Agenda item

To conduct pre-decision scrutiny on the Cabinet papers for the 26th July 2023 covering the Parking Policy Transformation Project.

The Sub-Committee considered a report set out on pages 3 to 22 of the supplementary agenda, which provided the draft Parking Policy and Action Plan 2023, due for consideration at Cabinet on the 26^th July 2023. The Cabinet Member for Streets & Environment introduced the item followed by some additional commentary from the Head of Highways & Parking Services.

 

The Sub-Committee enquired as to how the ‘Key Policy Drivers’ had been chosen, and the Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that these had been chosen to ensure that the policy was customer focussed and served the Mayor’s Business Plan whilst delivering efficiencies where possible. The Chair asked how this policy would fit into Croydon’s wider transport policy, which it was noted would be coming up for renewal soon. The Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that the Parking Policy Project Board had been attended by Strategic Transport officers so that they could feed into its development and ensure it aligned with their own work.

 

The Vice-Chair asked about delivery milestones and how the success of the Policy would be measured. The Sub-Committee heard that a more defined Action Plan would be developed once the consultation on the policy had concluded, and that this would include a timeline for achieving each action.

 

Members raised concerns about the resources available to deliver a new Parking Policy. The Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that this sat under the Council’s Transformation Programme, and had been allocated transformation funding of £200,000 for the development and implementation of the Policy. External resources had been brought in where specialist work would need to be undertaken, for example on designing kerbside controls, and someone was already in post for this; specialist consultants had supported the development and initial delivery of the consultation on the Policy. The Sub-Committee heard that data would be used in a more effective way going forward, and that the 38 Civil Enforcement Officers currently employed by the Council would be deployed in a more targeted way. The Council had an established Parking Design team, which sat in within Highways, and would be responsible for delivering changes that resulted from the new Policy. The Sub-Committee asked about the timeline for implementation of the new Policy, and heard that it was expected that the Policy would go out to public consultation for six weeks in summer 2023, with delivery of the full Policy expected to be implemented by the end of the 24/25 financial year.

 

Members asked how communication with residents would be undertaken to ensure that they were aware of what was changing with parking in Croydon and that individuals were not unfairly penalised. The Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that the Council had learnt lessons from its consultations on Healthy Neighbourhoods and School Streets schemes, and would be using a multi-channelled approach for communications, including workshops, publications on the Council website and on social media. In response to questions about whether there would be a ‘bedding in period’ on any Policy changes with warnings for first time offences for an initial period, Members heard the Council had already adopted this approach.

 

In response to questions about the budget impact of the Policy, Members heard that the policy was expected to deliver £250,000 in efficiencies under the Transformation Programme, but that currently only impacts on potential income were being modelled, as the Policy had not yet gone out for consultation. The Director of Sustainable Communities explained that resident behaviours had changed over the last few years, and that modelling this was one of the key challenges in developing a new Policy. The Sub-Committee heard that, whilst it was acknowledged that free parking in certain areas was important, the turnover of parked vehicles was central to ensuring that a balance was struck that could best support both residents and local businesses. The Director of Sustainable Communities highlighted a trial in Southend around pay and display machines, that was seeking to establish if meter feeding was taking place and explained that this would inform any future Policy changes.

 

The Chair asked if the Policy had been designed with the consideration of aims to increase walking and cycling journeys, increase the length of time people spent in District Centres, and reducing short distance car trips through a Public Health approach. The Director of Sustainable Communities explained that this sat outside of the Parking Policy, but acknowledged it was important that the Policy was flexible enough to account for emerging policy in these areas through collaboration with Strategic Transport colleagues.

 

In response to questions from the Vice-Chair on the consultation process, the Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that the Communications team had been involved though the Parking Policy Project Board, and were mapping out a communication and consultation plan, accounting for the different methods and channels which could be used to engage residents. It was reiterated that the lessons learnt in consulting on previous schemes would be applied to the consultation, and that the Council website, social media and contacts from residents registered for ‘My Account’ would be used to target communications, as written communications to the entire borough would not be an efficient use of resource. Members heard RingGo had technology that could measure parking stress and duration of stay in specified areas, and this data would be used in developing the Policy. It was confirmed that the Policy would be a live document and would change over its lifetime to ensure it was still relevant and applicable, but that the Policy Objectives would remain fixed. The Head of Highways & Parking Services confirmed that the Parking department would be working with the Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) across the Borough in shaping the Policy and identifying the needs of businesses in these areas. The Chair asked how District Centres without BIDs would be engaged with, and the Sub-Committee heard that there would be use of the Councils existing networks to identify and contact businesses, and that letter drops had been undertaken in Southend before the start of the current parking trial, which may be replicated for other areas in the future.

