Agenda item

To receive feedback on the results of the consultation on the Car Parking Strategy, prior to a report being submitted to Wiltshire Council’s Cabinet in December.

The Chairman explained that the recent consultation had given organisations and residents the opportunity to have their say on the proposals for parking arrangements in Wiltshire. The responses has included a petition from the Amesbury Community Partnership with 234 signatures, requesting free parking to be retained in Amesbury town centre.

The Chairman invited Councillor Richard Gamble (Portfolio Holder for Public Transport) to present the outcome of the consultation.

The draft Parking Strategy covered a wide range of parking issues, including car park charges, strategic parking policy in relation to new residential and commercial developments, parking at railway stations, and residential parking schemes.

The consultation had been publicised on the Council’s website and through the Community Area Networks.  The issue had also been covered in the local press.  Over 600 people had responded to the consultation, submitting over 5000 individual comments:

·        There was overwhelming support for treating the economy as the most important consideration in setting parking policy.

·        In addition, the majority of respondents supported the idea of price banding for different towns; although there was disagreement over which bands towns should be placed in.

·        The majority of respondents supported free parking as a strategic and financial alternative to subsidised bus services.  The current subsidy from Wiltshire Council was around £5 million per year.

·        Support was also expressed for the proposal to offer Town/Parish Councils the option to “buy back” parking spaces or to consider car park management opportunities.

·        The responses also demonstrated support for proposals to increase the number of spaces required for new residential developments.

·        88% of respondents considered Wiltshire Council was “reasonable” in its parking enforcement.

28 responses had been received from the Amesbury Community Area, in addition to the 234-signature petition from the Amesbury Community Partnership. Comments specific to Amesbury were largely in relation to the economic impact of introducing parking charges.  Reference had been made to the large Tesco store due to open in the town. Several responses made the point that the double impact of the new supermarket and new parking charges would drive trade away from the town centre.  Responses had also commented that the central car park had been a gift to the people of Amesbury, on the basis that parking would remain free.  Wiltshire Council’s lawyers were looking into this, however no evidence had been found for this claim;  Councillor Gamble invited anyone with such documentary evidence to make it available to the Council.

The next stage in the process was for the consultation responses to be considered and processed, then a report would be submitted to the Cabinet on 14 December.  Statutory procedures would take place between January and March 2011, prior to the changes being implemented from April 2011.

The Chairman thanked Councillor Gamble for the presentation and sought questions and comments from the floor:

·        It was noted that two hours free parking was available in Andover, 15 minutes drive from Amesbury.  Councillor Gamble commented that parking arrangements in towns outside Wiltshire had been taken into consideration as part of the review. 

·        Responding to concerns that parking charges in Salisbury would discourage visitors, Councillor Gamble commented that the need to encourage and support the tourism industry had to be balanced against the need to minimise traffic in the city’s medieval streets and to encourage Park and Ride.

·        Councillor John Noeken commented that the view that the car park in Amesbury had been gifted to provide free parking was a misconception.  He explained that free parking in Amesbury had always been supported and maintained by Salisbury District Councillors.  However, following research a few years ago, it had been confirmed that there was no legal right to this.

·        Councillor Fred Westmoreland commented on the need to develop the economic potential of Amesbury.  With only 25% of the potential customer base currently shopping in Amesbury, there was a long way to go before the economy of Amesbury was comparable with similarly sized towns such as Devizes.  Retail expansion of the town had long been a goal of elected representatives from Amesbury, and there was concern that introducing parking charges would be an obstacle to this.

·        Further to two questions regarding the cost of employing consultants to produce the draft strategy, and regarding the estimated annual revenue if parking charges were to be introduced in Amesbury, officers were requested to investigate and provide a response.

Following discussion, the following motion was moved, seconded and agreed:

Decision

The Amesbury Area Board acknowledges Wiltshire Council's aspiration to harmonise car park charges across the county, but strongly recommends that:

1.      there be no charging in small communities, including and especially Amesbury; and

2.      any final decision on this matter, in any community, take fully into account the specific local circumstances, and in this case, the unique characteristics of Amesbury.

Note – Under Council Procedure Rule 92, Councillor John Noeken requested that his abstention from the above vote be recorded in the minutes.