ACTION TAKEN BY CABINET MEMBER (EXECUTIVE FUNCTION) 3 July 2013

Transcription

1 ACTION TAKEN BY CABINET MEMBER (EXECUTIVE FUNCTION) Subject Cabinet Member StreetScene Parking Service Credit and Debit Card Machine Roll Out Cabinet Member for the Environment Date of Decision 3 July 2013 Date decision comes into effect 3 July 2013 Summary To authorise the procurement and installation of up to 40 Credit and Debit Card machines at locations set out in the report, in addition to the 19 already procured and being placed at designated on-street locations. The machines to be procured using the ESPO 509 framework (PAY & DISPLAY SOLUTIONS AND PARKING MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS) Officer Contributors Status (public or exempt) Wards affected Enclosures Reason for exemption from callin (if appropriate) Key decision Mike Mitchell, Interim Head of Contract Management StreetScene. Ian Baruch, Parking Manager Public All wards None No applicable No Contact for further information: Mike Mitchell, Interim Head of Contract Management StreetScene, Tel: Serial No. 2071

2 1. RELEVANT PREVIOUS DECISIONS 1.1 Delegated Powers Report 1727, 9 July 2012 the Leader of the Council approved new Parking initiatives and charges in Environment, Planning and Regeneration. 1.2 Business Management Overview & Scrutiny Committee, 31 July 2012 a Member of the Committee called-in Delegated Powers Report 1727 for closer scrutiny. Following consideration of the decision, the Committee resolved not to refer the decision back to the decision maker. 1.3 Delegated Powers Report 1847, 5 November North Finchley Parking Review Experimental Introduction of Parking Changes the Cabinet Member for Environment approved the introduction of parking changes on an experimental basis following the completion of a North Finchley Town Centre parking review. 1.4 Delegated Powers Report 1859, 6 December 2012 Purchase and Installation of Credit and Debit card pay and display machines the Interim Director of Environment, Planning and Regeneration approved the acceptance of a quotation from Parkeon Ltd to supply and install machines in car parks and on a trial basis on-street in North Finchley Town Centre. 1.5 Delegated Powers Report 1979, 5 April Installation of Credit and Debit card pay and display machines the Cabinet Member for Environment approved the change in priority of the roll out of Credit/Debit card machines from Car Park locations to On-Street locations. 2. CORPORATE PRIORITIES AND POLICY CONSIDERATIONS 2.1 The consideration of payment mechanisms for parking on street and in the Council s charged for car parks is consistent with contributing to the Corporate Plan priority promote responsible growth, development and success across the borough. 3. RISK MANAGEMENT ISSUES 3.1 The implementation and enforcement of parking controls and appropriate tariff structures helps ensure the effective use of the borough s road network and encourages the free flow of traffic. 3.2 There is a risk that having invested in providing this additional payment option, it may not be used in the volumes that have been anticipated and this may lead to a later decision to remove on the grounds of financial viability. 3.3 There is a risk that these machines will be targeted by vandals. However, as they will not hold cash and there are alternative payment options in place the implications of machines being out of order are of a lower order of magnitude. 3.4 Multiple methods of payment increases the overall cost of parking provision to the Council with no guarantee of additional income, this increase in overhead is not accounted for in existing budgets; it may also have unintended

3 consequences of redirecting existing customers away from Pay by Phone without any compensating increase in volumes. 4. EQUALITIES AND DIVERSITY ISSUES 4.1 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. 4.2 Having due regard to the need to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it involves having due regard, in particular, to the need to: (a) remove or minimise disadvantages suffered by persons who share a relevant protected characteristic that are connected to that characteristic; (b) take steps to meet the needs of persons who share a relevant protected characteristic that are different from the needs of persons who do not share it; and (c) encourage persons who share a relevant protected characteristic to participate in public life or in any other activity in which participation by such persons is disproportionately low. 4.3 The proposal and hence introduction of additional payment methods will benefit those who may otherwise have been impacted by the existing transaction methods. 5. USE OF RESOURCES IMPLICATIONS (Finance, Procurement, Performance & Value for Money, Staffing, IT, Property, Sustainability) 5.1 The variation of payment methods requires amendments to the Council s existing Traffic Management Orders. The estimated total costs of 5,000 for advertising, printing and all officer time have not been accommodated through the previous decision taken by the Leader on 9 July 2012 under delegated powers. Anticipated efficiencies on current service level agreements will be used to fund the 5,000 costs 5.2 There are additional costs involved in procuring, installing, managing and maintaining up to 40 proposed locations for machines. This will be approximately 201K and will be funded by a one off payment from earmarked reserves. 5.3 The Credit & Debit Card machines will be procured using the ESPO 509 framework (Pay & Display solutions and Parking Management Information systems) through a mini-tender exercise in accordance with clause 6.4.

