Contact: Dominic McGrath, ext 6054 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 The purpose of this report is to detail the amendments made by Gosport Borough Council to the "Borough of Gosport (Off-Street Parking Places) (Gosport and Lee-on-the-Solent) Parking Order" (the Parking Order) and to formulate a response on behalf of the County Council.

2. Background

2.1 Pay and Display charges for parking was introduced in Gosport Borough in November 2004. Charging applies to all town centre and seafront locations in Gosport and Lee-on-the-Solent and is enacted by the Parking Order.

2.2 After a year of operation the Borough Council has reviewed the operation of the scheme and the associated Parking Orders. This review was based on the views of the Borough Council's Car Park Working Group. The review is essentially an exercise to consolidate the scheme, addressing issues arising from its first year of operation. It also seeks to address some concerns about the impact on town and district centres and that the introduction of charges has, in some locations, caused additional localised problems of on-street car parking.

2.3 The Agency Agreement between the County Council and Borough Council dated 25 January 2005 requires the Borough Council to seek the consent of the County Council in order to exercise the powers of the County Council under Sections 45 and 46 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 when Parking Orders apply to parking spaces on the highway, as is the case for some car parks in Gosport (Mumby Road Lorry Park and The Flower Buildings car park). Furthermore, the Borough Council must seek the County Council's consent to exercise its powers under Sections 32, 33 34 and 35 to implement the Parking Order in respect of off-street parking, and any amendments thereof, under Section 39 of the Act.

3. Assessment

3.1 The report focuses on proposed changes to the Parking Order. However, it should be noted that the vast majority of the original Parking Order remains in place unchanged. Most notably, there are no proposed changes to daily charging rates, although there are reduced hours of charging in some car parks (with charges now starting at 10.00 am instead of 8.00 am).

3.2 The changes that are proposed are essentially refinements of the overall charging regime, which was only introduced a year ago and could reasonably be expected to need some amendment in response to emerging operational requirements during that time.

3.3 The changes fall into the following main categories and are detailed on the attached appendix:

(i) minor amendments to the hours of charging in some car parks;

(ii) changes to the maximum length of stay in some car parks;

(iii) revisions to the permit scheme, including changes to the categories of permit and, as a result, to permit charges; and

(iv) introduction of additional reserved spaces for disabled drivers in some car parks.

3.4 On balance, the changes are considered to be generally compatible with the County Council's approach. It is, therefore, recommended that consent be given to the revised Parking Order under Section 39 of the Act.

3.5 There are no significant changes to the regime in either of the car parks which are on highway land. It is further recommended, therefore, that consent be given to the relevant elements of the Parking Order under Sections 45 and 46 of the Act.

Recommendation

That Gosport Borough Council be informed that:

1. Consent is given by Hampshire County Council under Section 39 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to general revisions to the "Borough of Gosport (Off-Street Parking Places) (Gosport and Lee-on-the-Solent) Order".

2. Consent is given by Hampshire County Council, pursuant to Traffic Management Agency arrangements with Gosport Borough Council, for Gosport Borough Council to exercise as its agent the powers of the traffic authority, under Sections 45 and 46 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, to those revisions to the "Borough of Gosport (Off-Street Parking Places) (Gosport and Lee-on-the-Solent) Order" relating to Mumby Road Lorry Park and The Flower Buildings car park.

645Rpt/DMcG

APPENDIX

SUMMARY OF CHANGES IN THE BOROUGH OF GOSPORT (OFF STREET PARKING PLACES) (GOSPORT AND LEE-ON-THE-SOLENT) (AMENDMENT) (NO.2) PARKING ORDER 2005