No apologies were received.

There were no disclosures of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 December 2014 to be submitted and signed.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

The Minutes of the meeting held on 18 December 2014 were submitted and agreed.

The report sets out issues raised by Public and Members with suggested recommendations.

Also attached are some comparisons with other local authorities.

The Parking Services Manager explained that consultations on the parking schemes had been conducted in 2007 and also 2013 and that residents’ views were taken into account.  He noted that in numerous instances residents felt that they qualified for a parking permit but that reference to individual circumstances and to existing policies demonstrated that they were excluded.   He considered that the policies relating to CPZ issues required further clarity to ensure they remained fit for purpose or required amendment. 

The Parking Services Manager drew attention to the issues outlined in the agenda and asked for guidance on whether changes should be introduced to the current policies.

The Chair referred to the survey sent by the Committee and Scrutiny Officer to all Members whose wards had a CPZ and explained that six replies had been received from: Central (1), Holywell (1), Nascot (1) and Park (3). 

The Committee then discussed the issues as outlined in the report.

1  -  Vehicle Length Limit

Councillor Jeffree expressed surprise that the current length limit was 5.25m as the standard parking bay length was 4.8m and 2.4m width. 

The Parking Services Manager noted that 5.25m was a standard length and comparable to the standards applied in other authorities. 

The Transport and Infrastructure Section Head advised that a maximum of 6m was the standard length for vehicles in business use.  

It was noted that officers had no powers of enforcement with regard to vans in CPZs unless complaints were made.  The Parking Services Manager pointed out that in the case of a complaint, officers would need to first measure the vehicle in order to establish that the length exceeded the permitted length.   He advised that applicants were required to declare the length of their vehicle when applying for a permit.

The Transport and Infrastructure Section Head asked Members to consider how business vans could be accommodated in CPZs during the day.   

The Parking Services Manager suggested that:

·        vehicle length for business use should be 6.0m

·        residents’ permits remain at 5.25m

The meeting agreed that:

·        the height limit of 2.3m should be unchanged.

Recommendation:

The 5.25m length limit to be retained for all residential permits.

To extend the length limit for business permits (in CPZs) to 6.0m.

2  -  Business Permits

The Parking Services Manager explained the difficulties inherent in determining which businesses were entitled to permits.   He felt that the rules were not sufficiently stringent to prevent abuse of the scheme.  

The meeting then discussed the differing needs of individuals and companies in order to carry out their businesses; it was noted that in some cases vehicles were not such as would generally be used for business purposes.   

The Parking Services Manager noted that business vehicles should not usually be present in the CPZs for long periods of time.  He advised that officers had monitored the zones and vehicles’ lengths of stay; this information would enable officers to determine where rules were being breached. 

The Committee and Scrutiny Officer asked whether it would be possible to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

• Monday 2 February 2015

·        Monday 2 February 2015