This meeting was scheduled to include a discussion of an update on the transfer of the management of a number of Cornwall Council car parks to Corserv Solutions Ltd.

Asset Decentralisation – car parks update

Cornwall Council owns a large number of car parks. In March 2024, the Council's Cabinet agreed to delegate decisions about how the Council should manage these assets to the Strategic Director with responsibility for them.

The Council has been trialling a new scheme for managing the car parks at Towan Headland in Newquay and New Polzeath. The scheme involves leasing the car park to Corserv Solutions Ltd, a company which is wholly owned by Cornwall Council, who then sub-let the running of the car park to a private operator.

This report sets out the Council's proposal to use this model for the management of a number of Council owned car parks across Cornwall. The report recommends that:

1. The Committee endorse the asset disposal of the car parks named in Appendix 1 to Corserv Solutions Ltd.
2. The Committee note the responses to questions raised at the previous meeting of the Committee where Parking was discussed.

The car parks that were identified as potentially suitable for inclusion in the scheme are listed below:

• Rosewarne & Ext, Camborne
• Readymoney, Fowey
• Helford Village, Helston
• Castle Street, Launceston
• Pannier Market, Launceston
• Walkhouse, Launceston
• St Peters Hill, Newlyn
• Albany Road, Newquay
• Belmont, Newquay
• Dane Road, Newquay
• Tregunnel, Newquay
• Watergate Bay, Newquay
• Trebarwith Strand, Nr Tintagel
• Porthcothan Bay, Padstow
• Commercial Road, Penryn
• Kittos Field, Porthleven
• Belle Vue West,+Belle+Vue+Road,+Saltash,+PL12+6ES+Cornwall/), Saltash
• Seaton Park, Seaton
• Reppers Coombe, St Agnes
• Clifden Road, St Austell
• Park Avenue, St Ives
• Porthmeor, St Ives
• Tintagel Visitors, Tintagel
• Antony Road, Torpoint
• Cawsand, Torpoint

The report states that the Council are not allowed to use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to enforce parking regulations, but that private companies are allowed to do so. The report argues that because of this the new scheme will:

• Reduce evasion of parking charges, because the private company will be able to use ANPR to issue penalty charges.
• Lead to increased footfall to local businesses, because the use of ANPR will mean that more parking spaces are available.
• Result in a better standard of maintenance of the car parks, because the private company will be responsible for maintaining the car park.

The report explains that the Council's current season ticket schemes for residents and disabled people will no longer apply in the car parks that are included in the scheme, and that the private companies will be free to set their own rules and tariffs.

The report notes that in May 2024 the Council's Cabinet approved plans to make savings of £0.5m in 2024/25 and £1.5m in 2025/26 through the decentralisation of land assets, including car parks. The report goes on to state that The proposals within this report could support delivery of this saving should the sites generate additional income from profit share.

The report also notes that there is a risk that Corserv Solutions Ltd might decide not to take on the lease of some or all of the car parks if they decide that it is not financially viable to do so, and that this would mean that the Council would have to continue to manage the car park.

The meeting was also scheduled to include a discussion of the responses to questions that were asked by Councillors at the previous meeting of the Committee, when the car parking asset disposal scheme was discussed on 4 September 2024. The report states that the Committee requested that car parks that were already subject to advanced discussions about being devolved to town and parish councils should not be included in the scheme, and confirms that none of the car parks listed in the report are subject to such discussions.

The report confirms that the Committee asked whether Cornwall Council had lobbied Members of Parliament to ask for the Department for Transport to give local councils the power to use ANPR for parking enforcement, and states that a letter had been drafted to the Secretary of State for Transport to ask for this power to be given to local councils, and that the Council's Parking Manager had asked the British Parking Association to lobby for this change.

The report sets out the Council's response to the Committee's questions about the parking charges that would apply in car parks that are included in the scheme. The report states that in the two car parks where the scheme is already being piloted, tariffs have either stayed the same or been reduced. The report states that Corserv Solutions Ltd has indicated that they plan to offer a discount scheme across all of the car parks that they manage, so that people can buy discounted tickets. However, the report goes on to state that because the agreement with Corserv Solutions Ltd would be for the lease of the land with no conditions attached (other than that the use of the land must comply with planning law), all matters related to parking operations will be dealt with by Corserv Solutions Ltd.

The Committee also asked whether the Council's 'Just Park' cashless parking system would be available in the car parks that are included in the scheme. The report states that Corserv Solutions Ltd has said that they are not able to use the Council's system, and that it would not be available in the car parks that they manage. The report clarifies that, while Corserv Solutions Ltd could set up their own 'wallet' system, it would only be useable in the car parks that they manage. The report states that Just Park is not currently available in the car parks at Towan Headland or New Polzeath.

The Committee also asked how many car parks that are currently free to use are being considered for inclusion in the scheme, and the report states that:

• 16 sites that are currently free to park in during the winter are being considered for year-round charging.
• 12 sites that are currently free to park in all year round are being considered for year-round charging.

The report concludes by listing the two options that were scheduled to be considered by the Committee:

1. To endorse the asset disposal of the named car parks to Corserv
2. Not to endorse the asset disposal of the named car parks to Corserv