Agenda item - Public Involvement

To consider the following matters raised by members of the public:

(a)       Petitions: to receive any petitions presented to the full council or at the meeting itself (copy attached).

(b)       Written Questions: to receive any questions submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 6 January 2016;

(c)   Deputations: to receive any deputations submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 6 January 2016.

52.1   The following petition signed by 232 people was presented by Chief John Blackbear. 

               Ingram Estate Parking Petition

“This petition is being created under ‘The Right to Challenge Parking Policies’  On 17^th September 2015 BHCC Car Parks & Garages Team sent a letter to all of the Ingram Estate residents, notifying them of parking enforcement which was due to start in phases throughout all of the Ingram Estate from 5^th October 2015.

This petition is to oppose some aspects of the parking enforcement policy being brought into effect, and also to suggest alternative parking enforcement measures. 

JUSTIFICATION FOR THIS PETITION

1 – There was no consultation made with residents.

2 – There was only 19 days notice prior to the enforcement commencing.

3 – There should be no price difference between all types of residents.

4 – Not being allowed to apply for a commercial vehicle or more than 1 vehicle per household.

5 – Not allowing residents to vote on a type of parking scheme, e.g.

A – Residents have allocated spaces, with allocated visitor spaces

B – Allow residents & visitors to park in any space provided a permit is visible.

The residents below, agree that further discussions should take place between residents and the BHCC Car Parks & Garages Team.”

(list of signatories on paper petition)

52.2   The Chair replied as follows: 

” Thank you for bringing your concerns to Housing & New Homes Committee.  The Right to Challenge Parking Policies refers to parking on the public highway, rather than private land, such as the Housing land at Ingram Crescent.  I am, however, keen that the issues you have raised about parking enforcement on your estate are answered and I will respond to the specific points, you have raised, individually.

In the autumn of 2014 the Car Park & Garages team was advised there were problems with parking on the Ingram Crescent estate.  On street parking enforcement had been introduced to the surrounding area and this had increased the number of non-residents parking on the estate, which in turn led to some residents complaining that they could no longer park there.  This mirrored problems over parking in other non-controlled Housing car parks.  To be able to respond consistently to these problems, and to address the issue that some residents in the city were paying for their parking while others were not, a report was taken to Area Panels and Housing Committee in January 2015 on the gradual introduction of parking enforcement on all housing land.  Housing Committee agreed to extend parking enforcement to cover all car park and garage sites on Housing land.   Ingram Crescent was listed in the report as one of the areas where there is no enforcement and that would benefit from its introduction.

The model of parking enforcement that was planned for Ingram Crescent was the same as the one used in other Housing car parks across the city with individually allocated bays and using the same charges, allocations criteria and lease agreement.  There is a reduced charge for Housing parking bays when rented by blue badge holders and a higher charge for private, ie non tenant or leasehold residents.  The light touch scheme that will now be introduced has no variation in charges, other than for blue badge holders.

Officers met with members of the Ingram Crescent residents’ association on 19 October 2015.   Residents said that they were interested in introducing a permit scheme similar to the council’s on-street model, to the estate, with a similar pricing structure.  Officers agreed to explore how this type of parking scheme could work on Housing land, putting the proposals to introduce enforcement at Ingram Crescent on hold until this work was done. 

A questionnaire was sent to all residents on Ingram Crescent estate on 23 November asking them to complete and return it by 7 December selecting one of three options for parking enforcement – an individual bay scheme, a permit scheme similar to the on street model and a light touch permit scheme.  Drop in sessions were also arranged at Portslade Town Hall for residents to find out more about the three options and to have an opportunity to ask questions before making a choice.

The light touch scheme was the preferred choice of 51% of the residents and officers are currently working out the details of how this will be implemented at Ingram Crescent.  There were a significant number of individual responses from disabled residents who wanted the security of renting an individual bay and we are looking at reserving a small number of bays for these residents to ensure the preferred model doesn’t disproportionately impact on groups of residents that are protected by the Equality Act. These bays will be charged at the normal blue badge rates that apply on Housing land.

Officers plan to meet with the residents association later this month to discuss the implementation of the light touch scheme.   All residents will then be written to with information about the scheme and when it will be introduced.  This may be from the beginning of April.”

52.3    RESOLVED- That the petition be noted.