Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 7 September 2020 were agreed as a true record. There were no matters arising.

Report of the Director of Transportation and Highways

The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Director of Transportation and Highways concerning objections that had been received to a Traffic Regulation Order advertised on 27 February 2020 relating to proposed new waiting restrictions and amendments to existing waiting restrictions in a number of Wards across the City. 74 objections were received along with 19 responses in support of proposals and 4 comments were also received. A summary of the proposed restrictions, objections and responses were set out in an appendix to the report. As the meeting was being held remotely, in line with the revised government regulations, all the respondents were offered the opportunity to submit any additional comments in writing in response to the report and 11 additional response were received following the publication of the meeting documentation. All the respondents had been provided with additional information on watching the live stream meeting.

Councillor Bailey attended the meeting in respect of matters relating to Cheylesmore Ward and outlined his support for the proposals for Black Prince Avenue, Leaf Lane and Haddon Road; Cornelius Street; Esher Drive and William Bristow Road; Purefoy Road; The Monks Croft and Benedictine Road (part); and The Mount. Councillor Williams, a Bablake Ward Councillor, attended for consideration of the Cameron Close area proposals.

The report indicated that many of the locations where changes were proposed had been identified from requests for new or changes to existing waiting restrictions. These requests had been received from a number of sources, including the public, due to safety concerns relating to parked vehicles and from petitions requesting residents’ parking schemes. The appendix detailed a summary of the objections for each proposal, including any letters of support or comments also received, and included responses to the issues raised. A presentation at the meeting provided details of the locations and highlighted the issues raised along with the proposed responses. In addition, further information was provided on the responses received following publication of the report.

An additional e-mail of support for the proposals for the Cameron Close Area had been received which reiterated the existing parking problems and Councillor Williams provided additional information which included concerns about parents parking on a private car park. An additional e-mail of support had also been received to the proposals for Knoll Drive/ Lupton Avenue. 

Councillor Lloyd, Deputy Cabinet Member, detailed the speeding issues concerning Evenlode Crescent and it was agreed that, following the implementation of restrictions, continued monitoring would be undertaken at this location.

Further information had been received from an objector to the Pangfield Park/ Pyt Park and Victoria Court proposal concerning displacement parking along with additional information from a resident in support with particular reference to difficulties for wheelchair users. Councillor Bailey drew attention to parking concerns suggesting an extension of the double yellow lines. It was agreed to consider additional double yellow lines as part of the next waiting restriction review. In relation to the proposals for Pelham Bend/ Summerhill Lane, it was decided that following the introduction of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

Report of the Director of Transportation and Highways

The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Director of Transportation and Highways which sought approval for the closure of six Council operated car parks to help reduce the amount of surplus places available in the short to medium term, pending a detailed review of the Parking Strategy to consider the long term options including the possible disposal, redevelopment, or re-purposing of the assets.

The report indicated that the city centre parking strategy was approved by Cabinet in September 2016 and this strategy included clear aims and objectives for managing parking provision to ensure the right balance of spaces to meet future demands for parking whilst improving the quality of the facilities and ensuring they were in the right locations. The City Council currently operated twenty-three public car parks across the city comprising 3,840 spaces. Eighteen of the car parks were in, or near to, the city centre and these car parks had capacity for 3,600 spaces. Demand for parking had been increasing for some time and this growth had been expected to continue. However, since April 2020 demand for city centre parking had been significantly impacted due to Covid19, lockdown, and changes in travel behaviours in general. Some of these changes were expected to be long-lasting if not permanent. During the period April to September 2020, car park occupancy levels had been less than 25% of total capacity. Consequently, there had regularly been fewer than 900 spaces occupied and more than 75% (or 2,700) empty spaces.

In the short term, it was proposed to decommissioning and close six city centre public car parks with the aim of shrinking the car park estate and reduce the overall total capacity by 874 spaces (24%) which would help to close the gap between parking provision and demand, whilst reducing some operational running costs. It was proposed that the following car parks be closed at the earliest opportunity pending a further review of the City Centre Car Parking Strategy: 

i.  New Union Street multi-storey car park (MSCP) (240 spaces)

ii.  Cheylesmore surface car park (45 spaces)

iii.  City Arcade roof top car park (231 spaces)

iv. Leicester Row car park (80 spaces)

v.  Moat Street surface car park (153 spaces)

vi. Whitefriars Street surface car park (125 spaces)

A map showing the location of the above car parks was set out at an Appendix to the report. It was the intention that a report be submitted to Communities and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Board (4) and Cabinet in due course outlining the long term options for managing the car park estate.

The report set out additional information on the location; the current state of the car parks; the current occupancy levels; the impact of closure; and the alternative parking options in the areas of the car parks put forward for closure. It was noted that the Moat Street car park would cease to exist following a redesign of the road network in that area as part of the air quality improvement measures that had previously  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

There are no outstanding issues

There were no outstanding issues.

Any other items of public business which the Cabinet Member decides to take as matters of urgency because of the special circumstances involved

Councillor Williams, Bablake Ward Councillor, raised concerns about traffic issues at the roundabout on Norman Place Road which were causing safety issues for local residents. Particular issues included vehicles driving off the pavement straight onto the roundabout and a lorry driving the wrong way on the roundabout. Officers clarified that a safety scheme was currently being drawn up and residents were being consulted. Issues under consideration included pedestrian refuges and the placing bollards on the footway. Financial considerations would need to be taken into account.

There were no other additional items of public business.