Agenda item

Resolved: that the report be noted. It was also agreed that officers would provide additional information regarding: issues surrounding the implementation of the controlled parking zone in Brockley; progress with the lamppost electric vehicle charging project in Lewisham; parking enforcement near schools.

6.1      Ralph Wilkinson (Head of Public Services) introduced the report. The following key points were noted:

·         Information about the performance of the parking service was included in the report.

·         The Council had 13 car parks and 22 controlled parking zones encompassing 21 thousand parking spaces in the borough.

·         Good progress was being made with the implementation of the controlled parking zone programme.

·         More penalty charge notices were being issued as a result of the new controlled parking zones in the borough. However, there had not been a resulting increase in the number of appeals and complaints.

·         More people were using cashless payments for parking.

·         Work carried out in the last year was designed to improve the service whilst reducing costs.

·         The report also provided a breakdown of the financial performance of the service.

6.2      Ralph Wilkinson, James Cook (Emergency Planning, Business Continuity and Parking Service Group Manager) and Kevin Sheehan (Executive Director for Customer Services) responded to questions from the Committee, the following key points were noted:

·         Enforcement agents had rules they had to operate by. However, officers would consider concerns about any specific areas which councillors highlighted regarding the fairness or quality of enforcement.

·         Complaints and comments were received from members of the public about areas of insufficient parking enforcement – as well as those about excessive enforcement activity. The challenge was to find a balance.

·         Officers recognised concerns about the implementation of the controlled parking zone in Brockley. The timing of the new programme was over ambitious and officers lacked the resources to implement it successfully. There were also pressures on cost and in managing relationships with contractors. Lessons had been learned.

·         Complaints were logged on the Council’s iCasework system. A single complaint that was dealt with by multiple people would be logged as a single complaint unless it was escalated from an informal to a formal complaint or if the person making the complaint raised a separate case about the way their complaint was being dealt with.

·         Enforcement agents were tasked with visiting controlled parking zones at critical times.

·         There were 20 agents working during the week and a small number at weekends.

·         Agents were moved around the borough to deal with trouble areas. Officers were currently considering the level and cost of enforcement activity.

·         The times for controlled parking zones had been voted on by local residents. It was a challenge to balance the constantly increasing demand for parking.

·         Any changes to a controlled parking zone required consultation and significant resources.

·         The controlled parking zone programme had been agreed following discussion and consultation. The focus had been on the implementation of new zones. The programme for the review of existing zones was behind areas that had no parking controls in place.

·         There was a school deployment plan for parking enforcement around schools. Priority schools were visited by agents once a week others were visited once a fortnight. A review of the plan was currently taking place with officers in the Children and Young People directorate.

·         Some Councils were considering stopping any driving or parking near schools to improve safety and air quality. However, there were obviously accessibility issues and a balance had to be reached.

·         Options for different controlled parking zone times were given in the consultation for new zones.

6.3       In the Committee discussion, the following key points were also noted:

·         Members were concerned about driving, parking and enforcement on the Catford Broadway.

·         There were also concerns about parking, driving, access and safety around schools.

6.4      Resolved: that the report be noted. It was also agreed that officers would provide additional information regarding: issues surrounding the implementation of the controlled parking zone in Brockley; progress with the lamppost electric vehicle charging project in Lewisham; parking enforcement near schools.