DELEGATED POWERS REPORT NO.

1910 SUBJECT: Chipping Barnet Town Centre Parking Review - Experimental introduction of Parking Changes Control sheet All of the following actions MUST be completed at each stage of the process and the signed and dated report MUST be passed to the Governance Service for publishing
All reports 1. Governance Service receive draft report Name of GSO Date 2. Governance Service cleared draft report as being constitutionally appropriate Finance clearance obtained (report author to complete) Name of GSO Date Name of Fin. officer Date Name of Res. officer Date Name of SPO Date Name of Legal officer Date: Name of P&P officer Date Name of officer Date Name Date Name of GSO Date Name of GSO Date Name of GSO Date Chileme Hayes 18/01/13 Andrew Nathan 15/01/13 Andrew Nathan 15/01/13 Councillor Dean Cohen 24/01/13 Chidilim Agada 25/01/13 Chidilim Agada 25/01/13 Chidilim Agada 25/01/13 Not applicable Not applicable Not applicable DPR Mailbox 18/01/13 Chidilim Agada 18/01/13 Gary Hussein 18/01/13 Not applicable

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4. Staff and other resources issues clearance obtained (report author to complete) 5. Strategic Procurement clearance obtained (report author to complete) 6. Legal clearance obtained from (report author to complete) 7. Policy & Partnerships clearance obtained (report author to complete) 8. Equalities & Diversity clearance obtained (report author to complete) 9. The above process has been checked and verified by Director, Head of Service or Deputy 10. Signed & dated report, scanned or hard copy received by Governance Service for publishing 11. Report published by Governance Service to website 12. Head of Service informed report is published

13. Expiry of call-in period 14. Report circulated for call-in purposes to Business Management OSC members & copied to Cabinet Members & Head of Service

Date Name of GSO Date

ACTION TAKEN BY CABINET MEMBER (EXECUTIVE FUNCTION)

Subject

Chipping Barnet Town Centre Parking Review Experimental introduction of Parking Changes Cabinet Member for Environment 24 January 2012 24 January 2012

Cabinet Member Date of Decision Date of decision comes into effect

Summary

This report recommends the introduction of parking changes on an experimental basis following the completion of the review of parking in Chipping Barnet Town Centre which was carried out as part of the borough wide Town Centre and Shopping Parades Review Gavin Woolery Allen Senior Engineer, Traffic and Development Section, Environment, Planning and Regeneration Public High Barnet, Underhill Appendix A: Summary of responses to questionnaire from Chipping Barnet businesses Drawing nos. 15953_3a and 15953_3b

Officer Contributors

Status (public or exempt) Wards affected Enclosures

Reason for exemption from callin (if appropriate) Key decision Contact for further information:

Not applicable No

Serial No. 1910

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RELEVANT PREVIOUS DECISIONS Leader of the Councils Delegated Powers Report 1727 of 9 July 2012 approved new parking initiatives and charges in Environment Planning and Regeneration. Cabinet Member for Environment Delegated Powers Report 1847 of 5 November 2012 approved the introduction of parking changes on an experimental basis following the completion of a North Finchley Town Centre parking review. CORPORATE PRIORITIES AND POLICY CONSIDERATIONS The three priority outcomes set out in the 2012/13 Corporate Plan are: Better services with less money Sharing opportunities, sharing responsibilities A successful London suburb

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Introducing amendments to parking controls in the borough will contribute to the priority A Successful London Suburb by keeping traffic moving. The London Mayors Transport Strategy also addresses these areas through: Proposal 30: The Mayor, through TFL, and working with the London boroughs and other stakeholders, will introduce measures to smooth traffic flow to manage congestion (delay, reliability and network resilience) for all people and freight movements on the road network, and maximise the efficiency of the network. These measures will include c) keep traffic moving , e) Planning and implementing improvements to the existing road network, to improve traffic flow on the most congested sections of the network, and to improve conditions for all road users. RISK MANAGEMENT ISSUES It is considered that the issues involved are likely to give rise to policy considerations as failure to sustain and enhance Barnets town centres will impair their key contribution to the social, economic and environmental well-being of the borough. The proposed measures and reductions in tariff have been designed to cater for local trading demands and to encourage a higher patronage and turnover of spaces in the Chipping Barnet area. There is a theoretical risk that the reduced parking tariffs may not improve turnover and patronage to achieve the increase in parking income. This has been assessed against existing generated income, which is currently significantly below the level predicted for the current financial year. Should income not match currently achieved parking revenue, then a recovery plan will be developed by the Environment, Planning and Regeneration directorate to mitigate the loss in revenue. The proposals have been formulated having given serious consideration to the comments contained within the questionnaires, (see paragraphs 8.6 to 8.8 below), those made at meetings with local stakeholders and council priorities. The introduction of the measures on an experimental basis will allow the Council to

