodate an inflationary increase on all their budgets. In the case of parking income it is considered better practice to allow prices to remain constant for a period and then implement an increase rather than make small incremental increases every year. In this case it is not planned that prices will be altered for another 4 years.

8 OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED

8.1 The alternative of introducing small annual increases was considered, as was the idea of introducing significantly higher charges, but these options were both rejected.

9 CONSULTATION

9.1 Informal discussions have been carried out with the Bath Chamber of Commerce who are supportive of the proposal. Written (email) consultation has also been carried out with Keynsham Town Council and Keynsham Traders' Association and they have informally expressed concern over any increase in charges. (The Keynsham increases are 5p for 2 hours parking, 10p for 4 hours, 10p for 8 hours and 15p for the whole day.) Any further responses will be reported to the meeting.

10 REASONS FOR URGENCY

10.1 Not urgent.