The report of the Operational Director of Highways is enclosed.

A report submitted by the Operational Director of Highways proposed a new resident parking policy for the city so that resident parking schemes could contribute to making the city an even more attractive place to live, work and visit. The report explained the importance of their being a balance between residents being able to park a car close to their property, or have deliveries made, and the other demands on the road space. The other demands varied across the city so there needed to be a common approach to the design of residents’ parking schemes that also responded to local differences in a sensitive and appropriate way.

The report proposed that future resident parking schemes be based on a set of common key principles:

a)    The operation of resident parking schemes needs to be self-financing. The City Council should not commit future revenue support to such schemes.

b)    There should be broad consistency across schemes so that the design of schemes aimed at tackling similar problems should not differ e.g. in the case of schemes designed to tackle parking around hospital sites.

c)    Schemes should be introduced in an equitable way so that there is appropriate financial support for residents who would be disproportionately affected by the impact of a charging scheme.

d)    There needs to be clear evidence of majority support in the area concerned for the introduction of a scheme as well as clearly established evidence of need.

e)    Enforcement of resident parking schemes should be fit for purpose. (A review of scheme enforcement is to take place looking at ways to increase / improve enforcement).

f)     Schemes need to be appropriate and proportionate to the parking issues being faced by residents in any given area.

g)    Any visitors’ permits made available as part of scheme design need to be linked to a specific vehicle and not be transferable. 

h)   It will be important to consider the ‘knock-on’ implications for adjoining areas in terms of displacement as part of any assessment.

The report explained that in addition to the four parking schemes already being developed (Rusholme, North Manchester General Hospital, Hathersage Road Area, and St George’s) there were eight other locations across the city that had been identified as being in need of some form of residential parking scheme. The report explained the issues that would need to be considered in order for these eight other schemes to be developed in accordance with the above principles: including the first of being self-financing, with residents living within the area of a scheme paying for their own and visitor permits for their vehicles.

The meeting was addressed by Councillor A Simcock, a ward councillor for the Didsbury East ward. Councillor Simcock spoke as the Council’s representative on the Christie Hospital Council of Governors, and also as the Chair of the Christie Hospital Neighbourhood Forum. He asked that the proposed extension of the Christie Hospital residents parking scheme be considered as the fifth named scheme already under development rather than one of the eight other schemes that were to be developed in accordance with the principles being proposed in the report. He explained the rationale for seeking that change, describing the significance of that scheme to the Strategic Planning Framework for the Christie Hospital site that had been approved by the Executive in 2013 (Minute Exe/13/161). The Christie Hospital had already agreed to finance the capital cost of the scheme and the extent of the area to be included had been provisionally agreed, extending into four council wards. The elected councillors for those wards had made progress with the scheme an election pledge in the May 2018 local election. He explained that a number of significant development schemes at the hospital were dependent on the extended parking scheme being approved.

In responding to Councillor Simcock, the Executive Member for Environment, Planning & Transport gave an undertaking to meet with the councillors for the wards around the Christie Hospital to discuss how the Christie Hospital Resident Parking Scheme would now progress.

We also noted that the Neighbourhoods and Environment Scrutiny Committee had also considered the report at a recent meeting (Minute NESC/18/38). The committee had not endorsed the recommendations made in the report and had put forward other recommendations for the Executive to consider.

Having considered the views expressed by the Scrutiny Committee, and being mindful of the need to do more to help residents cope with parking problems in their neighbourhoods whilst not adding to the Council’s revenue budget pressures, we agreed that the principles set out the report be used as the basis of further work, and that the four scheme already underway should proceed. We also agreed to accept an additional principle that had been suggested by the Scrutiny Committee - Local business such as the Universities, Hospitals and the Etihad Stadium, that were seen to impact on residents parking as a result of their expansion should contribute and pay for residents parking schemes.

Decisions

1.         To note the comments and recommendations of Neighbourhoods and Environment Scrutiny Committee.

2.         To endorse in general, as the basis for further work, the key principles for future Residents’ Parking Scheme as set out above, with the exception of (g) for visitor permits.

3.         To add a further principle that residents of an area should not be asked to meet the revenue costs of any proposed scheme and where the need for the scheme arose primarily from a site, facility or institution that was sited in the neighbourhood and was creating the demand for parking, that the institution or facility should instead be asked to support the operation of that scheme.

4.         To agree to proceed with the four schemes already under development: being Rusholme, North Manchester General Hospital, Hathersage Road area, and St Georges.

5.         To ask the Chief Executive to carry out an assessment of all existing schemes and those in (4) above and where appropriate seek external revenue funding for those schemes.

6.         To agree to consider means to reduce the revenue operating costs of existing and future schemes.

7.         To agree that any other future schemes should not require the any increase in the existing revenue provision for Residents’ Parking Schemes.