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monitor and make changes if necessary to any or all elements of the changes, or abandoning the changes should it think fit. 4.
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EQUALITIES AND DIVERSITY ISSUES Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 requires a decision-maker to have due regard to achieving a number of equality goals: (i) to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by the Act; (ii) to advance equality of opportunity between those with protected characteristics and those without; and (iii) to foster good relations between persons with a relevant protected characteristic and those without. The relevant protected characteristics are age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. The Town Centre and Shopping Parades Parking Review (TCSPPR) aims to create the right environment for vibrant and viable town centres in Barnet. Integral to this is the need to respect the diversity of the town centre network and to take into account the different requirements of each town centre, and the different needs and preferences of those who use them. The proposals in this report therefore address accessibility issues by creating parking options in Chipping Barnet Town Centre which motorists should find easier to use. The changes resulting from the TCSPPR will identify opportunities to enhance the public realm and improve accessibility for all users and will seek to support the provision of a wide range of shops and services to meet the needs of diverse local populations. USE OF RESOURCES IMPLICATIONS (Finance, Procurement, Performance & Value for Money, Staffing, IT, Property, Sustainability) The costs of preparing the TCSPPR have been contained within the existing capital budget for this initiative. The changes to parking controls on an experimental basis would require amendments to existing Traffic Management Orders which essentially forms part of the statutory consultation process. Total estimated costs for the necessary statutory process, including advertising, printing, and all officer time, including consideration of any comments received, report writing and the introduction of the measures, are estimated to be approximately 20,000, the costs of which can be met from the existing capital budget of 100,000 for carrying out and introducing measures resulting from the Town Centre and Shopping Parades Parking Review. Should there be a need to consider additional measures as a result of the statutory processes, funding may need to be sought from other capital budgets within the Directorate to support the initiatives. The lines and signs will require periodic ongoing routine maintenance. LEGAL ISSUES The Traffic Management Act 2004 places an obligation on authorities to ensure the expeditious movement of traffic on their road network. Authorities are required to

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make arrangements as they consider appropriate for planning and carrying out the action to be taken in performing the duty. 6.2 The Councils charging powers are regulated by the general duty on Authorities under Section 122 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to have so far as practicable having regard to the matters specified in subsection (2) to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of vehicular and other traffic and the provision of suitable and adequate parking facilities on and off the highway. CONSTITUTIONAL POWERS Council Constitution, Part 3, Responsibility for Functions, Section 3.3 provides that Cabinet Members may discharge the executive functions that fall within their portfolio, whether or not they are also delegated to officers except for matters specifically reserved to Council, Cabinet or cabinet committees. BACKGROUND INFORMATION In September and October 2012 the Council undertook a parking review of Town Centres and Shopping Parades where Pay by Phone facilities are located. The review was carried out by delivering a letter to 2380 businesses and traders across the borough inviting them to complete an online questionnaire designed to obtain knowledge of their parking requirements with a view to establishing whether the current parking arrangements in the boroughs Town Centres and Shopping Parades could be improved to better serve the town centre community. The opportunity was also given to return a traditional hard copy if they so wished. The review focused specifically on 20 individual town centres and shopping parades within the borough and this report summarises the analysis of the review in the Chipping Barnet Town Centre and makes recommendations for changes to improve both customer service and turnover of space through appropriate controls. The overarching aim of this study was to comprehensively review the effectiveness and impact of the parking controls in the Chipping Barnet Town Centre identified through public consultation and ongoing discussions with local stakeholders; to ensure the current parking arrangements cater for the existing and future needs of residents, visitors, traders and businesses. In total 187 questionnaire responses were received from the 2380 businesses and traders across the borough by the closing date of Friday 19 October 2012, representing a response rate of 8%. Of this, 200 letters were delivered in Chipping Barnet Town Centre and 38 questionnaires received. This represents a 19% local response rate the highest local response rate from all the 20 Town Centres and Shopping Parades engaged. A summary of the responses of the returned questionnaires from Chipping Barnet Town Centre is contained within Appendix A. The questionnaire asked businesses and traders a range of specific questions regarding the type of business and its business functions and requirements. Of the 38 respondents: 16(42%) were retail establishments

