Agenda item

To receive a report outlining the changes to staff car parking in Trowbridge in light of the proposal to build the new Trowbridge Leisure Centre on the old County Hall East Wing site.

Amanda George, Head of Strategic HR, introduced the report and outlined the changes to staff car parking in Trowbridge in light of the proposal to build the new Trowbridge Leisure Centre on the County Hall East Wing site.

Members were informed that there were approximately 590 staff car parking spaces available at County Hall, with a reduction of approximately 270 spaces following the proposal to build the new Trowbridge Leisure Centre on the County Hall East Wing site. However, Members were reassured that a car parking review was being undertaken which aimed to replace the majority of spaces that would be lost to ensure that there continued to be adequate spaces to accommodate staff, Councillors, and visitors.

The work that had taken place to date was detailed as per Paragraphs 5 through 9, and it was noted that the changes to the staff car parks, and the additional spaces at other Council car parks, would reduce the deficit from 270 to 43. It was acknowledged that some of the car parks that had been allocated to staff were located further away from County Hall and would require a half mile walk to reach the building. However, officers confirmed that this distance was in line with other hubs and would result in similar car parking experiences and length of walk for staff across the County. 

It was highlighted that further reviews were being undertaken to determine occupancy rates for visitors, Priority Permit Holders, Directors, and Councillor spaces to ensure the best utilisation of those spaces and to explore reductions if appropriate. However, it was emphasised that on days where there were Full Council meetings a special parking procedure would be applied to ensure adequate spaces for all Councillors and officers.

During the discussion, points included:

• It was clarified that any and all Wiltshire Council staff were able to park at County Hall during their working days, however due to the breadth of roles within the Council, staff who required quick access to their cars, such as officers within Social Care, were issued with priority passes which allowed them to park in the Priority Permit Holders spaces at the front of County Hall. Other Priority Permit Holders such as Directors, Councillors and Temporary Health Permits, were also detailed.
• It was confirmed that the Workplace Parking Levy was only applicable for new buildings where there was a requirement to have a certain number of car parking spaces for the building and was therefore not applicable for County Hall.
• In response to a query, it was confirmed that officers would be able to collate an average day-by-day of the working week to take into account variations and allow for contingencies for the utilisation of parking spaces which could then be circulated to Members outside of the meeting.
• Members emphasised the importance of consistency in respect of equivalence of walking distances between allocated staff car parks for each hub and requested that officers review this with officers in the Highways Team, when possible, to ensure accurate representations.
• Officers explained that the last parking review was undertaken in 2015, and it was noted that there were fewer car parking spaces while the East Wing was still in place due to the size of the building. Furthermore, Parking Orders had been placed on the associated car parks for County Hall to allow for stricter enforcement.
• It was noted that there would be EV charging provision for visitor and staff parking spaces alongside the storage of electric fleet vehicles.
• It was acknowledged that during the construction phase of the Leisure Centre Project there would be disruption to existing parking spaces and access points, however officers were confident that the proposed changes would help to better utilise parking provision for the longer term.
• Members commended officers for the recognition and support for those members of staff with caring/parent responsibilities with regard to making the current car sharing spaces available to staff arriving after 9am.

Following which, it was then:

Resolved:

The Committee noted that there was a car parking review which would result in some minor changes to staff car parking in Trowbridge and that the work undertaken should not result in a significant loss of spaces, but that the location of some of the spaces would change.