Report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods).

The purpose outlines a revised policy around the implementation and operation of Residents Parking Zones (RPZ) within the city. The revised policy reflects the feedback and issues that have been gathered during the process of extending the Christie Resident Parking Scheme and in the design of other planned schemes.

The committee considered a report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) which outlined a revised policy around the implementation and operation of Residents Parking Zones (RPZ) within the city.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• Resident parking schemes are implemented to tackle the impact of commuter and other non-residential parking on residential areas;
• The revised policy reflects the feedback and issues that have been gathered during the process of extending the Christie Resident Parking Scheme and in the design of other planned schemes;
• Existing policy challenges identified by the review of the current scheme;
• Proposed changes to the scheme, including provisions for digital visitor permits, introduction of transferable paper permits for those without digital access and physical temporary parking permits to all residents;
• There are currently no plans to change the design of existing schemes that are already in operation;
• The removal of the visitor permit charge and provision of scratch cards to each household within the current schemes is estimated to cost £75k per annum;
• Positive feedback had been received on the proposed changes through drop-in sessions with residents within the extended Christie RPS.

Key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussions included:

• The success of resident parking schemes in reducing parking problems;
• How the proposed changes to permits would help digitally excluded residents;
• How secure the online system was, and whether any Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) issued during technical faults with the system would be rescinded;
• Provisions for parking permits for carers;
• Whether the estimated £75k cost of the proposed changes was funded from revenue;
• How often enforcement and levels of non-compliance would be reviewed and what the process would be if additional enforcement resources were required;
• The Council’s legal right to enforce parking policy on unadopted roads;
• How many scratchcard permits each household would be permitted;
• The Executive’s approach to the issues which make Resident Parking Zones necessary, and what can be done to reduce the need for these; and
• What more could be done to deal with dangerous parking, such as near junctions.

The Executive Member for Environment and Transport and the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) introduced the item and explained that the revised policy reflected feedback from the extended Christie resident parking scheme and other emerging schemes to ensure that the policy was fit for purpose.

The Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) explained that the revised policy was to be agreed by the Executive, after which work would begin to identify how the scheme would operate in practice. Some detailed thinking around this had already been undertaken but the main design work would begin once the policy was agreed, with implementation scheduled for the next financial year.

Ensuring that digitally excluded residents could access parking permits would be addressed during the practical design phase of the policy.

The Parking Services Manager provided assurances that in the event of a resident or visitor with a permit within a resident parking scheme area receiving a PCN, this would be rescinded. She emphasised that resident parking schemes were in place for the benefit of residents and that the Council did not seek to penalise residents. This would remain the approach in the event of a system failure or technical issues.

She also assured members that the new online permits portal was fit for purpose, quick to use and user-friendly.

Confirmation was given that parking permits for carers would be provided in addition to the proposed two permits per household.

In response to queries regarding scratchcard permits, members were advised that these would allow for 10 visits per scratchcard. Discussions were ongoing as to how many free scratchcards would be provided to each household, although it was suggested that this may be one per year. It was stated, however, that this may differ between schemes depending on their location in the city.

The Parking Services Manager also explained with regards to parking enforcement that the Council had recently entered into a new contract beginning in April 2023 which included a 20% increase in the number of Civil Enforcement Officers (CEO) for out-of-town areas. This would help to alleviate issues in some areas where resources had previously been stretched. Members were also informed that there would be a further uplift in the number of CEOs following the introduction of the resident parking scheme in Eastlands.

Members were advised that the Council had a right to enforce parking regulations and restrictions on any highway which the public had access to, regardless of whether this was adopted by the local authority or not.

In response to a member query around how to reduce the need for and reliance on resident parking schemes, the Executive Member for Environment and Transport highlighted the importance of connectivity within the city’s travel network and the need for reliable alternatives to car use. She acknowledged that a behaviour change was required with a focus on education around the Highway Code. There was also a need to ensure communication between departments such as Highways and Neighbourhoods so that parking schemes worked to the benefit of residents.

The Head of Design Commissioning and PMO informed the committee that rule 243 of the Highway Code, which stipulated where drivers cannot park, was incorporated into every resident parking scheme to mitigate dangerous parking particularly around junctions. Measures such as creating double yellow lines by junctions were sometimes included in the introduction of a parking scheme to address these issues.

The Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) explained that the estimated £75k cost for the removal of the visitor permit charge and provision of scratchcards related to the collective impact of introducing the proposed changes compared to revenue which may have been received from a ringfenced reserve for reinvestment into parking-related services. It was felt that this cost was necessary to ensure a series of schemes and zones across the city which could operate effectively and respond to the needs of residents.

He expressed that there was no intention to generate income from the proposed changes and that any income from PCNs was held for reinvestment.

Decision:

That the Economy Scrutiny Committee endorses the Revised Resident Parking Scheme Policy for approval by the Executive.