Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report

1. Executive Summary

1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide the River Hamble Harbour Management Committee with background information concerning the projected population trends for the PUSH (Partnership for Urban South Hampshire) area, following on from the report provided by the Marine Director on the 26 June 2009. That report focused upon car and trailer parking adjacent to the River Hamble.

2. Contextual information

2.1 At the Management Committee on the 26 June, Members received a report from the Marine Director identifying current car parking provision around the River Hamble. That report highlighted and described the public car parking facilities, and arrangements, provided by both Eastleigh Borough Council and Fareham Borough Council.

2.2 Members of the Management Committee have raised concerns over both the current and future impact of car parking upon the River Hamble and the context of those pressures were set out in the Marine Director's report.

2.3 The Management Committee wished to consider what information was available upon the likely impact of the projected development within the PUSH area, and what data the County Council had available in relation to the impact of that development upon the River.

2.4 The development and population predictions are shown in Table 1. The basic data is that of the proposed development to build 77,821 new homes between 2006 to 2026. The population is expected to increase by 87,419 over the same period. Figures indicate that the vast majority of these homes will be single person households (59,000 out of the 78,000).

2.5 The other data available is that relating to the comparative likelihood of certain types of people being interested in boats and yachting. This uses the categorisation offered by the Mosaic system which is a well established tool used upon a national basis. Of the 11 Mosaic groups, the K group are 79% more likely than the average population to be interested in boats and yachting. The A group (career professionals living in sought after locations) are 59% more likely to be interested, and the J group (active older) who are 38% more likely to be interested. In terms of the new development the growth would appear to be mostly relating to the J group. Consequently there could be some growth in demand for boating and marine activities from this sector of the population.

2.6 It is very difficult to put a precise figure on the growth in demand without reviewing the current Mosaic profile of the PUSH area. At the time of writing this report no such profile is available. Such work would clearly only provide an indication of the rough growth in demand from the population within the PUSH area and take no account of that proportion of demand generated from outside the PUSH area. It is also important to clearly state that any predictions made over such a time period will be subject to the potential impact of unforeseen developments over that period. For example it is hard to predict potential changes in cost of fuel or indeed in the regulatory environment, both of which could be significant factors in such a consideration.

2.7 There is a danger of over complicating the approach to this question and it is unlikely that the current data will offer a highly accurate picture. If it is assumed that there is no dramatic change in the general interest in an uptake of boating and marine activities, it would be reasonable to surmise that the general change in demand for any activity will more or less reflect the likely changes in the PUSH population which will see an increase up to a figure of 1,087,653, equivalent to an increase of 8.7% over a 20 year period.

3. Key Issues

3.1 There is a widely held view that public car and trailer parking around the River Hamble is in short supply. For many days of the year there is, in fact, adequate parking provision on both sides of the River, although there are considerable differences in the charging regime applied. The main issues can be summarised as:

(a) Current availability of parking (private and public) in the River Hamble area.

(b) Likely future trends in demand.

(c) Medium term car parking (i.e. more than 24 hours but less than 7 days), particularly for yachtsmen who wish to leave their cars for more than 24 hours whilst afloat).

(d) Long term car parking (i.e. more than 7 days), for yachtsmen who wish to leave their cars whilst on longer trips.

(e) Parking for boat trailers (for dinghies, trailer sailors and power boats).

(f) Parking at peak times (weekends, Bank Holidays etc.).

(g) Parking for special events (Cowes Week, Round the Island Race, other regattas, open meetings and events).

(h) Parking for non-boating related activities.

4. Potential options for the future

4.1 Clearly any attempt to ameliorate both current and future demand for parking facilities will require close working between the Local Authorities and riparian landowners. From this perspective the following options may be considered.

4.2 All sites of a suitable nature to address the issues highlighted in section 3 of the report should be identified, including those land holdings of both Borough Councils and the County Council. These sites should then be subjected to closer scrutiny with a view to assessing the viability of releasing any currently untapped potential.

4.3 Consideration could be given to Park and Ride or Park and Boat options, albeit the pattern and volume of demand involved is not likely to make such provision cost effective or sustainable.

4.4 Working closely with the Marinas and private operators to identify the volume and range of parking requirements which they are likely to be able to cater for coupled with those where extra demand or provision is predicted.

4.5 More radical or novel solutions may be worth exploring including those akin to some of the web-based private parking initiatives, e.g. drive-way sharing schemes, albeit the scale of demand will again be a key determinant of viability.

5. Recommendations

It is recommended that the Management Committee:

i) Recognises the general data summarised in this report as it may affect the issue of parking and activities in the River Hamble area.

ii) Considers the options set out in Section 4 of the report, together with any others, and advises upon those most likely to assist in addressing this issue.

iii) Fully supports joint working by the riparian local authorities, private land owners and boat operators to maximise the effectiveness of car parking provision adjacent to the River Hamble.

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