4 6. LEGAL ISSUES 6.1 The Council as Highway Authority has the necessary legal powers to introduce or amend Traffic Management Orders through the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (RTRA). Section 35 of the RTRA allows a Local Authority by order to provide for a specified apparatus or device to be used as a means to collect parking charges. Traffic Management Orders must be made in compliance with the Local Authorities Traffic Orders (Procedures) (England and Wales) Regulations The Council s charging powers are regulated by the general duty on Authorities under Section 122 of the RTRA 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. 6.3 The estimated value of the procurement of Credit/Debit card machines exceeds the threshold set under the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (as amended) triggering the requirement to conduct an EU compliant procurement process in relation to Part A services. 6.4 The use of the Framework Agreement must comply with relevant European Union Procurement Regulations; the Council s Contract Procedure Rules and Procurement Code of Practice. The parties will be required to execute a formal written contract, in accordance with the Framework Agreement, for the supply and installation of credit and debit machines. 7. CONSTITUTIONAL POWERS 7.1 Council Constitution, Responsibility for Functions, section 4.2 details the responsibilities of the Cabinet Member which includes all matters relating to the development and management of the environment, including parking provision. 8. BACKGROUND INFORMATION 8.1 Following the removal of cash machines throughout the borough the current parking payment options include Pay by Phone, Paypoint and Scratchcards. This has now been extended to include Credit/Debit card machines positioned at strategic locations within the borough. The DPR report 1979, of 5 April 2013, approved a change in priority of the roll out of Credit/Debit card machines from Car Park locations to On-Street locations. 8.2 The first Town Centre review was carried out in North Finchley as part of an integrated project for improvements through the application of Outer London Fund grants. The review highlighted the desire from traders for alternative machine based payment options and subsequently it was determined that credit/debit card machines should be introduced on and off-street in North Finchley and within certain other car parks across the borough.

5 8.3 The North Finchley Town Centre Review acted as precursor to a wider review incorporating all other town centres and shopping parades intended to seek traders and business views on local parking issues and what changes they might like made. As a result of this wider review it became apparent that there was a similar desire for additional payment options and consequently, although it was originally envisaged that the initial introduction of Credit/Debit machines would be off-street car parks and North Finchley only, in response to these requests, the initial trance of credit/debit machines were reallocated to a mix of on and off street locations. 8.4 As part of the wider review considerable investigation and engagement with local traders highlighted the desire for such a payment facility to be provided in most shopping environments. With this in mind officers reviewed the existing pay by phone locations to identify possible sites for the machines. The approach taken when identifying suitable locations acknowledged the need to provide machines only in areas where practicable from an existing parking layout perspective and also catering for known demands. 8.5 These locations therefore sought to encompass as many spaces as possible with a minimal number of machines taking into account such factors as available footway width, sightlines, tariff consistency and likelihood of use given local trading parameters. These locations were then sense checked with the Cabinet Member for Environment resulting in approximately 65 locations being earmarked for machines. 8.6 Greenspaces require between 5 and 8 parking meters to be installed within its parks following a review of how the car parks are managed within a number of Barnet parks. The installation and delivery of these would be phased as follows; Phase 1 Install one parking meter in Old Courthouse Recreation Ground and one in Hendon Park Further Phases Following further planning and consultation and subject to these outcomes installation of up to a further 6 meters, income remaining with Parks. Cost of implementation is not included in the 40 machines; Parks will pick up all the costs of installing the 6 machines. 8.7 Providing additional payment options will provide an alternative to those residents who choose not to use, or struggle to use the Pay by Phone service. Making available additional payment options could encourage wider parking usage with potentially positive impacts on both local trade and sales income. 8.8 In designating paid parking places under the Road Traffic Regulation Act, it is important to recognise that the objective is to implement parking policies. If patronage is low, this means that the Council is not achieving its aim of providing suitable parking facilities in a given area and also means that predicted income from the use of the car parks and on-street parking provision will not be realised. 8.9 It is intended to monitor the impact of the further changes and in due course consider whether any further refinements might be necessary in order to

6 maximise occupancy to the benefit of the community whilst still being mindful of the need to ensure that the Council s finances are managed appropriately Table 1 below details the capital (one off) and (revenue) recurring costs identified with purchasing 40 machines. Capital costs will be approximately 149K and ongoing revenue costs will be 53K. It should be noted that the service will need to identify how recurring costs will be funded after one-off draw down from reserves. Capital Spend One off Capital costs Cost of 40 machines 130,000 Annual Machine 16,250 replacement (5 per yr) Signage costs 2, ,750 Recurring Revenue costs Annual Maintenance 15,200 Remote Management system (40 Machines) 800 Signs maintenance 2,000 Ticket Rolls 5,000 Transaction costs (1.65%) 8,000 60% PbP costs 21,500 Recurring Costs 52,500 Total Annual Costs (year 201,250 1) 8.11 Procurement costs could be divided over the 6 year term of the remaining NSL contract (5 year + 2 completing April 2019) Advertising on the back of ticket receipts is being explored, along with advertising panels on the ticket machines. Initial feedback suggests that income generation from this would be limited due to the relatively low number of Pay and Display ticket receipts being issued, however it could help off-set the cost of providing the tickets. Initial quoted income 430 per 120,000 transactions Assume 7.5% of 2012/13 transactions = 125, /14 income estimate = Potential income from advertising panels is even more uncertain, due to the relatively low numbers, location and small dimensions of machines being proposed. Any income generated will have to off-set the costs of providing and maintaining the advertising panels (Initial market testing estimates 350 cost per machine). It is probably unrealistic to expect that any income generated will cover the costs of providing advertising panels.

7 9. LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS 9.1 None 10. DECISION OF THE CABINET MEMBER(S) I authorise the following action 10.1 The procurement and installation of up to 40 Credit/Debit card machines to On-Street locations and for the roll out of the 19 Credit/Debit card machines already purchased. Signed Councillor Dean Cohen Date 03/07/2013 Cabinet Member for the Environment