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Agenda item

Parking Policy 2019-2022

Officer: Shifa Mustafa

Key decision: no

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (non-voting – Job Share) informed Members that the council did not have a formal parking policy and it was important to codify policy as parking played an important role for many. It was intended that there would be two consultations, one being on the Policy and the other on proposed parking charges, with the second consultation being particularly important as it sought to be a means to tackle and prevent poor air quality.

 

The Cabinet Member noted that poor air quality was responsible for more than 9,500 deaths annually in London and disproportionally affected the most vulnerable in the community. It was stated that it was important that the council worked to improve air quality, and a recent survey of residents showed that three quarters of residents were concerned by air quality, further evidencing that it was important that policies were introduced which would help tackle the issue. As such the council’s proposal was to introduce emission based parking charging with emission based permits being introduced from October 2019 and business permits following.

 

Members raised concerns that residents who had bought hybrids in a move to reduce their emissions would be penalised, and suggested that the NOx emissions should be taken into consideration along with the lifetime of the vehicle.

 

In response to Member questions the Cabinet Member noted that the consultation should help to raise any issues with the bandings for permits and would be considered in the final decisions. The Cabinet Member noted that the proposed costings were broadly in line with neighbouring boroughs and it was the intention to have a simple system and so would avoid a large number of bandings which would need to be publicised at Pay & Display machines. It was recognised that technology would be important in the delivery of emission based permits and it was hoped that more residents would use the app which would charge them the correct amount based on the DVLA information on their vehicle.

 

The Chair of the Health & Wellbeing Board welcomed the paper and its ambitions to tackle health inequalities and protect the most vulnerable in the borough. It was further noted that the School Streets Programme was a further example of how parking had an impact on the health of young people, with three schemes having been made permanent and a further eight to be introduced in September 2019. The Cabinet Member stated that it was the intention that all schools were part of the School Streets Programme in the future.

 

The Cabinet Member noted that poor air quality was a hidden killer of 200 people annually in Croydon and that it was important that everyone worked to tackle the issue. The Administration, it was stated, was committed to take the required steps to improve public health and would listen to the consultation responses.

 

The Leader of the Council delegated to the Cabinet the power to make the decisions below.

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.    Note the core principles of a Parking Policy as detailed in the report, and note the draft Parking Policy and the action plan proposals at appendix A of the report for engagement purposes.

 

2.    Note the proposals in relation to Emission-Based Parking Charges as detailed in section 6 of the report for consultation purposes.

 

3.    Delegate authority to the Executive Director, Place, in consultation with the acting Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Regeneration (Job Share), to:

a.         To undertake appropriate engagement with relevant stakeholders and members of the public on the draft Parking Policy and action plan as at appendix A of the report;

b.         Consider the outcome of the engagement; and

c.         Subject to there being no significant changes, finalise, agree and publish the Parking Policy and action plan.  Any proposals requiring significant changes would be brought back to Cabinet for consideration. Note that delegation is already in place for the Executive Director Place to consider and implement Traffic Management Orders subject to specified parameters.

 

4.    Delegate authority to the Executive Director, Place, in consultation with the acting Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Regeneration (Job Share), to:

a.         Undertake appropriate consultation on the proposals in relation to Emission-Based Parking Charges as detailed in section 6 of the report;

b.         Consider the outcome of the consultation regarding Emission-Based Parking Charges; and

c.         Subject to there being no significant changes which would necessitate further consultation, finalise, agree and implement the Emission-Based Parking Charges proposals.  Note that any proposals requiring significant changes or further consultation would be brought back to Cabinet for consideration.

 

Supporting documents: