Agenda item

Robin Chantrill-Smith, Civil Enforcement Manager introduced the report and advised the meeting that the proposed scheme would be introduced over a period of time. The schemes included residents, mixed residents and pay and display. The proposed schemes were considered by Cabinet on 27 April 2017 and went through a public consultation thereafter. The Board was being asked to comment on the proposals and these comments would be considered along with other comments from the public before Cabinet makes a decision.

Members speaking under Council Procedure Rule 20.1 made the following comments:

• Speaking under Council Procedure Rule 20.1, Councillor Partington said that the Traffic Management Act 2004 is meant to be used by Councils to manage traffic;
• Any new schemes put in place should meet the best interests of the residents;
• Overcharging for parking would harm local interests;
• The main objective of parking schemes should not be to raise revenue;
• Councillor Partington requested that the Board should remove Westgate from the proposed scheme;
• Speaking under Council Procedure Rule 20.1, Councillor Bayford said of Joss Bay, Elmwood Avenue – can the proposals consider providing a 2 hour free parking for local residents who are casual users particularly in-week;
• Botany Bay, Marine Drive - there are a number of parking problems for local residents as the road is always busy. Summer days will not make much of a difference;
• Councillor Bayford requested that the Board makes a visit (particularly on a busy day) to get a better appreciation of parking problems in Marine Drive. If the proposals were to be introduced, there would push the problem to neighbouring streets;
• Speaking under Council Procedure Rule 20.1, Councillor D. Saunders said requested that the disabled badge holders parking be monitored (especially on busy days) to stop overstaying and parking on double yellow lines;

Board Members made the following comments:

• The proposals would overcharge for parking and Thanet would become the most expensive in the region;
• Thanet would lose money as result of these new proposals as this would drive away visitors;
• 2 hours free parking in the mornings would make sense for Joss Bay and Botany Bay;
• Currently road signs for ‘unsuitable for coaches’ in Marine Drive were being ignored;
• The consultation on the proposals were limited;
• The proposals will negatively affect tourism;
• JTB should have been consulted before the public consultation;
• Minnis Bay - The Parade has never had any traffic parking problems. There is no need to introduce the new scheme proposed for that road;
• Beach hut owners and sailing club members pay huge annual fees to access such services in Minnis Bay. There is no need to introduce another fee that these individuals will now have to pay in addition to membership fees highlighted above. Traffic will be displaced to neighbouring streets;
• Station Road (Westgate) - Residents were saying that they do not want these proposed schemes;
• The revenue to be generated was ring-fenced for the highways and local residents do not benefit from this;
• The proposed schemes do not build good relations between the Council and residents;
• Residents with parking permits will not necessarily have parking space set aside for them. Instead they will still be competing for parking with everyone else and once parking was full they would have nowhere to park;
• There would be unintended consequences with the new scheme – i.e it might work out cheaper to be ticketed than pay for parking if one parks without paying for a number of occasions and gets away with it;

• The proposed schemes are not good for local residents and business;
• The corporate priority cited in the report are not appropriate as the proposals will not ‘promote investment and job creation, support neighbourhoods and deliver value for money;’
• Some Members were not against a fair charge if that was included in the new scheme;
• Early morning charges for parking would be harsh on local residents;
• In other countries local residents do get advantages for living in those local areas;
• Other top beaches in the country charge £3;
• Westgate Town Council does not have a car park of its own. The Town Council has a Tourism Committee that is meant to attract visitors through organising local events. However this would be negatively impacted by the new proposals;
• What is the main purpose of the proposed schemes? Is it for road safety, environmental issues or for budget building?

Councillor K. Gregory proposed, Councillor Johnston seconded and when put to the vote Members unanimously recommended that the Cabinet rethinks the proposals and bring back to the Joint Transportation Board new proposals for comment by the Board.