Purpose

Decision made and reasons:
 
Decision:
 
·      
To continue to make and implement the Traffic
Regulation Order to enable the enforcement of the electric vehicle
charging only parking bays in five neighbourhood shopping centre
locations.
 
Reason:
 
The Council have
commenced with the installation of EVCPs in the Council’s car
parks, the enforcement of the EVCP bays in off-street car parks is
already covered by the existing off-street Traffic Regulation Order
(TRO), however, there is a need to
install new information boards in the car parks that have not
previously had EVCPs installed in them.
 
It has also been
identified that the parking areas in neighbourhood shopping centres
are not covered by the off-street TRO, so enforcement of these
spaces is not permitted. Enforcement will only be applicable to
vehicles that are not electric that are parked in the EVCP bays, or
for electric vehicles that park in the EVCP bays but are not
connected up to the charger.
 
There was a need to
undertake a statutory consultation to introduce a TRO in these
parking areas to enable enforcement of the EV only bays to be
legally conducted. A previous Portfolio Holder decision was made as
part of this undertaking:
Decision - PH-012-2024-To undertake a statutory consultation on the
enforcement of Electric Vehicle Charge Point (EVCP) bays in
neighbourhood shopping centre locations.
 
The neighbourhood
shopping areas that will be covered by the TRO is as
follows:
 
·      
Leverstock
Green – (off-street)
·      
Bennetts End – (off-street)
·      
Queens Square – (off-street)
·      
Bellgate
– (off-street)
·      
Henry Wells Square – (on-street)
 
The statutory
consultation to enforce EVCP bays in neighbourhood shopping centre
locations was undertaken on the Council’s corporate
consultation platform ‘Lets talk, Dacorum’. The statutory
consultation was drafted by the Council’s parking consultants
ADL Traffic & Highways Engineering Ltd.
 
The consultation has
now concluded and having considered the feedback, Parking Services
now recommends continuing to make and implement the Traffic
Regulation Order as proposed.