Purpose

This report seeks approval for the Council to join the National Parking Platform (NPP).

Decision

That:

a) The Cabinet member approves the Council entering into a contract with the National Parking Platform (NPP), and

b) Delegates all operational and financial decisions to the Chief Operating Officer - Resident Services to progress the council’s application to join the NPP.

Alternative options considered

1)    Retaining the existing single-provider cashless parking arrangement and re-procuring a parking payment app through a traditional competitive tender process. This is not recommended. While this approach would result in lower direct annual costs, it would require repeated procurement exercises over time, ongoing contract management, and continued reliance on a single supplier. This model also offers less resilience in the event of supplier failure and provides limited flexibility to respond to market change or introduce additional payment providers without further procurement activity. On balance, officers consider that this option would be less robust and less financially sustainable over the longer term, particularly when assessed against the Council’s objectives for risk management, service resilience and value for money.