Agenda item

            The Committee considered the following report:

 

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of Main Issues

 

1.1       Following discussion at the Planning Committee of the 13th October 2020 a request was raised to bring forward an update on the development and current active use of car clubs to be brought to the November City Growth and Regeneration Committee meeting.

 

2.0       Recommendations

 

2.1       The Committee is asked to:-

 

1)    Note the current position regarding the provision of Car Clubs in Belfast when compared with the rest of the UK and Ireland;

2)    Note the statistics from established Car Club areas across the UK and Ireland; and

3)    Note the role of the Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan and Local Development Plan in effecting modal shift and demand management within the city

 

3.0       Main Report

 

            Background & Current position

 

3.1       A Car Club is a membership based service that provides members with convenient and affordable access to vehicles 24/7/365. A member of a Car Club can:

 

·         Book a car online or on the phone, weeks ahead or with just a few minutes’ notice;

·         Unlock a car in their neighbourhood, parked in a designated parking bay; and

·         Pay automatically from their account. Costs typically range from £4 to £8 per hour, (including fuel, insurance and maintenance) whilst mileage fees start at £0.15/ mile.

 

            The annual membership for Belfast’s Enterprise CarClub is currently £20. 

 

3.2       Car clubs in Northern Ireland are fewer and less well established than in other parts of the UK and Ireland. Enterprise CarClub is currently the only operator offering a Car Club service in Belfast. In contrast, cities like Bristol and Brighton, which have a well-established and vibrant city centre residential presence, also have embedded Car Club provision after successful campaigns to change parking attitudes & behaviours. Both the Belfast Agenda and Belfast City Centre Regeneration and Investment Strategy (BCCRIS) aim to accelerate city centre living through the reimagined and resurgent transformation of underutilised prime city centre land. The Bolder Vision for Belfast, a jointly commissioned DfI, DfC and BCC report outlines the key principles for connectivity within the city including prioritising integrated walking, cycling and public transport and end the  dominance of the car.

 

3.3       A number of Build to Rent and mixed-use schemes have received planning approval with zero parking requirement, that being contingent upon a Green Travel Plan which include requirement for provision of Car Club spaces and subsidised membership for future occupiers, as set out in their respective S76 Planning Agreement. However, these schemes have not been constructed to date, and thus there is limited intelligence available to gauge the success of Car Clubs in Belfast. However there are a number of data sets available based on established Car Club initiatives across the UK and Ireland.

 

3.4       It is anticipated that once the permitted schemes are constructed, and occupied, the presence of and demand for Car Clubs within Belfast will expand considerably – matched by the City Centre living, which is clearly a key objective for the City Council through the Belfast Agenda, emerging Local Development Plan and the Belfast City Centre Regeneration and Investment Strategy.

 

            Research & Intelligence

 

3.5       CoMoUK (Collaborative Mobility UK) has 20 years’ experience of research and development in the shared transport sector. The charity organisation provides information about Car Clubs around the UK and supports the development of Car Clubs. CoMoUK publishes annual data on car clubs operating in England, Scotland and Wales. Their datasets show that the car sharing sector has grown consistently since its inception and a number of other key findings in Scotland for 2019/20 include:

 

·         Membership:

 

-         Car club membership in Scotland in 2020 increased by 27% compared with 2019 membership figure.

-         The number of individual, private members has increased by 11%.

-         The number of corporate members has increased by 54%.

-         50% of all car club members are aged between 25 - 44.

 

·         48% of car club cars are either electric or hybrid vehicles

·         98% of car club cars are low emission zone compliant

·         Since joining a car club:

 

-         16% of members walk more

-         10% Cycle more

-         26% have reduced their private car use

 

·         6,700 private cars have been disposed of

 

3.6       The CoMoUK 2017/18 annual survey for England and Wales produced these key findings:

 

·         Reduced private car ownership and usage

 

-         Members disposed of 4,747 vehicles since joining a car club, using the 783 available car club vehicles provided by the three operators.

-         Long term members decreased their annual household mileage by 793 miles.

-         8.4 years old was the average age of vehicles disposed of in the last year by members.

-         6.1 private cars are displaced by each car club car

 

·         Enhanced modal shift

 

-         68% of members use another shared mobility service other than a car club.

-         After joining a car club, members completed 3,832 more walking and cycling trips.

 

·         Increased usage of environmentally friendly cars

 

-         36% of the car club fleet is either hybrid or electric

-         43% less carbon from tailpipe emissions compared to the average UK car

 

·         Improved car safety

 

-         86% of the car club fleet has achieved the NCAP 4 or 5 Star safety standard.

