Contact: Richard Hague, ext 6877

1. Summary

1.1 The following decisions are sought:

(i) That approval be given for applications to be made to the Secretary of State to designate the districts of Hart, Rushmoor and Basingstoke and Deane as Special Parking Areas and Permitted Parking Areas pursuant to Section 43 and Schedule 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1991.

(ii) That, under Section 19 of the Local Government Act 2000 and the Local Authorities (Arrangements for the Discharge of Functions) Regulations 2000, separate Agreements be completed between the County Council and the authorities of Hart District Council, Rushmoor Borough Council and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to delegate the functions and services given to the County Council by the Secretary of State in designating the three areas as a Special Parking Area/Permitted Parking Area.

2. Reason

2.1 To enable decriminalised parking enforcement to be introduced in Hart, Rushmoor and Basingstoke and Deane and, under separate agency agreements, to authorise the respective Districts to manage both the on-street and off-street parking enforcement.

3. Other Options Considered and Rejected

3.1 No suitable option.

4. Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Decision Maker or a Member or Officer consulted - Not applicable.

5. Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee - Not applicable.

6. Reason(s) for the Matter being dealt with if Urgent - Not applicable.

Approved by: Date:

Councillor K B Estlin

7. Introduction

7.1 The proposals to consider Special and Permitted Parking Areas (SPAs and PPAs) in Hart and Rushmoor were the subject of a report to the former Planning and Transportation Committee on 12 March 2001 and similar proposals for Basingstoke and Deane were considered by the Executive Member for Environment on 13 November 2001. The resolutions were that agreement be given in principle to establishments of SPAs and PPAs but that further negotiations be undertaken with the three District Councils to agree suitable management and financial arrangements and that a further report be submitted in due course.

7.2 Officers of the County Council and District Councils have continued to work closely together in preparation of an application in accordance with Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR) guidelines. Progress has been made in completing the application process which has been undertaken in tandem with a parking review for each of the three district areas.

7.3 It is important, to enable the application to be finalised, that agreement is reached between the County Council and the three District Councils on Agency and financial arrangements. This report discusses the proposals for the Agency agreement, sets out financial projections for approval and establishes the position with respect to adjudication.

8. Agency Agreements

8.1 It is proposed that an Agreement under Section 19 of the Local Government Act 2000 be concluded between the County Council and each of the three District Councils of Hart, Rushmoor and Basingstoke and Deane to enable each District to exercise all the powers given to the County Council as the traffic authority as a result of the Secretary of State designating the respective areas an SPA/PPA. The powers will include for the issuing of a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for vehicles contravening parking regulations, the recovery of the penalty charge through a streamlined version of the normal civil debt recovery process and, if necessary in due course, the operation of a wheel clamping and removal service.

8.2 The District Councils will employ all relevant staff and prepare and submit to the County Council budgets for carrying out these functions. The PCN charge will be set initially at £60 and this level has been considered when determining the financial assessments.

8.3 Both the County Council and District Councils will operate the arrangements so to avoid the schemes operating at a deficit. The County Council shall not be liable to contribute to the functions cost other than the agreed capital contribution to the set-up cost. Any surplus from the accounts will only be used for approved purposes, ie car parking and transport related issues.

9. Financial Projections

9.1 A financial assessment of the proposed schemes, in each of the three areas, has been undertaken in conjunction with consultants. They have experience of such areas as the sensitivity of the scheme's viability to the level of the penalty charge, the effect of discounting for prompt payers and the set-up costs involved. The revenue projections indicate that the schemes will become self-financing after recouping set-up costs.

10. Adjudication Service

10.1 An essential element of the system for decriminalised parking enforcement is the adjudication service to provide an independent appeals procedure. Parking adjudicators are trained and experienced lawyers, independent of the local authorities whose disputes they will be adjudicating. The National Parking Adjudication Service (NPAS) is aware that Hart, Rushmoor and Basingstoke and Deane will wish to join the service and that appeal hearings will be required as a consequence at the commencement of enforcement. The County Council is already a member of the NPAS.

11. Programme

11.1 Subject to approval, it is proposed to submit applications to the DTLR with a view to implementing the schemes in Hart and Rushmoor on 5 June 2002 and in Basingstoke and Deane on 1 October 2002.

12. Conclusion

12.1 Good progress has been made by officers in the four authorities working closely together which will lead to the Applications to the Secretary of State for the designation of Hart District Council, Rushmoor Borough Council and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council areas as respective SPA and PPAs. The financial projections are satisfactory and indicate that the schemes should be self-financing. Adjudication has been arranged with NPAS and the introduction of the schemes are planned for June and October 2002.

7067/RJH