Agenda item

Car Parks Study

Decision:

*RESOLVED –

1. That the Chesterfield Car Parking Study and it’s findings be endorsed.

2. That the following suggestions made in the Chesterfield Car Parking Study be approved;

· That officers develop further recommendations for investment in car parking provision, and the reuse of excess parking to support the regeneration of the town centre

· That car parking charges be reviewed on an annual basis with an in-year appraisal to assess performance against budgetary targets

REASON FOR DECISIONS

To enable Chesterfield Borough Council to implement appropriate changes to the management and delivery of Chesterfield Borough Council owned car parking provision to support the vitality and viability of Chesterfield Town Centre.

Minutes:

The Service Director – Economic Growth presented a report informing Cabinet of the findings of the Chesterfield Car Parking Study that had been undertaken by Ove Arup and Partners in 2023. The aims of the study were to ensure the Council was aware of options and opportunities to improve the provision of car parking in Chesterfield Town Centre and be better informed about car parking demand and the potential for surplus land to be released for regeneration purposes.

The Chesterfield Car Parking Study looked at four key areas related to car parking provision in Chesterfield Town Centre. The key areas were:

· Car parking income.

· Car parking usage.

· Climate change opportunities across the car parking estate.

· Regeneration opportunities on Chesterfield Borough Council owned car parks.

The study found that the income generated by the car parks was not sufficient to meet current income targets and recommended that a review of car parking charges was carried out at least once a year and that flexibility was built into the fees and charges structure so that charge increases could be facilitated as seamlessly as possible, if more frequent increases were needed.

The study also found that there was considerable spare capacity within the Council’s car parks, with current occupancy levels shown in paragraph 4.16 of the officer’s report.

It was reported that to meet the Council’s climate change ambitions, there was a need to scale up EV charging capacity to meet future demand and that the Council should also investigate the option of installing solar canopies at some of the car parks.

The Chesterfield Car Parking Study highlighted options and opportunities to improve the Council’s car parking estate from a sustainability and regeneration perspective. It was likely that external funding would be required to deliver some of the highlighted regeneration opportunities on those car parking assets identified as being surplus to need.