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19 (50%) used between 1 and 3 vehicles to carry out their business functions 20 (52%) had between 1 and 3 vehicles driven to their work premises by employees 9 (23%) had at least one business permit registered to their business 20 (52%) had a loading requirement of some sort and 16 (80%) of these had an on-street loading requirement 11 (28%) considered the current loading bays unsuitable for their requirements 21 (55%) were unaware that unless there are loading restrictions in force, you can load and unload on a yellow line for up to 40 minutes and they could also do this in a parking bay 25 (65%) felt the needs of disabled drivers were met in their area 27 (71%) identified passing trade as their main customer base 2 (5%) identified the average shopping time for customers was between 0 and 10 minutes 12 (31%) identified the average shopping time for customers was between 10 and 30 minutes 11 (28%) identified the average shopping time for customers was between 30 minutes and 1 hour 6 (16%) identified the average shopping time for customers was between 1 and 2 hours 3 (8%) identified the average shopping time for customers was more than 2 hours

A section of the questionnaire, also asked businesses and traders to list in order of priority, what their main concerns were with the current parking regime in the area. It is important to note that this section of the questionnaire did not include any prompting from the council, as the comments page was left blank. Of the 38 businesses and traders who responded, the following was identified as being of most concern: 20 (40%) cited Pay By Phone 5 (14%) cited lack of free parking 4 (10%) cited level of parking fees and charges 4 (7%) cited lack of pay and display machines (coin payment) 1 (7%) cited the lack of parking facilities Section 6 of the questionnaire, asked businesses and traders for further comments in relation to the current parking regime. This section of the questionnaire did not include any prompting from the council, as the comments page was left blank. Of the 38 businesses and traders who responded, the following was identified as being of most concern to businesses and traders: 9 cited lack of pay & display machines (coin payment) 6 cited Pay By Phone 4 traders requested help from the council 3 cited lack of free parking 3 cited level of parking fees and charges 2 requested that both Stapylton and Moxon Street car parks are converted to short stay only 1 cited lack of parking facilities

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Discussions have also taken place between Council Officers and local stakeholders and a local Ward Member, who are members of the High Barnet Strategy Board, whose interests, amongst other issues, focuses around increasing footfall in the Town Centre and patronage of its shops and other businesses. The findings of the TCSPPR mirror the Boards ongoing concerns about parking in Chipping Barnet Town Centre. It has been suggested through the questionnaire responses and through discussions with local stakeholders that it is believed that by re-introducing coin operated pay and display machines, introducing free parking and reducing car parking charges, visitor footfall will increase. However, the downturn in the economic climate and the effect of other shopping areas and methods on Chipping Barnet Town Centre must also be considered as contributing factors to the drop in trade being reported. In considering the results of the TCSPPR, it has been considered that Chipping Barnet Town Centre is made up of High Street extending from High Barnet Underground Station in the south-east to the Hadley area in the north. The High Street acts as a commercial spine to the area, with mainly residential roads surrounding it. High Street forms part of the Chipping Barnet Controlled Parking Zone, which is split into two main areas: Zone C which operates Monday to Saturday 8am to 6.30pm, in order to afford local residential roads protection from any motorist visiting the amenities which can be found in the Town Centre. This is a relatively large area, centred around the High Street. Zone D which operates Monday to Friday, 2pm to 3pm affords local residential roads protection from motorists wishing to park in the area for the whole day. This area is comprised of 7 roads located opposite High Barnet Station grounds.

