8.3 Season tickets may be purchased on a monthly or yearly basis for use by commuters in the following car parks:

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1 8. Parking Permits 8.1 Resident parking schemes (controlled parking zones) are a way to protect residents from the problems caused by commuter parking in residential streets. The schemes control parking through the implementation of parking restrictions. Each scheme is designed to give residents a better chance of parking close to home. There are currently 36 controlled parking zones within the City, 34 are located in a ring around the City Centre. 8.2 Plymouth City Council has nine different types of Parking Permits. The parking permit system is designed to accommodate the needs of residents in designated areas of the City and for businesses operating in the City. The Council differentiates between permits issued for parking on-street and for those for parking off-street. Off-street Parking Season Tickets 8.3 Season tickets may be purchased on a monthly or yearly basis for use by commuters in the following car parks: Theatre Royal (Level 6 & above only) Drake Cinema Regent Street Western Approach 8.4 Monthly charges are 100 in each of the car parks except Western Approach which costs 80 per month. Hire of Parking Spaces 8.5 Building contractors (including electricians, plumbers etc) working in around the City centre may hire parking spaces in on-street parking bays and in off-street car parks. Permits are issued to successful applicants and a charge made of 7.70 per day in the case of off-street bays, and the full all-day charge for on-street bays. On-street Parking Permits 8.6 On-street permits are issued for parking in streets within the controlled parking zones. There are several different types of permit. Residents Parking Permits 8.7 Residents of the City s first controlled parking zones were not charged for their parking permits. As the cost of operating the schemes grew it became necessary to charge for each permit. Currently residents are charged an annual fee of 25 for each permit. This fee helps to pay the cost of administering and enforcing the controlled parking zones. 8-1

There are currently 36 controlled parking zones within the City, 34 are located in a ring around the City Centre. 8.2 Plymouth City Council has nine different types of Parking Permits.

2 8.8 Resident permits are displayed in the windscreen of the registered vehicle notifying parking attendants that the vehicle is entitled to be parked within a particular zone. Each permit shows the registration number of the permitted vehicle so that each permit is only valid for a particular car. Residents' Visitor Tickets 8.9 Residents may also purchase books of visitor tickets. The tickets are displayed in the windscreen of vehicles belonging to residents visitors. Each ticket is valid for one day only in the zone specified. Residents are limited to the purchase of three books of Resident Visitor Tickets annually. The current cost for the books is: 15 for the 1st book, 25 for the 2nd and 35 for the 3rd. Essential Visitor Permits 8.10 Residents of controlled parking zones who are in need of essential daily care by relatives or home care workers can apply for an essential visitor permit. Applications for an essential visitor permit must be supported by a doctor's declaration, which states that the resident is in need of essential daily care. The permit is kept by the resident and given to the essential visitor to place in their car whilst parking in the residents bays during their visit. Business Parking Permits 8.11 Business parking permits are available in most of the resident parking zones. The permits issued are only valid within the zone in which the business premises are located and are only issued for vehicles used regularly throughout the day for business purposes. Vehicles that are infrequently used or used solely as a means to travel to and from work do not qualify for a permit. Essential Worker Permits 8.12 Essential Worker Permits were introduced in 1999 specifically to alleviate the parking problems that businesses, landlords and sole traders were experiencing. Before this time there were no facilities for landlords or businesses to park in the Resident's Parking areas. Current costs for these permits are: 10 weekly or 100 annually. Permit Issues 8.13 Figure 8.1 shows the number of resident only spaces in each zone and the number of permits issued. The numbers of shared use spaces (permit holders & pay and display) are not included within the chart. Shared use spaces are provided in zones E, F, H and Z The chart shows that in most of the zones the number of resident permits issued is close to the number of spaces provided. Zones where a deficit in the number of spaces provided in comparison to the number of resident permits issued were A, C, D, E and H. More of the zones displayed a deficit in spaces if the numbers of business or essential worker permits etc are taken into consideration. 8-2

9 Residents may also purchase books of visitor tickets. The tickets are displayed in the windscreen of vehicles belonging to residents visitors.

3 Figure 8.1 Permits Issued Per Zone (2004/2005) No. Permit Holder Only Spaces Total No. Permits Issued (Incl. Business etc) No. Spaces - Total No. Permits No. Resident Permits Issued No. Spaces - No. Resident Permits No. Permits A AA B C CA CB CC CD CE D DD E EE F G GG H HH I IIA IIB IR J K L MA MB N P QA QB R S TA TB TC U V W X Y Z Zone 8-3

Resident Permits Issued No. Spaces - No. Resident Permits 1200 1000 800 600 No.

4 8.15 Figure 8.2 shows the number of resident permits per household in each zone. It shows that there are fewer than three resident permits for a large majority of households. The Council issued one resident permit to 69% of households Across the CPZ, two permits to 23%, three permits to 5% and three or more permits to 3% of households. Figure 8.2 No. Residents Permits Issued Per Household by Zone (2004/2005) No. Households Permits 4 Permits 3 Permits 2 Permits 1 Permits A AA B C D DD E EE F G GG H IIA IIB J K L MB N P R S TA Zone 8.16 In terms of the residents permits issued on average 52% of the permits were issued to motorists who did not live with anyone else who had a permit. 33% of permits were issued to motorists who live with one other person who had a permit. 10% of permits were issued to motorists who live with two other people who had a permit. 8-4

Residents Permits Issued Per Household by Zone (2004/2005) 650 600 550 500 450 No.

5 Problems and Issues: Parking Permits Many of the controlled parking zones are oversubscribed. Recommendations Introduce a sliding scale of charges for resident and business permits This may help to address problems faced by residents in congested resident parking zones. Although residents have a right to own as many vehicles as they wish, Households with more than one car make it more difficult for those with one car to park on street Increasing the cost of permits issued to a household to which a permit (or permits) is already registered may reduce the number of vehicles parked on-street and relieve parking pressure in residential areas that are oversubscribed. Alternatively, if this measure does not have the desired effect, the increased cost to multiple car-owning households would help to keep the cost of single (or low) car owning households at reduced levels. While ensuring that the controlled parking zones are self financing In Plymouth charges for the first two permits could be similar if not the same so that the number of residents that are disadvantaged is minimised. An incremental increase for the third and fourth permits could then be applied. Table 8.1 shows some of the sliding charges introduced by other local authorities in England. Both Croydon and Sheffield introduced the sliding charges after the controlled parking zones had been in operation for some time. Table 8.1 Resident Permit Sliding Charges Used by Local Authorities in England Bath Sheffield Watford Croydon 1 st Permit nd Permit rd Permit Not Permitted Not Permitted Additional Permits Not Permitted 140 Not Permitted Not Permitted 8.20 Bournemouth, which like Bath, is also in the South West Region limits households to two permits and one visitor permit each costing 50. Each of the authorities uses the council tax definition of a household. 8-5

Although residents have a right to own as many vehicles as they wish, Households with more than one car make it more difficult for those with one car to park on street. 8.

Introduction 2. Residents Parking Scheme General Information 2. Parking Permits 2. Residents Parking Permit 3. Annual Visitor Parking Permit 3

Introduction 2. Residents Parking Scheme General Information 2. Parking Permits 2. Residents Parking Permit 3. Annual Visitor Parking Permit 3 CONTENTS PAGE Introduction 2 Residents Parking Scheme 2 Parking Permits 2 Residents Parking Permit 3 Annual Visitor Parking Permit 3 Daily Visitor Scratch Cards 3 Business Parking Permit 4 Tradesmen Waiver