Agenda item

The report of the Director – Neighbourhoods is attached.

It was RESOLVED that:

a)               the work carried out by the Bingham Car Parking Strategy Group be recognised;

b)               reducing the length of stay in the Council’s parking bays in Bingham Marketplace to 30 minutes, as set out in the revised paragraph 4.9 of the report be approved;

c)               changing restrictions on market days to allow spaces to be made available to the public when they are not in use by market traders, as set out in the revised paragraph 4.9 of the report be approved;

d)               changes to Newgate and Needham Street Car Parks to introduce charging for parking after 2 hours, as set out in sections C and D below in the revised paragraph 4.9 of the report be approved;

e)               establishing a permit scheme at Bingham Arena, creating circa 30 spaces for long stay, to be made available for a fee to town centre businesses, as set out in the revised paragraph 4.9 of the report be approved; and

f)                 the proposal for Nottinghamshire County Council to reduce the length of stay in their parking bays in Bingham Marketplace to 30 minutes, as set out in the revised paragraph 4.9 of the report be supported.

Revised Sections C and D Paragraph 4.9

The Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Environment and Safety, Councillor Inglis presented the report of the Director – Neighbourhoods, which provided an update on the work of the Bingham Car Parking Strategy Group over the last six months. 

Councillor Inglis advised that the published report was a recommendation, and that he had listened to all the feedback, from Bingham Town Councillors, the public and business owners, and read the comments on Bingham Social media sites.  He referred to a revised recommendation, altering the recommendation in D and stated that the table at paragraph 4.9, which was also referenced in recommendations B,C and D had a revised tariff.

Councillor Inglis agreed that parking in Bingham had been an issue for several years. TheBingham CarParking StrategyGroup wasestablished in September2023, to better understand the current situation, specifically in Bingham, to explore short to medium term solutions to improve parking, by changing the length of stay and charges to existing car parks, toprompt behaviour change,freeing upcapacity forshort stayparking.  The Group, investigated not only Rushcliffe car parks, it looked at a complete strategy for all of Bingham, working in partnership with representatives from Bingham Town Council and the County Council, and that challenging work was continuing.  Councillor Inglis thanked everyone on the Group for their hard work and dedication, and in particular Rushcliffe’s Corporate and Commercial Projects Officer.

Cabinet was advised that a three day survey was commissioned to ITP, an independent sustainable transport planning and research consultancy, to obtain the current data alongside a public consultation survey, which concluded that the high majority of car park users stayed for under two hours, the highest percentage under 1 hour and 50% of those under 30 minutes, with just a small percentage of long stay, and the main use was for shopping.  The Group discussed all options for potential tariffs, with the general consensus leaning towards tariff 4, to be considered by officers.  Subsequently to that meeting, and from within the Group, tariff 5 was proposed, based on the data for 1 hour to 2 hour users that had the potential of freeing up more spaces and this was discussed with Group members in taking it forward.  It was noted that option 5 was deemed most appropriateto prompt the behaviour change for freeingup capacityfor shortstay parking that was recommended in the report for an increased churn. However, following publication of the report, some concerns had been expressed via social media and emails to the Council regarding the original report proposal to introduce a charge after 1 hour.

Councillor Inglis stated that he wanted the Group to achieve the right solution so that residents and visitors could park more easily and confirmed that he and fellow Cabinet members had carefully considered the recent feedback and he hoped that by altering and recommending option 4 rather than option 5, within the table at 4.9, it would now be more widely accepted and would be reviewed in 12 months. 

Cabinet noted that the tariff would apply between 7am and 7pm, which in effect, offered free evening parking from 5pm.  The revised free 30 minutes and times of operation in both Rushcliffe and County Council owned bays around the Marketplace should also generate a higher turn around for very quick trips.  Councillor Inglis confirmed that long stay options for business owners was not being overlooked, with the opportunity to use 30 spaces at the Arena car park on a charged annual permit basis.

In conclusion, Councillor Inglis hoped that by reacting to the feedback, residents and businesses would accept that everyone wanted the best solution, to maintain and increase the vitality and viability of the Town Centre, together with a need to manage parkingprovision, toensure thatit encouragedshort stayrather than all-day parking, alongside the need to recover the associated car park running and maintenance costs to the Council.

In seconding the recommendation, Councillor Upton stated that he personally used to regularly visit Bingham; however, over the last ten years he had found it increasingly difficult to find a car parking space, and sometimes had to park on residential streets and he hoped that the proposed changes in the report would improve the situation and free up car parking spaces.

Councillor Virdi reiterated that in choosing this option, the expected associated revenues were unlikely to cover both revenue and capital costs as highlighted in paragraphs 4.11 and 4.12 of the report.  However, the Council remained committed to being both prudent and responsible in respect of its finances, and recovering costs remained good financial practice.  Councillor Virdi stated that a review in 12 months would be helpful to see if positive changes had taken place.

In supporting the revised recommendation, Councillor J Wheeler referred to the importance of listening to feedback and given the enthusiastic response from businesses regarding the permits at the Arena, it was hoped that this would give more churn capacity, as ultimately everyone wanted the same outcome.  It was hoped that this would provide the right balance and ensure that Bingham continued to thrive.

The Leader echoed comments made and stated that Cabinet had listened to feedback, he had spoken with several business owners and those feelings and opinions were clear.  The Leader reminded everyone that money was not the driver in this proposal, it was about freeing up car parking spaces to help businesses and he also reiterated that the Arena car park would be available for long term parking, with a chargeable permit.  It was noted that the County Council would also be reviewing on-street parking, alongside this, in preparation for the proposed changes here, and he was confident that there would be a coordinated approach and hoped that this would be a good example of collaborative working.  The Leader referred to the 12 month review and hoped that it would be successful.

It was RESOLVED that:

a)               the work carried out by the Bingham Car Parking Strategy Group be recognised;

b)               reducing the length of stay in the Council’s parking bays in Bingham Marketplace to 30 minutes, as set out in the revised paragraph 4.9 of the report be approved;

c)               changing restrictions on market days to allow spaces to be made available to the public when they are not in use by market traders, as set out in the revised paragraph 4.9 of the report be approved;

d)               changes to Newgate and Needham Street Car Parks to introduce charging for parking after 2 hours, as set out in sections C and D in the revised paragraph 4.9 of the report be approved;

e)               establishing a permit scheme at Bingham Arena, creating circa 30 spaces for long stay, to be made available for a fee to town centre businesses, as set out in the revised paragraph 4.9 of the report be approved; and

f)                 the proposal for Nottinghamshire County Council to reduce the length of stay in their parking bays in Bingham Marketplace to 30 minutes, as set out in the revised paragraph 4.9 of the report be supported.

Revised Sections C and D Paragraph 4.9