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High Street forms part of Zone C, but has a mixture of short-term pay by phone parking bays designed to promote a regular turnover of parking availability to the benefit of local businesses, and long term pay by phone/permit parking bays catering for those wishing to visit the area for longer periods. Due to the layout of the High Street, and the substantial lengths of kerbside space where it is considered parking should not occur, i.e. at junctions and pedestrian crossing areas, and the necessity to provide sufficient capacity to handle the amount of traffic using the road, the number of parking spaces on High Street between the Underground Station and Christ Church Lane is limited to approximately 24 short stay pay by phone spaces and 27 shared use long stay pay by phone/permit holder spaces. Within the remainder of the CPZ, the layout includes many shared use long stay pay by phone/permit holder spaces which are positioned in residential roads. The designation of these spaces are often to the detriment of local residents who live in roads close to the High Street, as resident and business permit holders and those using the pay by phone facilities compete for space, along with visitors to the area

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who may not know where similar parking spaces are positioned in roads further away from the vicinity of the Town Centre. 8.15 Within the CPZ, there are also three Council-owned car parks in which pay by phone charges apply. The Stapylton Road (61 spaces plus 2 disabled badge spaces), Fitzohn Avenue (87 spaces plus 2 disabled badge spaces) and Moxon Street (58 spaces plus 3 disabled badge spaces) car parks all offer motorists the opportunity to pay to park for short and long periods alike. However following changes made to the car park tariffs in September 2012, all three car parks have differing tariffs with Stapylton Road Car Park providing the most attractive short term tariffs, and Fitzjohn Avenue Car Park being most attractive for those wishing to park all day. The Town Centre also benefits from an additional car park which is not owned by the Council - The Spires car park, which has approximately 440 spaces, and whose charges historically could be seen as more attractive to the short term parker than what is currently offered by the Council to park on-street and off-street. However the recent tariff change in Stapylton Road Car Park could be seen to have made it more attractive than The Spires car park. A study of Chipping Barnet Town Centre Pay by Phone parking places has been undertaken, in order to develop an understanding of current on and off street parking usage and revenue. The analysis suggests that there has been a marked decrease in the potential earnings of on and off street parking revenue, given the maximum uptake, in line with current charges. Although the detailed analysis carried out only reflects one particular week, which was selected as being a typical week reducing the impact of any influences on patronage, and may not reflect patterns across the entire year, following this analysis in conjunction with the responses to the Town Centre review, it is considered that the current parking regime is one of the numbers of factors deterring visitors to the area. More specifically, aside from the payment mechanism, the main issue of those who responded identified cost as the issue of most concern. In light of the findings of the TCSPPR for Chipping Barnet, and as a result of the discussions with local stakeholders, it is considered that a series of changes should be made to the parking regime in Chipping Barnet Town Centre. These changes should focus on providing additional parking spaces on-street for short term visitors to the Town Centre and making existing Town Centre spaces more attractive for visiting motorists. It is also considered that there is scope to further review the parking layout of the Town Centre and in surrounding roads with a view to accommodating long stay parkers who currently park all day near the Town Centre, further afield in order to free up further space for shoppers. It is therefore considered that the following changes be introduced: convert the long stay pay by phone/permit parking places outside Nos. 12-14 and 20-24 High Street to 1 hour maximum stay pay by phone parking places with the following tariff: Up to 30 mins: 0.65; Up to 1 hour: 1.30 enable certain residents of High Street (Nos. 1 to 15 and Nos. 2 to 24) to obtain D CPZ resident permits.

