Agenda item

The Scrutiny Committee is asked to consider the call-in of a Cabinet key decision taken on 4 February 2021.  The decision relates to ‘Car park order 2021 – consultation results’. 

The call-in request was made by Councillor Ian White, Chair of the Scrutiny Committee, for the following reasons:

1.         At its meeting on 9 November 2020, the Scrutiny Committee asked that the report be brought back so that further consideration could be given following the public consultation, prior to a decision being made.  This point is noted but not addressed in the officer’s report. 

2.         Public concern over the consideration of their responses to the consultation, with especial concern for residents of Wallingford. 

The head of legal and democratic has accepted the call-in request as valid and has called this committee meeting to consider it.  The call-in request is deemed valid as it was made within the five days call-in period and seeks to scrutinise a key decision of Cabinet. 

The effect of this call-in is that the decision will not be implemented until Scrutiny Committee has considered the matter. 

In making the decision, Cabinet considered the attached report and appendices.  Cabinet also received advice from the Cabinet member for housing and environment, Councillor David Rouane, and officers at the Cabinet meeting. 

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Cabinet decision

The Cabinet decision taken on 4 February 2021 was as follows:

RESOLVED: to

(a)      note the comments received on the proposed South Oxfordshire District Council car parking order 2021 and agree to make the following changes:

·         Align all charging car parks in the centre of market towns of Didcot, Henley, Wallingford and Thame, as well as Goring, to all have up to one hour of free parking between the charging hours, and to amend charging hours to 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday in all car parks where a charge is made (including introducing free parking for up to one hour in Kings Road and Greys Road car parks, Henley), with the exception of Goldsmiths Lane car park in Wallingford which has up to two hours no charge, and to carry out annual usage surveys;

·         Change the current Mondays to Saturdays permitted parking period to charge on Sundays from 10am to 5pm in all car parks, including one hour free, with the exception of Goldsmiths Lane car park in Wallingford;

·         Introduce half priced parking permits for electric vehicles only, in line with those vehicles eligible for a discount from the London Congestion Charge (with the exception of Goldsmiths Lane car park in Wallingford);

·         Introduce limited waiting in High Street car park, Chinnor;

·         Introduce enforcement at charging points for electric vehicles;

(b)      authorise the head of legal and democratic to make the new order and to determine the date it comes into effect. 

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What can the Scrutiny Committee do?

In accordance with the Scrutiny Procedure Rules in the council’s Constitution, the Scrutiny Committee has the following options:

1.      The committee may refer the decision back to the decision-maker: Cabinet.  The committee must define the nature of its concerns. 

2.      The committee may accept the decision as made and advise the decision-maker accordingly. 

Following the Scrutiny Committee

Following the Scrutiny Committee meeting, the following may happen:

1.      If the Scrutiny Committee refers the decision back to the decision-maker for reconsideration, the decision-maker, Cabinet, shall reconsider the decision, along with Scrutiny Committee’s comments.  The decision-maker may take the final decision by either incorporating amendments or confirming the original decision unchanged.  There is no scope within the Constitution for any further call-in. 

2.      If the Scrutiny Committee does not refer the decision back for reconsideration but instead agrees with the decision, then the decision can be implemented immediately. 

Councillors Ian White and George Levy had called in the Cabinet decision of 4 February on the car park order. The Head of Legal and Democratic had accepted that this was a valid request. 

The reasons for the call-in were as follows:

1. At its meeting on 9 November 2020, a member of the Scrutiny Committee asked that the car parking charges report be brought back so that further consideration could be given following the public consultation, prior to a decision being made.  The committee motioned to note the report and for comments made to be considered. This point is noted but not addressed in the officer’s report. 
2. Public concern has been raised over the consideration of their responses to the consultation, with special concern for residents of Wallingford. 

Cabinet member for Housing and environment, Councillor David Rouane, introduced the item.

The Cabinet member explained that he considered fairness whilst producing this report. Regarding Wallingford concerns, there was a long-standing agreement with the Goldsmiths Lane car park, where there was two hours free parking and free Sunday parking. Wallingford Town Council objected to reduction in two other car parks. However, the Goldsmiths Lane arrangement should be ample to accommodate visitors.

Regarding the electric car charges – Wallingford was one of the towns under air quality management and encouraging electric car use was part of reducing pollution in the town centre.

Now, on Sundays, in response to comments, the Sunday charge has been reduced by one hour. Further research had been impeded by the pandemic, and car park usage was not as normal.

Questions of clarification on the report followed.

• Cabinet member was asked to elaborate on the fairness issue – was there church representation in the survey? Cabinet member responded that he was willing to listen to special circumstances, but nothing was presented. The Wallingford concerns were mainly regarding visitors blocking car park spaces for shoppers.
• Will there be further research? It was responded that in future there would be reviews. For Sunday, there was no data because there was no charging at present. The charging changes would help address the car park budget deficit. In 12 years, the price had not changed. The car parks need to cover the costs of running, not be in deficit. We were currently making a loss.
• It was confirmed that the changes were to address the deficit and in the interest of fairness.
• It was discussed that it had taken 18 months to get to this point and action was needed now. It had been through scrutiny committee and the Climate and Ecological Emergency committee already.
• Officer added that car parks were in deficit, and parking costs should not fall on the taxpayer, but car park users instead. The car parks were not-for-profit. Fees were set to cover expenditure.
• Cabinet did discuss the consultation, and changes were made in response.
• The electric vehicle spaces were a work in progress, with an estimated 5-7 percent of spaces being dedicated currently.
• The new plan would be implemented for a year with a review.

During debate, a view was expressed that holding action for 6 months of review could be an option.

The idea of encouraging bus use on Sundays was considered helpful for environmental considerations. The desire for pedestrianisation may change needs in the future.

The committee concurred that car park users should cover the costs, not non car using taxpayers.

Committee members debated and concluded that the reports approach did seem fair overall, with the Wallingford arrangement being noted as a compromise. The report was a hybrid that addressed the main concerns.

The committee motioned and voted in favour of the following:

Resolved: to

Support the Cabinet decision from the 4 February 2021 regarding car park order.