 

The Sub-Committee asked about the parking trial in South Croydon, and the Director of Sustainable Communities explained that the number of overall transactions had reduced, whilst income had increased. Members were asked not to take this information as conclusive as the scheme had not yet concluded, but that initial findings implied that there had been meter reading in this area.

 

Members asked if transport assessments had been undertaken in different localities across the borough to account for their differences to ensure that any policy applied would be effective. The Head of Highways & Parking Services acknowledged that kerbside policy could not be ‘one size fits all’ to be effective, and that currently policy varied by area; it was expected that this approach would be continued following the consultation. The Sub-Committee heard that kerbside data collection would be used to support the development of policy and that the approach to different localities would be data-led.

 

The Sub-Committee asked if there would be a discount to tariffs for Electric Vehicles (EVs), or if there would be emissions based tariffs. The Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that this was currently the case, but that no decisions had yet been made for the new Policy on emissions based parking. Members heard that 400 EV parking spaces had been implemented on the highway by the end of 22/23, and that it needed to be reviewed whether EV charging spaces on the highway was the right approach going forward, but that this would be a matter for the new Transport Strategy. The Chair asked if the Council’s current tariffs were comparable with other London boroughs. The Head of Highways & Parking Services responded that benchmarking activities had taken place looking at tariffs and permits, and that the average EV parking permit in London sat at around £34, but was currently £6.50 in Croydon; this would be reviewed as part of the new Policy.

 

The Vice-Chair asked if there were plans to remove EV discounts in pay and display tariffs. The Director of Sustainable Communities explained that this would be looked at as a part of reviewing pay and display charges, but that no decision had yet been made. The Vice-Chair asked what consultation findings would suggest that this was an action that needed to be taken, and the Director of Sustainable Communities explained that it would depend on whether residents felt the current charges were fair. The Vice-Chair asked for assurances that any changes would be done in the interests of fairness, and not for financial reasons. The Director of Sustainable Communities responded that they were clear on their responsibilities under the Transport Act to set parking charges that covered the cost of running the service, with any surplus being reinvested into transport related activity; currently all surplus from parking charges went to funding Croydon’s contributions to the Freedom Pass scheme.

 

The Sub-Committee asked about EV tariffs in the current policy, and heard that these had been implemented to incentivise people to invest in lower emission vehicles, but it was acknowledged that this alone had probably not been a significant driver in encouraging consumers to purchase EVs. The Cabinet Member for Streets & Environment elaborated that those who could afford EVs were least likely to need the tariff discount.

 

In response to questions about the aims of reducing parking allocations in new developments, the Director of Sustainable Communities explained that the Policy had been developed in close collaboration with Planning Colleagues to ensure that it was complimentary to the Local Plan. Members heard that new properties could create challenges for on-street parking which could lead to the Parking department being asked to consult on the introduction of Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs), which were often unpopular with residents. The Director of Sustainable Communities explained that the new Policy would seek to look at the introduction of alternatives to CPZs. The Chair asked about how CPZs were mapped across the borough, and the Director of Sustainable Communities explained that a map was available on the Council website. The Sub-Committee commented that the map was of poor quality and required improvement.

 

The Chair asked how the Policy would be made to fit for individual District Centres and the Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that, should the current trial in Southend be successful, then RingGo would be rolled out further, which would allow wider data collection to shape policies that accounted for local differences. The Chair asked if any additional cashless parking trials would be considered for areas of the borough with different parking pressures, and the Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that the move to cashless parking did not form a part of the Policy and had previously been agreed at Budget Council in March 2022. Once this was fully rolled out, more granular detail would be available due to the absence of cash payments, and this data could be used to better inform policy decisions.

