Contact: Hannah Baker , ext 6594 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 This report sets out the joint proposals to implement a Special Parking Area covering the New Forest district. It requests approval for the proposed arrangements and recommends that funding be allocated from the Local Transport Plan settlement to assist with the remaining capital set up costs.

2. Background

2.1 A specialist consultant has undertaken a study into the feasibility of decriminalised parking enforcement in the New Forest. The general conclusion reached was that the creation of the Special Parking Area is financially viable within a timescale of five years and is operationally desirable, given the limited enforcement currently being undertaken by the Police and the level of illegal parking in the major towns and villages.

2.2 In July 2004 the District Council's Economy and Planning Executive Cabinet Portfolio Holder considered the consultant's findings and gave approval to proceed with the implementation of the Special Parking Area.

2.3 Permission was also given at the same Cabinet meeting to negotiate the terms for a District Agency Agreement with the Highway Authority to enable it to undertake this function. The Cabinet report is set out at Appendix 1.

2.4 Appendix 2 outlines proposed working arrangements between the County and District Councils. It is suggested that these proposals would form a sensible approach to the future of parking enforcement in the District. This report and the attached programme are the beginning of a formal process, subject to approval.

3. Proposals

3.1 It is proposed to commence preparation work over the next 12 months, subject to approval and funding. It is intended that responsibility of enforcement duties will be handed over by the Police in January 2006.

3.2 The first stage in the process will be to review and revise signing and lining to ensure that it accords with the Traffic Regulation Orders. This will involve amendments of out of date Orders and their consolidation, as well as the plotting of all parking restrictions onto a computer-based mapping system. Initial work on this is already under way.

3.3 On-going practical and procedural changes will be made over the next 12 months, such as the centralising of the Car Park Administration function and the introduction of hand-held computers for the issuing of Penalty Charge Notices. These changes are set out in the programme, attached at Appendix 2. The programme allows staff to become familiar with the new systems ahead of `going live', thus reducing the risk of problems.

3.4 The total estimated cost of the scheme is £251,970 of which Hampshire County Council has agreed to contribute £120,000. The Executive Member for Environment has approved its inclusion in the New Forest Transport Strategy 2005/06 Capital Programme. A breakdown of this overall cost is set out at Appendix 3.

Recommendation

That the Panel recommends the Executive Member for Environment to agree that:

(i) the joint funding of the remainder of the setting up of a Special Parking Area covering the New Forest District area be supported;

(ii) the funding be subject to incorporation into the District and County Councils' 2005/06 future Capital Programmes';

(iii) the County Council will have an agency agreement with New Forest District Council for the delegation of responsibilities for all aspects of the implementation and delegated powers of enforcement;

(iv) approval be given for an application to the Secretary of State to designate New Forest District as a Special Parking Area and Permitted Parking Area pursuant to Section 43 and Schedule 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1991;

(v) under Section 19 of the Local Government Act 2000 and the Local Authorities (Arrangements for Discharge of Functions) Regulations 2000, a separate agreement be completed between the County Council and New Forest District Council to delegate the functions and services given to the County Council by the Secretary of State in designating the area as a Special Parking Area/Permitted Parking Area; and

(vi) that consultation with the NFNPA (Establishment Team) is undertaken as part of the application to the Department for Transport for decriminalised parking.

9123/HBAPPENDIX 2

JOINT WORKING ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN THE RESPECTIVE COUNCILS

Introduction

The 1991 Road Traffic Act enables the highway authority to apply for approval of Special Parking Areas (SPAs) and Permitted Parking Areas (PPAs). In PPAs, contraventions of orders designating permitted on-street parking places (eg meter bays and residents' and disabled persons' bays) will no longer be criminal offences and will become subject to the new enforcement arrangements. In SPAs the same arrangements apply to all other non-endorsable parking offences (eg contraventions of road traffic regulation orders prohibiting or restricting parking). In most cases the boundaries of SPAs and PPAs will be the same.

In Special and Permitted Parking Areas:

(i) the local authority can issue and charge for permits;

(ii) the local authority can enforce parking restrictions, including yellow line restrictions;

(iii) the local authority receives the income from penalties;

(iv) the parking service should be self-financing; and

(v) parking enforcement is managed and prioritised by the local authority.

The legislation decriminalises parking offences, and all income from charges and excess charges is accrued by the local authority to offset enforcement costs. Any surplus can be used to enhance the parking service. Under the pervious legislation, income from enforcement of yellow line offences goes straight to the exchequer and is not available for the police to plough back into the enforcement service.

Joint Working with District Councils

Several of the district councils in Hampshire expressed interest in participating with the County Council to take up these powers and carry out enforcement of on-street restrictions in their areas. Arrangements were agreed with Winchester City Council, linked to the Winchester Movement and Access Plan proposals, to create an SPA/PPA to enforce all parking restrictions within the Winchester District area. These arrangements came into effect in 1996 and have proved successful in practice.

The Chief Constable supported the introduction of the new powers in the Winchester area and, following the experience gained here since 1996, has no objection in principle to the extension of these arrangements to other districts in the county.

On 12 March 2001 a recommendation was approved by the former Planning and Transportation Committee for the establishment of SPAs/PPAs in Hart and Rushmoor. Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) became successfully operational on 5 June 2002 in both of these areas. Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council established its powers on 1 October 2002. The area covered by Test Valley Borough Council became operational on 20 October 2003 and Eastleigh Borough Council on 4 October 2004.

New Forest District Council is now keen to proceed with the adoption of these powers under agreement with the County Council. The District Council has resolved to take on decriminalised parking enforcement for the district. A sum of £251,970 has been estimated to meet the capital set-up costs for implementation. Of this sum, £120,580 is allocated from the District Council's own strategy contributions and £120,000 is proposed from the County Council's Area Transport Strategy programmes.

The capital set-up costs are not formally recovered as such, but if there is a surplus in the long run, whether greater or less than the set-up costs, the County Council would decide how it is spent.

Penalty Charge Notice change is agreed by the County Council and New Forest District Council within the legal options and discount is a standard 50%. The level of enforcement is decided by New Forest District Council as part of its operation to make the system at least self-financing. The appeals process will be dealt with by the National Parking Adjudication Service.

One of the main benefits of this proposal is that it should ensure that enforcement of on-street and off-street parking is carried out in the same way, to the same standards, by the same authority. The Department for Transport guidelines to local authorities therefore acknowledge that it will normally be sensible for enforcement to be carried out by district councils. However, since the traffic authority is the County Council, there needs to be formal agreement between the County and District Councils as to how the enforcement will be implemented. In Winchester, Hart and Rushmoor, separate agency arrangements were established to manage on-street parking enforcement, in addition to existing agency agreements. These included appropriate financial provisions, establishing the aim of a self-financing operation and methods of dealing with any surplus or deficit. It is proposed that similar arrangements be adopted in the New Forest.

The Next Steps

The extension of decriminalised parking enforcement to New Forest will involve a great deal of preliminary work by both county and district officers in assessing costs, income, staff requirements, administrative arrangements, training, etc, and preparing the necessary Agency Agreement and application to the Department for Transport. These elements must all be in place by the time the new arrangements come into effect.

Conclusion

Following the successful operation of the enforcement arrangements in other districts and boroughs, it is considered appropriate to continue preparations towards an application to the Secretary of State for an SPA and PPA in New Forest as part of the County Council's programme. A high standard of enforcement of parking controls can make a valuable contribution to achieving the objectives of the transport strategy.