Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from KCC Councillors Constantine and Crow-Brown; Parish Councillor Quittenden and Councillors Davis, Dawson, Nixey, Scobie, Wright and Councillor Garner who was substituted by Councillor Munns.

To receive any declarations of interest.  Members are advised to consider the advice contained within the Declaration of Interest advice attached to this Agenda.  If a Member declares an interest, they should complete the Declaration of Interest Form.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the Minutes of the Joint Transportation Board meeting held on 21 March 2024, copy attached.

Councillor Matterface proposed, Councillor Bright seconded and Councillors agreed that the minutes be approved as a correct record of the meeting held on 21 March 2024.

The Chair introduced the item to the committee and invited Members to discuss the item:

There was no discussion on this item.

Members noted the report.

Penny Button, Head of Neighbours, introduced this item and made the following points:

·  This was an annual report that showed the financial position for parking for the Council which concluded in March 2024;

·  Staff absences within the team resulted in some difficulty for the Council, however finances have been maintained from the previous year;

·  Penalty charge income has increased.

Councillors began their discussion and asked the following questions:

·  Councillors asked the officer why there were fewer seasonal and residential permits in the current year. The officer replied that there has not been any research into this and that any answer would be speculation at this point, but offered to look into this to find more information;

·  Regarding off-street parking, Councillors asked if there were any on-street car parks that went rarely used. The officer replied that the Council does not have a report for this, but utilisation figures do exist which help the Council determine which of the sites were the busiest. They went on to say that as far as they were aware, none were underutilised;

·  Councillors asked officers to expand upon the “Other Income” noted in the report and wanted to know if it related to filming in Viking Bay. Officers replied that the Councillor was correct;

·  Councillors asked why penalty charge notices increased from £85,157 to £404,113 from the previous financial year of 2022/23 to 2023/24. Officers replied that due to reduced staffing numbers, the team has been focused on on-street parking issues, due to this causing the most issues for TDC residents.

Councillors noted the report.

Penny Button, introduced this item and made the following points:

·  The enforcement team worked 7 days a week from morning to evening;

·  The enforcement team enforced the Traffic Regulation Orders which meant they could enforce double yellow lines, parking bay infringements and failure to pay and display. However they could not work to enforce obstruction of highways, driveways or pavement parking as this would be the responsibility of the police;

·  A full team consisted of 11.5 officers, however last year the Council only had 3-5 officers available. Despite this, the Council still saw a large number of Penalty Charge Notices issued;

·  Out of 13,006 Penalty Charge Notices issued, 9,704 were paid within 14 days, 779 were cancelled and 1,057 were sent to bailiffs to recover. These figures span more than one financial year, which is why the total of these figures did not equate to 13,006;

·  People who received a Penalty Charge Notice have the option to appeal  to the Penalty Traffic Tribunal. Last year 7 cases were accepted with 2 of them being dismissed and 3 that TDC did not contest;

·  The team had additional members join, including 1 in May and 2, the first week of June, which brought the total number of staff up to 7;

·  There had been a short break in recruitment whilst new members of the team got trained, but the Council was looking to open up recruitment again, later this year.

Councillors began their discussion and asked the following questions:

·  Councillors wanted to know the circumstances as to why 779 Penalty Charge Notices were written off. Officers replied that there have been a number of different reasons, such as vehicles being cloned, technical issues with timing and some issued in error;

·  Councillors asked what the total number of staff that TDC were aiming to recruit for the Enforcement Team. Officers said that they were aiming to get 9 total members of the team currently, officers went on to say that a number of new team members were lost due to pay;

·  Councillors asked if new members of the team had opportunity for progression. Officers replied that some members of the team moved to office based working and some have moved to different departments;

·  It was asked how the officers were deployed to the areas that they covered. Officers replied that for their own protection, they do not patrol the same town twice in a row but also are mindful of areas where events might be happening or other hotspot areas which have frequent use.

Councillors noted the report.

Penny Button, introduced this item and made the following points:

·  At the previous meeting, a list of proposals for double yellow lines were brought to Councillors;

·  Consultation was planned to go forward in July.

Councillors began their discussion and asked the following question:

·  Councillors wanted to know what formats were members of the public receiving via the consultation. Officers replied that notices would be put up in the main reception of the Council offices, notices on the roads themselves and members of the public have the option to get in touch via email.

Councillor K. Bright spoke under Council Rule 20.1:

·  He spoke about working along with Penny Button regarding double yellow lines with emphasis on communication to the public on what the rules regarding yellow lines are, in order to help educate drivers.

Councillors noted the report.

This is a verbal update provided by Penny Button, Head of Neighbourhoods.

Penny Button, gave a verbal update on this item and made the following points:

·  The general election caused delays in reaching the consultation part of the Parking Review;

·  During the previous Councillors Briefing, officers informed Councillors that the first phase of engagement has been completed and over 2,000 responses were received, with a lot of them being positive;

·  Consultants have produced a report with an overarching viewpoint of on-street and off-street parking, along with details of parking protocols for the Council to follow. The next stage was to engage with the public directly;

·  Engagement meetings were being planned for the Summer of this year.

Councillors began their discussion and asked the following questions:

·  Councillors asked what impact the general election has had on the Parking Review. Officers replied that the Council was looking to avoid consultation on anything that could be used politically as any normal business as usual carries on, but project work such as this gets put on hold.

Councillor K. Bright spoke under Council Rule 20.1:

·  He spoke about how when Councillors had questions regarding the Parking Review, they were reminded that it was a strategy in progress as no actions had occurred yet. He went on to say that once officers publish the strategy, it will be tied back into what it would mean in the street itself. He also complimented Ms Button and the team on what a strong piece of work it was.

Councillors noted the report.