Issue - meetings

This report proposes a review of the Council’s current car parking policy and seeks Member agreement for the scope and timescale for a review to be undertaken. The report also proposes the establishment of a sub-group of Elected Members to monitor progress within established terms of reference.

The Neighbourhoods Manager introduced a report which proposed a review of the Council’s current car parking policy and sought Member agreement for the scope and timescale for a review to be undertaken. The report also proposed the establishment of a sub-group of Elected Members to monitor progress within established terms of reference.

The Council’s current Car Parking Policy was last fundamentally reviewed in 2012/13 with changes introduced in January 2014. At the request of the Leader of the Council, a review of the current car parking policy was proposed to be undertaken in response to public concerns about specific aspects of the current policy.

The report informed Members of the significant revenue funding gathered via the Council’s car parking service and therefore its critical importance to the Council’s revenue budget and the delivery of high quality services to the residents, businesses and visitors of the Derbyshire Dales. The report also details the car parking revenue during 2021/22, which amounted to just under £2.5 million and represented almost 42% of the Council’s total revenue income from fees and charges. By way of comparison, if the Council did not secure this level of income from car parking charges in 2022/23, the District Council’s share of the Council Tax across the District would have to rise by over 36% to replace lost income. The report informed the Committee that this would not be possible as the level of council tax increase is subject to the government’s capping limits. It was therefore noted that maintaining the recent level of car parking revenue would be critical to the sustainability of the Council’s future financial position and that any recommendations arising from the review must not undermine this critical income source unless compensatory savings/income streams could be identified.

It was moved by Councillor Garry Purdy, seconded by Councillor Sue Bull and

RESOLVED (Unanimously)

1.  That a review of the Council’s Car Parking Policy be undertaken in accordance with the terms of reference outlined at Section 2 of the report.

2.  That a Member Working Group comprising of up to five Members representing each political group is formulated to monitor progress and to work with officers on options for consideration of the relevant decision making body.

3.  That once completed, the review of the Car Parking Policy be reported to a future meeting of this Committee for target implementation by Autumn 2023.

The Chairman declared the motion CARRIED.