PAPER B

COMMISSION FOR ECONOMY, TOURISM, REGENERATION AND TRANSPORT – 21 SEPTEMBER 2005

AGENDA ITEM : £50 RESIDENTS PARKING PERMIT FOR COUNCIL CAR PARKS (E2/05)

Introductory Notes by Lead Member for Project, Cllr J Fitzgerald Bond

Aim & Objective for the Project

The aim of this scheme is to make an affordable annual permit available to car-owning residents, entitling them to short stays (of up to four hours) in Isle of Wight Council car parks without paying at the meter. The convenience of using short-term car parks without having to buy tickets each time will be of particular benefit to older people, those with young families and/or with limited mobility. This could result in more local economic activity.

Our objective, as a Commission, is to put a proposal to Cabinet, setting out the best practical means of achieving the Administration’s Manifesto commitment to introduce an off-street car parking permit for residents.

The residents’ short-stay parking scheme will not alter the sale of existing named and general permits to commuters and others with long-stay requirements. Non-residents’ and coach operators’ parking permits will continue to be available. It should be emphasised that residents’ short-stay parking permits are not for the use of commuters and overstays will be penalised.

Residents who decide not to purchase an annual residents’ permit will continue to pay for their off-street parking by cash payments at the meter. Smartcards and other alternative payment methods will be investigated as part of the follow-up to this Review.

The Council’s Chief Financial Officer and his team have conducted a detailed analysis of the potential financial outcomes of this plan. They have used firm parking data, combined with consultancy already commissioned by the Council on this topic, as the basis for a series of “what if” calculations using different assumptions. Principal among these are the proportion of visitors and residents parking, by season, and the purchase and potential for growth in this purchasing pattern, of annual permits.

SUMMARY

In order to maximise benefits to residents at the least financial risk, our recommendations to Cabinet will be based on the following assumptions.

Any resultant permits will

ü Be valid for stays of up to four hours for each visit to a car park

ü Be valid only for Isle of Wight Council car parks (with some specified exceptions, to be determined as part of the Review where this has a detrimental impact on any specific front line Service)

ü Cost £50 per year, per car (and is likely to cost £35 for concessions/Older People)

ü Not be transferable (strictly one per registration number)

ü Not guarantee a parking space

ü Not protect residents from existing penalties for overstaying

ü Be replaceable if lost, at an additional charge of £10

ü Be partially redeemable, for an administration fee of £10