Issue - meetings

Decision:

 (1)        That the Monday to Saturday and Sunday ‘daytime’ charges across off-street car parks be held at the current levels to support the town centre economy, except for those at Farnham Road MSCP, Bedford Road Surface, Commercial Road 2, Mary Road and Old Police Station car parks.

 (2)        That a discounted ‘early-bird’ rate of 90p per hour be introduced at Farnham Road MSCP, instead of the present £1 per hour, for those that enter the car park before 7.00am, and that the maximum daily charge of £7.20 be levied for these users, instead of the standard £8.00.

 (3)        That the hourly Monday to Saturday ‘daytime’ rate in Bedford Road Surface, Commercial Road 2, Mary Road and Old Police Station car parks for stays up to 3 hours in duration be increased from £1.30 per hour to £1.50 per hour, and that from April 2021 all tariffs across the town centre car parks be increased by 10p per hour, or equivalent thereof, in respect to season tickets and contract parking rates.

 (4)        That the Monday to Friday and Monday to Saturday season ticket and pre-payment card charges in York Road MSCP be increased by 5%.

 (5)        That approval be given to on-street residents’ permit holders for Areas A, B and D to park in all the town centre pay and display car parks until 10am the next day (Monday to Saturday) rather than 8am, if they purchase and display a valid pay and display ticket for the previous evening between 6pm and 10pm,

 (6)        That the decking of Leapale Road MSCP car park be coated to improve the service life of the structure, in a similar fashion to that already present in Bedford Road MSCP and Castle MSCP, and that as part of the project, the spaces be increased in size / reduced in number (from 384 to around 300), to improve circulation within the car park and encourage greater use, particularly by users with mobility issues, those with young families, and electric vehicles.

 (7)        That the EV charging spaces be enforceable, and that the necessary changes to the traffic regulation order required to achieve this be advertised, objections invited, and that if any representations are received, these be considered and determined by the Parking Manager in consultation with the Lead Councillor.

 (8)        That the performance of Parking Services in 2018-19, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Executive, be noted.

Reasons:

(i)       In recent years, the incremental increases in tariffs have not impacted the overall usage of the car parks.  This is in spite of the challenging conditions being experienced by the retail sector within ‘the high street’.  The relatively modest changes to the pricing structure introduced in York Road MSCP and North Street car parks in April 2019 have continued this trend (see Appendix 1).

As was the case in 2019-20, the plan for 2020-21 is again to hold the price of parking in the vast majority of car parks with a few  ...  view the full decision text for item 87

The Executive considered an update report on progress made in delivering the recommendations contained in the Business Plan approved in January 2019 and sought approval for a number of changes to arrangements for 2020-21.

The report highlighted a number of improvements completed, including contactless payment at Bedford Road MSCP, increases in electric charge points and significant investments to maintain the high standard of our car parks. The report also highlighted work to look into how green initiatives could be supported by creating energy from Solar panels. The Guildford Parking Annual Report appended to the report highlighted an increase in ticket sales of 2% and revenue of 0.3%.  It was clear that our car park charges compared well and were better value than most major shopping destinations in the region. 

Having considered the proposals, the Executive

RESOLVED:

 (1)       That the Monday to Saturday and Sunday ‘daytime’ charges across off-street car parks be held at the current levels to support the town centre economy, except for those at Farnham Road MSCP, Bedford Road Surface, Commercial Road 2, Mary Road and Old Police Station car parks.

 (2)       That a discounted ‘early-bird’ rate of 90p per hour be introduced at Farnham Road MSCP, instead of the present £1 per hour, for those that enter the car park before 7.00am, and that the maximum daily charge of £7.20 be levied for these users, instead of the standard £8.00.

 (3)       That the hourly Monday to Saturday ‘daytime’ rate in Bedford Road Surface, Commercial Road 2, Mary Road and Old Police Station car parks for stays up to 3 hours in duration be increased from £1.30 per hour to £1.50 per hour, and that from April 2021 all tariffs across the town centre car parks be increased by 10p per hour, or equivalent thereof, in respect to season tickets and contract parking rates.

 (4)       That the Monday to Friday and Monday to Saturday season ticket and pre-payment card charges in York Road MSCP be increased by 5%.

 (5)       That approval be given to on-street residents’ permit holders for Areas A, B and D to park in all the town centre pay and display car parks until 10am the next day (Monday to Saturday) rather than 8am, if they purchase and display a valid pay and display ticket for the previous evening between 6pm and 10pm,

 (6)       That the decking of Leapale Road MSCP car park be coated to improve the service life of the structure, in a similar fashion to that already present in Bedford Road MSCP and Castle MSCP, and that as part of the project, the spaces be increased in size / reduced in number (from 384 to around 300), to improve circulation within the car park and encourage greater use, particularly by users with mobility issues, those with young families, and electric vehicles.

 (7)       That the EV charging spaces be enforceable, and that the necessary changes to the traffic regulation order required to achieve this be advertised, objections invited, and that if any  ...  view the full minutes text for item 87