 

The Sub-Committee asked how the Council would ensure that disabled bays were still in the most accessible places for Blue Badge holders, and that Croydon was following best practice to support disabled residents. The Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that the Blue Badge scheme was a national initiative that sat with the person and not a vehicle. The Sub-Committee heard that as part of the Policy, there would be a review of where Blue Badge holders could park, but that holders were not currently restricted to just parking in disabled bays, and could park on single yellow lines or in pay and display bays for an unlimited time. It was noted that some disabled bays were time limited to ensure there was good turnover in areas with higher parking pressures. The Sub-Committee asked about roadways that were inaccessible for wheelchair users due to footway parking. The Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that it was an ambition of the Policy to tackle this, but it was not yet known exactly how this would be done; footway parking would be reviewed to ensure it was not detrimental to the accessibility of other highway users.

 

Members asked how it would be ensured that those who genuinely needed Blue Badges were not unfairly penalised by the Blue Badge fraud initiative, and how fraud would be tackled. The Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that the Travel Services department in the Council were responsible for working with the national Blue Badge database, and that Civil Enforcement Officers had recently been given access to this information so that they could report any Blue Badges listed in the database as stolen. The Sub-Committee heard that the full action plan to tackle Blue Badge fraud was still under development.

 

The Vice-Chair asked that particular effort be made to engage with disabled residents, as well as disability interests groups, to ensure their views were captured. The Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that work on this was already planned, and that the department was in contact with individuals who had previously contributed their views to past highways change schemes, as well as disability interest groups. Members highlighted that there should be joined up working with the police to tackle Blue Badge fraud that relied on the theft of permits.

 

Members encouraged officers to ensure that disabled bay placements were in the absolute most accessible locations for Blue Badge holders. The Vice-Chair asked about the average wait time for requested disability bays outside of residences, and it was stated that this could be provided outside of the meeting. The Sub-Committee asked about enforcement for the misuse of disabled bays, and heard that enforcement could be reactive if residents called the Council enforcement hotline or reported through the ‘Love Clean Streets’ app. Members asked if there was any data on how often a resident reports through the hotline or app led to an enforcement action, and the Director of Sustainable Communities said that this data could be provided outside of the meeting.

 

The Sub-Committee asked about the possibility of feedback for residents who reported parking offences, as to whether this had led to an enforcement action. The Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that these reports did go through to enforcement supervisors in real-time, but the current software did not allow for feedback to the reporting resident. Members commented that this lack of feedback could be frustrating for residents, and the Director of Sustainable Communities responded that this was something that could be looked at in future. The Cabinet Member for Streets & Environment explained that it was hoped that intelligence-led enforcement would reduce this frustration by targeting enforcement at hotspot areas, the identification of which would be informed by resident reporting.

 

The Chair asked if ‘White Badges’ were being considered for Croydon, and was informed that this was not currently being considered. In response to questions on where Croydon sat nationally for Blue Badge fraud, it was heard that this was not currently known, but it was expected that this would be similar to other London boroughs. Members asked about the number of Blue Badges in use in Croydon, and the Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that numbers were available for those issued in Croydon, but not for those issued outside of the borough but being used on Croydon streets.

 

Members asked about areas of persistent parking violations away from District Centres, such as outside of schools, and whether any additional enforcement resources would be directed to these. The Head of Highways & Parking Services responded that, as part of the rollout of the School Streets programme, there was a rota of where Civil Enforcement Officers were deployed to schools at drop off and pick up times. Safer Neighbourhood Teams had also been contacted so that they could engage with school communities to ensure the behaviour of parents and carers was not causing road safety incidents. The Sub-Committee explained that anecdotally they were aware of schools where this was not happening, and asked if Civil Enforcement Officers could attend to provide a deterrent. The Director of Sustainable Communities asked that Members provided the relevant details and that this could then looked into.

 

The Vice-Chair commented on parking enforcement in Croydon, and that this was poor in their view, but that they welcomed the policy on ‘intelligence-led enforcement’; the Vice-Chair stated that they would like to see strong communications from the Council when new enforcement initiatives were introduced and actions taken, as they felt that this would provide a good soft deterrent. The Director of Sustainable Communities explained that the Council did issue a large number of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) for contravention, and that a breakdown of PCNs issued by Civil Enforcement Officers or camera could be provided if requested. The Sub-Committee heard that these were issued across Croydon, not just in the Town Centre, and information on the distribution of where PCNs were issued could also be provided. The Director of Sustainable Communities explained that it was the ambition of the new Policy to ‘follow the data’ to make sure enforcement action was focussed where parking contraventions were taking place.

