Purpose

To present Cabinet with the key findings and recommendations from the Stowmarket Parking Review, supporting the delivery of the Council’s Parking Strategy objectives and identifying opportunities to improve parking provision, management and services in Stowmarket

Decision

It was RESOLVED: -

1. 1.1          That, Cabinet approved Option 2, and implemented the following list of recommendations in full:

a)    Amended car park charging hours from Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 6.00pm to Monday to Saturday 8.00am to 6.00pm (as set out in section 4.9 of the report).

b)    Amended  the short stay car park tariffs by reducing the cost of 3 hours parking from £2.00 to £1.50 and introducing a new 4-hour tariff set at £2.00 (as set out in section 4.10 of the report).

c)    Introduced 4 hours free parking in the short stay car parks after midday on a market day (Thursday and/or Saturday) (as set out in section 4.11 of the report).

d)    Removed the 2-hour tariff from the long stay car parks (excluding Iliffe Way Car Park) (as set out in section 4.12 of the report).

e)    Increased the all-day tariff in the long stay car parks from £2.50 to £3.00 (as set out in section 4.12 of the report).

f)     Introduced ticketless car parking systems in all car parks (excluding Meadow Centre Car Park and Iliffe Way Car Park) (as set out in section 4.13 of the report).

g)    Passed on the convenience fee (10p) for digital parking stays to customers (as set out in section 4.14 of the report).

1. 1.2          That, delegated authority be given to the Director of Operations in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Thriving Communities to approve funding of up to £300,000 for the implementation of a new on-street Residents Parking Zone in Stowmarket if the formal consultation being conducted by Suffolk County Council returns a positive result from residents (as set out in section 4.15 of the report).
2. 1.3          That, delegated authority be given to the Director of Operations in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Thriving Communities to, amend the current parking permit scheme being operated in Bury Street Car Park with the action to be taken dependent upon the outcome of the on-street Residents Parking Zone formal consultation (as set out in section 4.16 of the report).
3. 1.4          That delegated authority be given to the Director – Operations in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Thriving Communities to make amendments to the scheme following implementation.

REASON FOR DECISION

To address the parking capacity issues faced by visitors and residents by encouraging short-stay visitors to use short-stay car parks through the harmonisation of parking tariffs. 

To encourage visitors to the town by offering free parking in the afternoon on market days to help promote the market and the wider local economy. 

The introduction of new ticketless car park machines would provide a more reliable and user-friendly purchasing process and support the environment by being solar powered and having no paper ticket rolls. 

To support residents with on-street parking issues around the train station by funding the proposed Residents Parking Zone.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

Option 1: Do nothing / retain the current arrangements - keep existing charging hours, tariffs, paper ticket machines, digital payment arrangements and resident parking arrangements unchanged. This would avoid immediate change for customers but would not address the parking pressures, customer feedback, machine reliability issues or wider Parking Strategy objectives.

Option 2: Implemented the recommendations included in this report in full (preferred option) - progressed the package of changes recommended through the SCPR, including amendeded charging hours, revised short and long stay tariffs, market day free parking, ticketless systems, passing on the digital convenience fee, and support for the proposed Residents Parking Zone. This is the preferred option as it provided a balanced approach to managing demand, supports the town centre, will improve the customer experience and addresses resident concerns.

Option 3: Implemented selected recommendations from this report only – approved a hybrid approach which implemented some, but not all, of the recommendations arising from the SCPR. This could include selected tariff changes and operational improvements where these are considered to offer the greatest benefit, while deferring other proposals for further consideration. Although this option would allow the Council to respond to some of the issues identified through the review, it would not deliver the full package of benefits associated with the preferred option and may limit the Council’s ability to manage parking demand consistently across Stowmarket.

Options considered and rejected:

a)    Season Tickets to be restricted to specific users - we explored a two-tier season ticket scheme, with one rate for town centre workers and residents and a higher rate for other users, aligned to train station prices. However, several issues were identified as set out in Appendix D of the report. 

b)    Introduce a new ‘over 9 hour’ tariff in the long stay car parks - this option sought to create a new tariff band aligned with the train station car park.  The intention was to encourage train station commuters to park at the train station by removing the financial incentive of cheaper parking in our car parks. Several issues were identified as set out in Appendix D of the report.

c)    Change some or all long stay car parks in and around Union Street West to short-stay - there are 778 parking spaces in our council owned car parks, with only 44% designated as long-stay.  In comparison 55% of spaces in Ipswich and 71% of spaces in Sudbury are long stay so we already have a low number in Stowmarket.

The two designated short stay car parks in Stowmarket cannot be changed to long stay due to restrictions in their long-term leases.

Reducing the number of long stay car parking spaces would have an adverse effect on people who work in Stowmarket, not just those using the car parks to commute by train. For these reasons, this option was rejected.

Any Declarations of Interests Declared: None

Any Dispensation Granted: None