Purpose

To consider the Off-Street Parking Business
Plan and proposed street parking tariffs.

Content

Decision:
1.                
In respect
of Farnham Road Multistorey Car Park:

·       
To
increase the standard daytime rate from £1.10 per hour to
£1.20 per hour

·       
To remove
the pre-7am £1.00 per hour rate

·       
To
standardise the Sunday daytime rate with the proposed Monday to
Saturday rate of £1.20 per hour

·       
To
increase the maximum daily (capped) tariff from £9.00 per day
to £10.00 per day.
2.                
In respect
of York Road Multistorey Car Park:

·       
To convert
from a Shopper car park to a Long-stay car park

·       
To remove
the £4.00 up to 3-hour tariff structure and replace with a
standard daytime rate of £1.20 per hour between 8am and
6pm

·       
To reduce
the maximum daily (capped) tariff from £11.00 per day to
£10.00 per day.
3.                
In respect
of season tickets, contract parking and garages:

To increase the current rates charged by
10%.
4.                
To make no
other changes to the Short-stay and Shopper car park
tariffs.
5.                
To refocus
the Parking Strategy to reflect modern technology and parking
trends by using external consultants up to a budget of
£50,000 and to report its findings to the
Executive.
6.                
To
delegate approval to join the National Parking Platform (NPP) to
the Joint Assistance Director of Commercial Services in
consultation with the Lead Councillor for Commercial
Services.
7.                
To note
the priorities for the capital programme for the years
2025-2030.
Reason(s):
1.                
In April
2024, tariffs in the Short-stay and Shopper car park were
increased. However, the daytime Long-stay parking and Sunday fees
at Farnham Road MSCP were left unchanged. Similarly, the Contract
Parking, Season ticket and Garage fees were not revised at that
time.
2.                
At Farnham
Road MSCP the proposed 10p per hour increase from £1.10 per
hour to £1.20 per hour recommended, equates to a 2.92% per
increase over the 3-year period since the charges were last
amended. This and the other amendments to the tariffs proposed for
this car park are expected to generate an additional £119,000
per annum in net revenue.
3.                
Changes in
the nature of the business and retail activity, in the upper High
Street area of the town centre, has resulted in reduction in
utilisation at York Road MSCP. This has led to an over-capacity of
Shopper parking provision in the area. Therefore, to try to
encourage greater use of this facility, which boasts the largest
capacity of any car park in that particular part of the town,
changing the car park to a Long-stay facility, with lower charges,
may help to increase patronage and free up capacity in nearby
Short-stay and Shopper facilities.
4.                
The
conversion of York Road MSCP will establish a Long-stay interceptor
facility on the eastern side of the town centre, like that provided
by Farnham Road MSCP on the western approach to the town centre.
However, the proposed change in daytime tariffs to a £1.20
per hour fee will have a negative financial impact. This is
expected to reduce net revenue by around £186,000 per annum
(assuming no increase in patronage). Even so, it may help to better
meet the needs of businesses, who since the pandemic and the
cost-of-living crisis, have been seeking concessions for staff
parking.
5.                
However,
if as anticipated, the reduced fees encourage greater utilisation,
the negative revenue position could be reduced. A 5% increase in
patronage would reduce the net revenue reduction from
£186,000 to £159,000 per annum, A 10% increase in
utilisation would reduce the net revenue reductions to
£133,000. Indeed, if there was a 15% increase in use, the
£106,000 net reduction would be exceeded by the net increase
in revenue anticipated at Farnham Road MSCP (£119,000). So,
the proposed changes could be broadly ‘cost neutral’.
Of course, if there is displacement from other nearby Short-stay
and Shopper car parks, this may reduce revenues there, but this
would help to free up capacity in these centrally located
facilities, for other visitors to use.
6.                
Notwithstanding, the
Parking team has been set a target to generate an additional
£1.0m in net revenue in 2025-26 (in addition to the
£800,000 target that it was set for 2024-25). So, other
tariff changes could be considered. However, thus far during
2024-25, the service has exceeded predictions in respect ticket
revenue, contract parking, season ticket, pre-payment and penalty
charge notice income (see 6.3).
7.                
Additionally, when new
Pay and Display (P&D) and Barrier Pay on Foot (PoF) parking
equipment is introduced in late 2024-25 / early 2025-26, the
availability of improved technology and contactless payments across
all our parking facilities is likely to generate additional
revenues, in respect to the anticipated transfer from cash to card
payments. This could be expected to generate around £300,000
additional net revenue per annum, through people using card rather
than limiting the duration of their stays based upon the amount of
change they possess.
8.                
Contract
Parking and Season tickets represent extremely good value for money
for regular users, with discounts ranging between 15%-45% of
standard parking tariffs. To avoid impeding the return-to-work
post-pandemic, the fees associated with these two forms of parking
offer have only been increased once, in 2022-23, when the fees were
subject to a 3.0% rise. Garages were last increased in 2023-24, by
3.5%. Therefore, a 10% increase in Contract, Season ticket and
Garage fees is recommended. In respect to Contract and Season
ticket parking, this equates to 3.23% annual increase per year over
the 3-year period since the charges were last amended. This is
broadly in line with the average inflation rate over the period.
Given the realignment of the tariffs and daily cap on fees in
Farnham Road and York Road MSCPs, it is recommended that the season
ticket fees in these car parks are also standardised. These changes
are expected to generate an additional £78,500 per annum in
net revenue.
9.                
Summary of
impact of the recommended changes

·       
Performance exceeding
expectations FY24-25:  +£265k
(ticket) +£268k (PCN) + £67k (Contract
etc…)

·       
Farnham
Road MSCP:                                                
+£119,000

·       
York Road
MSCP:                                                        
-£186,000

·       
Contract
Parking, Season Tickets & Garages:      
+£78,500    
10.           
Other
changes to operations in FY24-25

·       
New
payment equipment / technology:              
+£300,000

·       
Cash
Collection collaboration:                                 
+£65,000

·       
Waverley
enforcement collaboration:                  
+£23,000

TOTAL (compared to baseline FY24/25
budget):               
+£1.00m
11.           
No other
tariffs changes are recommended for 2025-26, on the basis that the
vast majority of the other parking fees were increased in April
2024. It should be noted that these revisions were higher than the
levels originally recommended by officers.
12.           
The
development of a new Parking Strategy will help to determine any
changes in supply and demand and assess the future requirements for
the provision of parking within the town. This will help to ensure
that the parking facilities remain fit for purpose and there is
sufficient capacity for them to act as an effective enabler for the
local economy.
13.           
The NPP
will bring together car park operators, equipment suppliers and
service providers, to give customers a wider range of options to
pay for parking, improved business intelligence for operators and
benefits in terms of the economies of scale.
14.           
The
adoption of a more structured capital programme for both the
structured and surface car parks will assist in budgeting for
planned maintenance, upgrades and ensure that health and safety and
the customer’s experience is maintained/improved.
Other options considered and
rejected by the Committee:
Do
nothing, Do minimum, Do most.
Details of any conflict of
interest declared by the Leader or lead councillors and any
dispensation granted:
None.