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introduce a Monday to Saturday 8am to 6.30pm 1 hour maximum stay pay by phone parking place in Fitzjohn Avenue with the following tariff: Up to 30 mins: 0.65; Up to 1 hour: 1.30 (Location no. 9114) convert part of a long stay pay by phone/permit parking place in Union Street to Monday to Saturday 8am to 6.30pm 1 hour maximum stay pay by phone parking places with the following tariff: - Up to 30 mins: 0.65; Up to 1 hour: 1.30 Remove the ability for business permit holders to park in the pay by phone/permit parking places on High Street between Christ Church Lane and St Albans Road, and introduce a maximum pay by phone stay of 4 hours in these parking places with the following tariff: Up to 30 mins: 0.65; Up to 1 hour: 1.30; Up to 2 hours: 2.60; Up to 4 hours: 3.25 (Location Nos. 9108, 9099 and 9065) introduce a maximum stay of 4 hours in the Moxon Street car park with a tariff commensurate with the current Stapylton Road car park tariff: Up to 30 mins: 0.50; Up to 1 hour: 1.00; Up to 2 hours: 2.00; Up to 4 hours: 2.50. Prohibit business permit holders from parking in Moxon Street and Stapylton Road car parks. provide improved signage to indicate the location of Moxon Street car park from High Street adapt the existing loading bays on High Street to allow 15 minutes free parking, with no return within 1 hour between 10am and 4pm, Monday to Saturday reduce the parking tariffs in certain pay by phone parking places (pay by phone location nos. specified below) on High Street, Park Road, Moxon Street, Hadley Green, Stapylton Road and Bruce Road, (according to their maximum stay) to: 1 hour maximum stay Up to 30 mins: 0.65 Up to 1 hour: 1.30 Applicable to: Location Nos. 9080, 9064, 9051, 9060, 9055, 9057, 9070 and 9068 Long stay Up to 30 mins: 0.65 Up to 1 hour: 1.30 Up to 3 hours: 2.60 Over 3 hours:: 4.55 Applicable to: Location Nos. 9154, 9533,9524 and 9525 seek to obtain local business feedback on the interest or otherwise in formalising an arrangement to encourage business permit holders to park in Fitzjohn Avenue car park and/or in certain parking places on-street slightly away from the Town Centre, by way of an attractive business permit charge The proposed changes are illustrated on the attached drawing Nos. 15953_3a and 15353_3b

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Although it is considered that the measures outlined in paragraph 8.20 will in the first instance will make an improvement to parking provision for those wishing to park for short periods and long periods alike in Chipping Barnet Town Centre, it is considered that further work should continue to be carried out in reviewing the current on-street parking layout within the Town Centre and surrounding CPZ to establish whether further improvements can be made. This includes investigating the appropriateness of the existing permit parking places on High Street and near the Town Centre, and whether it is feasible to incorporate permit parking in the surrounding CPZ. If further measures are considered appropriate, approval will be sought via the relevant channels in the coming months. It is considered that the proposed changes outlined in paragraph 8.20 reflect the Councils recognition of local needs and pressures, whilst still in keeping with the objectives of encouraging different travel choices and balancing the needs of different user groups. In this way, the limited resource of parking within Chipping Barnet Town Centre can be managed effectively. Given the potential wide ranging proposals that are interdependent, there is a need to ensure flexibility of approach so that any or all of the measures can be modified or removed if necessary to realise the maximum benefit from making such changes in Chipping Barnet Town Centre. Therefore it is considered that the best approach is to introduce the changes on an experimental basis in the first instance. The cost of progressing and introducing the proposals as outlined in this report is estimated to be in the region of 20,000 as the experimental introduction of new parking places, new parking tariffs and changes to the usage of parking places would require amendments to Traffic Management Orders, which if successful would then need to be made permanent. The estimated costs to make the measures permanent would include advertising, printing, officer time, including consideration of any comments received, report writing and public notification of any agreed measures, will be confirmed once they have been fully developed.

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LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS Tabulated analysis of Chipping Barnet Town Centre pay by phone income study.

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DECISION OF THE CABINET MEMBER(S) I authorise the following action:

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To approve the introduction of the measures as contained within this report and outlined in Paragraph 8.20 on an experimental basis. All measures are to be introduced as soon as practicable, complying with all necessary statutory requirements. That the effectiveness and impact of introduced measures be monitored closely and action identified to mitigate against ineffectiveness including financial underperformance. That any unresolved material objections received are dealt with by the Director of Environment, Planning and Regeneration under delegated powers, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment before a decision is

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made in due course on whether to make all or any of the measures permanent. 10.4 That work continues to be carried out in reviewing the current on-street parking layout within the Chipping Barnet Town Centre and surrounding CPZ to establish whether further improvements can be made in relation to Town Centre parking. If further measures are considered appropriate, approval will be sought via the relevant channels in the coming months.

Signed

Councillor Dean Cohen Cabinet Member for Environment

Date

24/01/13