 

            Key Considerations

 

3.7       Modal Shift & Demand Management

 

            The current Belfast roads infrastructure is at capacity, with a further 19% predicted increase in car journeys by 2030 based on current usage patterns. There is a recognition that modal shift and demand management will be essential to keep the city ‘flowing’ while addressing the issues of air pollution and the climate emergency. Effecting this change will require a suite of interventions, solutions and behavioural change. A number of policy and strategy documents have identified measures to bring this forward although further work and action is required including an updated Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan and implementation of planning control through the Local Development Plan.

 

3.8       The Belfast Car Parking Strategy and Action Plan 2019 identifies the level of car parking provision as ‘a key demand management tool’. The strategy states that the availability of car parking provision should be sufficiently restrained so as not to undermine sustainable and active travel options, while simultaneously limiting traffic levels and traffic congestion.

 

3.9       The strategy also discusses the impact of car parking provision on city centre vitality and viability. It notes that the continued over-allocation of car parking in the city centre is likely to encourage less sustainable travel modes. The number of spaces provided overall in Belfast is considered to be high compared to other cities of similar size, however the provision is fragmented and imbalanced across the city centre.

 

3.10      The Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan (2015) includes a suite of Management Measures to counter issues like over allocation of surface car parking. The measures are designed to rationalise and consolidate parking provision in the city centre to complement other traffic management measures and support economic vitality. The plan proposed imposing maximum parking standards to developments that restrict the number of Private Non-Residential (PNR) spaces that can be provided. It also proposed restricting the number of parking spaces provided at new residential developments by imposing maximum parking standards.

 

3.11      Section 76 (S76) Planning Agreement

 

            The concept of Car Clubs as a prerequisite for planning permission is still in its infancy in Belfast. The practice is much more established in planning authorities in the UK and Ireland where Car Clubs have been secured through the planning process for several years. Car Clubs are one of a number of options that a prospective developer may use to mitigate a reduction in the usual parking standards for a site. In Belfast, the Council’s Planning Service has been open to reduced parking levels, particularly in sustainable locations. It is one of a number of viable alternatives to the private car in the city centre that offer inherently more environmentally sustainable solutions. However, this is subject to mitigation through ‘green travel measures’ such as requiring developers to provide subsidised travel cards to residents or to make provision for a Car Club. 

 

3.12      The S76 agreement is the vehicle that Planning uses to secure Car Clubs (as well as other planning obligations). It places a legal obligation on the developer (landowner) and successors in title to provide the Car Club or agreed form of sustainable mitigation measure. The S76 agreement provides a legally binding document which provides the specific mitigation measure to be incorporated by the developer. In relation to Car Clubs this can include the requirement for a ‘Car Club Strategy’ which would include the number of Car Club permanent parking spaces, incentives for use and the developers obligations to subsidise and promote the Car Club to residents. This strategy is approved by the BCC Planning Service in collaboration with the Department for Infrastructure.

 

3.13      Finance and Resource Implications

 

            There are no finance or resource implications associated with this report.

3.14      Equality or Good Relations Implications/ Rural Needs Assessment

 

            Equality or Goods Relations Implications/Rural Needs Assessment were not considered for this report however will need to be addressed for future Car Club provision applications, or related policy or strategy documents.”

 

Proposal

 

Moved by Councillor O’Hara,

Seconded by Councillor Dorrian,

 

            Resolved - That the Committee agrees that the Council explore buying into a car club scheme for staff in carrying out their duties, and engage with other public sector bodies to encourage the utilisation of car clubs or similar to minimise the requirement for public sector car parks that could be better utilised for other opportunities aligned with the Belfast Agenda and the Belfast City Centre Regeneration and Investment Strategy.

 

After discussion, the Committee:

 

·         Noted the current position regarding the provision of Car Clubs in Belfast when compared with the rest of the UK and Ireland;

 

·         Noted the statistics from established Car Club areas across the UK and Ireland;

 

·         Noted the role of the Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan and Local Development Plan in effecting modal shift and demand management within the city; and

 

·         Agreed that the Council explore buying into a car club scheme for staff in carrying out their duties, and engage with other public sector bodies to encourage the utilisation of car clubs or similar to minimise the requirement for public sector car parks that could be better utilised for other opportunities aligned with the Belfast Agenda and the Belfast City Centre Regeneration Investment Strategy.