Agenda item

Some outstanding Executive decisions from 2013, relating to the Wembley Event Day zone (including implications for visitor permits in CPZs W zone, E zone and T zone used during off peak parking hours) have not yet been implemented. This briefing paper identifies the Executive decisions, the decision making rationale at the time and the current context, and seeks a decision from Highways Committee on how to proceed. The report also provides a progress update on implementing Executive-agreed changes to business permits.

RESOLVED that:

(i)            The decision made by the Executive on 15 July 2013 to introduce 3 year WSPPS permits with a £15 administrative charge be implemented, subject to the results of formal consultation and that the matter will be reported back to the Highways Committee if substantial objections are received;

(ii)          The decision made by the Executive on 15 July 2013 to introduce 3 year T zone visitor permits with a £15 administrative charge be implemented, subject to the results of formal consultation and that the matter will be reported back to the Highways Committee if substantial objections are received;

(iii)         To rescind the decision made by the Executive on 15th July 2013 that approved implementation of a 24 hour online visitor pass for the T zone during off-peak hours be rescinded, subject to the results of formal consultation and that the matter will be reported back to the Highways Committee if substantial objections are received;

(iv)         3 year W zone and E zone visitor permits with a £15 administrative charge be introduced, subject to the results of formal consultation and that the matter will be reported back to the Highways Committee if substantial objections are received;

(v)          The decision made by the Executive on 19 September 2012 that approved implementation of a 4 hour online visitor pass for the W zone and E zone during off-peak hours be rescinded, subject to the results of formal consultation and that the matter will be reported back to the Highways Committee if substantial objections are received;

(vi)         Authority be delegated to the Operational Director Environmental Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Environment and relevant ward councillors, to introduce the changes identified in recommendations (i) to (v) above, subject to the results of formal consultation, and reporting back to the Highways Committee if substantial objections are received; and

(vii)        Additional clarity and information be provided to outline that the proposed changes won’t affect existing permit holders but will only apply to new applications for permits.

(Please note: Councillors Butt and Hirani each declared an interest and excluded themselves from the discussion and subsequent decision on this agenda item)

As noted under Declaration of Interests: Councillors Butt and Hirani left the room before the discussion and subsequent decision on this item.

The Chair invited Mr Robert Dunwell to address the Committee. Mr Dunwell explained that the concept of the parking scheme had arisen within the Council in 1996. He noted that he had changed a lot of the details to the scheme through bringing a large petition to the Council in 2003/2004 and that he had been party to the legal agreements of the scheme being signed between Brent Council and Wembley Stadium PLC. He stated that he was disappointed with the planned introduction of a new administrative charge as this had been considered between 1996 and 2004 and all of the proposals at the time had eventually been discounted. Mr Dunwell asked the Committee to consider that there were material aspects which he believed had been missing from the report which could have left the Council open to the imposition of the charges being challenged in court. He requested the Committee delayed any action on the decision being made until these background issues and wider legal considerations had been taken into account.

The Chair then invited Mark Fairchild (the Council’s Parking Projects Manager) to give an overview of the proposals. Mr Fairchild outlined that the report was seeking a decision from the Highways Committee on how to proceed with some outstanding Executive decisions from 2013 relating to the Wembley Stadium Parking Protected Scheme and Associated Controlled Parking Zones which had yet to be implemented. Mr Fairchild referred Members to the specific decisions required within the report. The proposals had been designed to protect local businesses from increased parking around Wembley stadium with a potential increase in the number of event days in the near future, and also to guard against the current processes in place being open to abuse. He gave an example of the risk of lifetime permits being sold on when residents left the Borough, rather than a new residents applying for a new permit. He emphasised that if the Committee was to agree to the recommendations, the proposals would be subject to a statutory consultation process, with objections considered prior to a delegated authority decision to proceed to implementation. He concluded by explaining why the decision was being taken now as opposed to 2013, outlining that there had been a change of management arrangements within the Council’s Highways Department in 2014 and that the need to find recent budget savings targets had delayed the implementation of these decisions.

A Member of the Committee inquired how the proposals mitigated against the risk of visitors being penalised for parking in controlled zones if they had not been aware that a new event day had been announced or that event day dates had changed in a short space of time. Mark Fairchild said that on a practical level it would have been for residents with visitor permits to have placed these on the relevant car but noted that it would be something to take away to develop a contingency process for. Mr Dunwell offered an example of policy in the past whereby private event organisers had spoken to the Highways Department about their event and intentions and that some form of identification, not necessarily a formal visitor permit, was agreed to be placed on the car. Mr Fairchild agreed to take this question away for consideration to ensure that residents were protected accordingly from this risk on event days.

Mr Dunwell asked for two points of clarification from the report as to whether the new scheme would apply to existing permit holders and whether the consultation followed statutory regulations as opposed to informal consultation with every household in the affected area. Mark Fairchild confirmed that the proposed changes would not affect existing permit holders, and would solely be for new permit applications. He also confirmed that the consultation would follow the statutory traffic regulations. Mr Dunwell welcomed both of these answers.

Mr Dunwell also questioned whether there was any intention to turn the Wembley Stadium Protective Parking Scheme into a Controlled Parking Zone scheme. Mark Fairchild said that he was not aware of any plan for this. There were also discussions as to whether the new proposals required any necessary differentiation between permits given to houses and permits given to households given the rise of Houses of Multiple Occupation conversions within the Borough. Mark Fairchild advised that eligible addresses were based on the Council’s centrally held property database, or Local Land Property Gazetteer, but agreed to take this away from the Committee for consideration.

RESOLVED that:

(i)            The decision made by the Executive on 15 July 2013 to introduce three-year WSPPS permits with a £15 administrative charge be implemented, subject to the results of formal consultation and that the matter be reported back to the Highways Committee if substantial objections were received;

(ii)          The decision made by the Executive on 15 July 2013 to introduce three-year T zone visitor permits with a £15 administrative charge be implemented, subject to the results of formal consultation and that the matter be reported back to the Highways Committee if substantial objections were received;

(iii)         The decision made by the Executive on 15 July 2013 that approved implementation of a 24 hour online visitor pass for the T zone during off-peak hours be rescinded, subject to the results of formal consultation and that the matter be reported back to the Highways Committee if substantial objections were received;

(iv)         Three-year W zone and E zone visitor permits with a £15 administrative charge be introduced, subject to the results of formal consultation and that the matter be reported back to the Highways Committee if substantial objections were received;

(v)          The decision made by the Executive on 19 September 2012 that approved implementation of a four-hour online visitor pass for the W zone and E zone during off-peak hours be rescinded, subject to the results of formal consultation and that the matter be reported back to the Highways Committee if substantial objections were received;

(vi)         Authority be delegated to the Operational Director for Environmental Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Environment and relevant ward councillors, to introduce the changes identified in recommendations (i) to (v) above, subject to the results of formal consultation, and reporting back to the Highways Committee if substantial objections were received; and

(vii)      Additional clarity and information be provided to outline that the proposed changes would not affect existing permit holders and would only apply to new applications for permits.