Agenda item

            The Committee was reminded that, with effect from 1st April, 2015, the Council would be responsible for the ownership of all the Department for Regional Development (DRD) off-street car parks, their management and enforcement, with the exception of Park and Ride and Park and Share car parks.  The Department was currently drafting the Assets Transfer Scheme and it was anticipated that responsibility for thirty car parks would transfer to the Council, including ownership of twenty-four, with the remaining six to be leased by the Council.

            The Head of Environmental Health pointed out that the Transition Committee, at its meeting on 18th August, 2014, had granted authority to officers to progress the development of a Service Level Agreement between the Council and the Department for Regional Development to continue to provide the current systems for parking regulation within off-street car parks between 1st April, 2015 and October, 2016. 

            The Asset Transfer Scheme was currently in a draft format and was being scrutinised by relevant Council officers.  Amendments would be requested to the Scheme in order to ensure it fully satisfied the Council’s requirements, with the final Transfer Scheme being reported to the Committee when received from the Department.  A copy of the proposed Agency Agreement had been circulated and a copy was produced on the Council’s website.  The document had been scrutinised by officers of the Council’s Legal Services Section and Health and Environmental Services Department and they had been satisfied with its contents.  The Agreement applied to the seventeen charged car parks transferring to the Council and would take effect on the 1st April, 2015 and remain in force until 31st October, 2016.  The contract value was estimated at approximately £280,000 over the eighteen month term of the Agreement.  The Agency Agreement, which would be supported by a detailed Technical Specification, allowed enforcement of off-street car parks within the Council boundary to be provided for by the Department.  Those documents allowed the Council to satisfy itself that the service provided would assist the Council in fulfilling its statutory obligations.

            The Chief Executive reported that aspects of the service to be provided by the Department on behalf of the Council included:

·        Off-street Enforcement

·        Cash Collection

·        Pay and Display (“P&D”) Machine Maintenance

·        Car Park Cleaning, Plant and General Maintenance

·        Penalty Charge Notice (“PCN”) Processing

            Effective enforcement through the issuing of PCNs was essential to optimise car park usage, therefore benefiting City Centre accessibility and the local economy.  It was important to note that there were no targets or incentives for Traffic Attendants to issue PCNs and all appeals in that regard would be dealt with through an independent appeals process and neither Council officers nor Elected Members would be involved in decisions regarding the issuing or appeal of individual PCNs.  Clamping of vehicles and vehicle removal would be used as a means of debt recovery where an individual had three outstanding unpaid PCNs owed to the Council.

            The Committed approved the contents of the Agency Agreement and that the Council be authorised to enter into the same with the Department for Regional Development.