Issue - meetings

Consideration was given to report of the Head of Community Services.

Team Manager Built Environment presented the report which provided an update on Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) since its introduction in 2019.

The Officer spoke to the report and highlighted points contained therein.  He said the CPE service was suspended for 4 months from 20th March to 20th July, 2020 due to the Covid pandemic, and this had impacted against the forecasted number of penalty charge notices issued this year (estimated at 3,500 per year); with a potential reduction over the four-month period of approximately 1165 PCN’s.  However, an 88% PCN collection rate was higher than the financial modelling estimate. To offset the income lost as a result of the suspension of the service, £27k has been received from the Covid-19 Welsh Government Hardship Fund, and the latest budget monitoring was forecasting a £4k budget surplus for this financial year. This would be monitored and reviewed going forward.

A Member asked whether the number of Enforcement Officers and the hours worked was sufficient to undertake the number of patrols required.

In response the Officer confirmed that Enforcement Officers were visiting key schools and town centres once or twice a week.  He referred to the issues raised at the Members’ Briefing held in November, e.g. town centre market days and confirmed that these have been taken on board and visits would be undertaken.

In response the Member said there were problems on most days, particularly people parking on pavements by ATM’s, and he felt that patrols should be undertaken 3 or 4 times a week in town centres.

The Officer said town centres were a priority, however, additional patrols would impact on resources.

Another Member expressed concern regarding the low number of PCN’s issued in Nantyglo and Blaina compared to the problems being experienced, and asked how many visits were being undertaken in those towns.  She understood the difficulty in catching offenders, particularly with people posting on social media when the Enforcement Officers were in the area.

A Member agreed with his colleague’s comments, and said the figures for Nantyglo and Blaina should be split per town.  He also referred to the review of traffic orders being undertaken, and said whilst the removal of yellow lines would provide more parking, it could also cause problems for bus routes etc., and asked whether this was being monitored by the Enforcement Officers.

In response the Officer said it was difficult to police, particularly with the use of social media, but confirmed that visits were being undertaken in Nantyglo and Blaina, albeit not as much as the larger town centres.  He was aware of the problems at High Street, Blaina and confirmed that more regular patrols could be undertaken. In relation to the traffic order review, this work was currently ongoing.  The Officer also undertook to provide the Member with a breakdown of the PCNs issued for Nantyglo and Blaina separately.

In response to a question raised, the Officer explained that the larger  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8