 

The Sub-Committee asked what would be done for residents affected by ‘digital exclusion' with the removal of pay and display machines, and if any educational communications would be provided to assist residents with the transition. The Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that it was not necessarily the case that all pay and display machines would be removed, and that payments could be made by phone call or app. The Sub-Committee heard that the Council had looked at other boroughs who had moved to cashless parking, and that a number of alternative payment options were being considered, including through shops using ‘PayPoint’. The Chair asked if visitor vouchers had been considered, and the Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that it had been discussed in the round.

 

Members asked for clarity on whether ‘efficient’ in the policy referred to efficient use of the roadway, or budget efficiencies. The Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that this was about making the best use of the Council’s resources by best using technology, and removing duplication of work in the service. The Director of Sustainable Communities explained that some processes had to be done on paper by legislation that did provide some limits on the efficiencies that could be achieved. The Cabinet Member for Streets & Environment added that it also meant efficiency through everyone paying the same tariffs, as currently those not paying through the app were charged at the highest rate; it was confirmed that those paying by phone were charged at the correct tariff when they provided their car details.

 

Members asked why RingGo had been chosen as the provider when there were a substantial number of negative reviews of the company. The Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that this had been chosen through a contract framework in 2022, but that work was ongoing to unify parking app experiences for parking users at a national level through the Department for Transport.

 

The Sub-Committee asked about communications with residents to ensure they understood the virtual permit process, and the Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that residents with access to email would receive a confirmation, and that the details of the permit would be accessible on their individual profile; a reminder email was sent to residents ahead of the permits expiry.

 

Members asked what provisions there were to mitigate for when things went wrong, for example if RingGo’s service went down. The Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that there were service level agreements with RingGo that meant that their service needed to available 99% of the time, with defined escalations for outages and penalties in the contract. In the instance of an outage, the Council would be contacted but not individual residents, and this data was used when residents appealed PCNs that were issued in error due to a RingGo outage.

 

 

Requests for information

 

The Sub-Committee requested that the results of South Croydon trial parking scheme were provided to Members once available, including what KPIs were used and the performance against these.

 

The Sub-Committee requested that data was provided showing the number of resident calls to the parking enforcement hotline and reports to the ‘Love Clean Streets’ app, and the number of enforcement actions that resulted from these reports.

 

The Sub-Committee requested that information on the timeline for reviewing kerbside parking be provided.

 

The Sub-Committee requested information on the number of active Blue Badge permits issued in Croydon.

 

The Sub-Committee requested that they were updated with the solutions being sought by the Council on inaccessible footways as a result of parking.

 

The Sub-Committee requested that the average wait-time for requested disabled parking bays outside of residences be provided.

 

The Sub-Committee requested information on the number of PCNs issued be provided, including a breakdown on the areas where these were issued and whether they were issued by a Civil Enforcement Officer or a camera.

 

 

Recommendations

 

1. The Sub-Committee recommended that ‘Letter Drops’, or similar targeted communications, on Parking Policy were undertaken for District Centres that had not already been engaged, or who were not actively being engaged through Business Improvement Districts before any changes to the Parking Policy are enacted.

 

2. The Sub-Committee recommended that an improved parking map was developed for the Council website, which included Controlled Parking Zones and Restricted Parking Areas.

 

3. The Sub-Committee recommended that a Task Group was established for engaging with disabled residents and disabled-led organisations (such as Transport for All) on parking policy, to ensure that disabled parking bays were best placed on the road for users and that roads and footways were accessible, to tie in with the Policy three - ‘Supporting our Disabled Residents’.

 

4. The Sub-Committee requested that the Council should provide follow up communication to residents who reported parking for enforcement action through the parking hotline or ‘Love Clean Streets’ app.

 

5. The Sub-Committee recommended that there was comprehensive communications with residents should areas transition from parking meters to cashless parking, including a full publicity campaign and video walk-through.