Agenda item

The Executive RESOLVED that

(i)          its decision to increase car parking tariffs in its Camberley Town Centre Multi-Storey Car Parks and introduce subsidised permits for those earning below the living wage be deferred pending the availability of more complete data relating to footfall and income and expenditure being made available in order to develop a holistic parking strategy for the Town Centre;

(ii)         the Performance and Finance Scrutiny Committee be advised of the proposal for the above work to be carried out by the Camberley Town Centre Working Group in place of a Task & Finish Group; and

(iii)       the Terms of Reference of the Camberley Town Centre Working Group be updated to include this area of work.

The Chairman of the Performance and Finance Scrutiny Committee introduced a report on the Committee’s recommendations from its review of the Executive’s decision to increase tariffs in Camberley Town Centre Multi-Story car parks. This decision had been the subject of a Member call-in and had been considered at the Committee’s meeting on 2 October 2018 (minute 10/PF refers). The Committee had agreed that:

                (i)          The Called-In decision to implement changes to the parking tariffs in Camberley Town centre multi-storey car parks be referred back to the Executive for reconsideration because:

·       The decision taken had been based on a report that contained insufficient information to enable a fully informed decision to be made.

·       Increasing parking charges at a time when the town centre traders were facing already difficult trading conditions would further depress footfall through the town centre.

·       Considering Recommendations i and ii as a single indivisible recommendation had prevented adequate debate.

               (ii)          The Executive be advised to:

1.     Make its decision only when more complete data relating to footfall and income and expenditure was made available; and that

2.     The proposed increase in charges and the proposed introduction of subsidised permits for those earning below the living wage be considered as two distinct recommendations.

The Committee had also agreed to establish a Task & Finish Group to examine council provided parking in Camberley Town Centre.

The Executive reviewed the Committee’s recommendations. Whilst some Members reiterated their view that car parking tariffs should be increased, there was general support for the Committee’s proposal that the decision to increase the tariffs be deferred in order to undertake this review and create a holistic approach to parking in Camberley Town Centre. Members also expressed a wish for this review to include introducing a more strategic approach to increasing parking tariffs in future.

The Executive considered the Committee’s view that subsidised permits for those earning the living wage and below should be introduced as soon as possible and reiterated its previous position that this would need to be introduced alongside a tariff increase.

The proposed remit of the Performance & Finance Scrutiny Committee’s Task & Finish Group was noted and members of the Executive expressed a willingness to work with it to achieve these outcomes. It was, however, suggested that, as an established Town Centre-focused working group benefiting from officer support, the Camberley Town Centre Working Group would be better placed to undertake this work instead.The Chairman of the Committee indicated her support for this proposal and agreed to report this at its next meeting.

The Executive noted advice that the decision to delay an increase to the parking tariffs could impact on timings for the commencement of Phase 2 regeneration works in the Town Centre.

RESOLVED that

(i)          its decision to increase car parking tariffs in its Camberley Town Centre Multi-Storey Car Parks and introduce subsidised permits for those earning below the living wage be deferred pending the availability of more complete data relating to footfall and income and expenditure being made available in order to develop a holistic parking strategy for the Town Centre;

(ii)        the Performance and Finance Scrutiny Committee be advised of the proposal for the above work to be carried out by the Camberley Town Centre Working Group in place of a Task & Finish Group; and

(iii)      the Terms of Reference of the Camberley Town Centre Working Group be updated to include this area of work.

Note: It was noted for the record that Councillor Valerie White declared that she was a user of Main Square Multi-Storey Car Park.