This meeting's agenda includes the award of the contract for the provision of parking enforcement in Southend-on-Sea. This item will be discussed in a closed session, so members of the public will not be able to observe. The committee will also review the minutes of its previous meeting.

Parking Contract Award

Councillors will be asked to note a report from the Executive Director for Environment & Place about the Parking Enforcement and Operations Contract, which will provide both civil parking enforcement, and school crossing patrol staff. The report asks the committee to:

Approves the award of the contract for Parking Enforcement and Operations – Civil Enforcement Operations & Technology System to the highest scoring bidder, to commence on 1 February 2025 for a period of five years (as per framework requirements).

The report explains that existing arrangements expire at the end of January, and without a new contract:

the Council would be unable to fulfil its parking enforcement obligations under the Traffic Management Act 2004¹, potentially leading to increased congestion, non-compliant parking, and loss of revenue. The report explains that the contract will cost £1.45m, and explains that because this budget has not been increased since 2016: there have been increases in service requirements (such as additional Civil Enforcement Officers, new equipment, and extended operational hours), resulting in rising expenditures. This has resulted in an average annual overspend on the contract of circa £0.45m.

The meeting will also consider a separate contract for the provision of school crossing patrol staff. The report explains that:

the Council would be unable to fulfil its obligations in ensuring the safe crossing of school children at drop off and pick up times.

The report notes that the council has considered longer term options for the provision of safe crossing points for school children:

A longer-term approach could involve the implementation of engineering solutions like pelican crossings, speed humps, or raised zebra crossings at current sites to enhance safety sustainably and eventually phase out the need for patrols.

Minutes of the Meeting held on Monday, 28th October, 2024

The Place Scrutiny Committee will consider the minutes of its previous meeting, which took place on 28 October 2024.