Resident Questions for Housing Area Panel

Reference Number: C2.2

Department	Housing
Date question raised	23/08/2022
Date of Area Panel	11/10/2022
Area in city	Central
Star rating applied by residents	2 star
Deadline for officer response	19/09/2022
Name of officer responding	Justine Harris
Officer job title	Head of Tenancy Services

Resident Question

Title of Question	Highcroft Lodge Carpark
Issue:	the carpark at Highcroft Lodge is expensive, underused and becoming a dumping ground for rubbish.
Background:	This was a free carpark, used by residents and non-residents, including staff at the nearby school. It was always full. The carpark has now been privatised, and there is a charge for parking. People are choosing to park on the street as it is cheaper. This means that the carpark has 32 vacant spaces while the street is increasingly clogged with cars. The empty carpark is attracting fly-tipping.
Action requested by residents:	Highcroft residents are asking for the carpark charges to be removed.

Officer Response

Officer contact details:

Hilary.edgar@brighton-hove.gov.uk tel: 01273 293250

Officer Response:

Parking enforcement was introduced at Highcroft Lodge in 2017 following complaints that it was being used by non residents and as a result residents couldn’t easily park there.  The car park surface was also felt to be in in poor condition.   When Housing introduces enforcement, bays are made available for residents to rent and the car parking areas are resurfaced and lined, the costs for this work being offset by future rental charges.   The difference in price between Housing and on street bays reflects the different type of parking offered to residents.   Housing offers residents dedicated numbered spaces, meaning a specific parking space is set aside for one driver to use.   This is different to the on-street parking offer, where residents can park in a designated zone, subject to the availability of spaces. 

Of the 25 Housing land bays in the car park, 18 are available to rent.  One of the bays in the car park is soon to be changed to a motorcycle bay, so that will reduce the overall number to 24.  There are 3 charging rates for car park and garages; central, middle and outer, depending on the proximity of the car park to the city centre.  Highcroft is currently considered to be in the central zone and is charged at the highest rate.    We propose rezoning the car park to the middle zone and reducing charges as this may make it more attractive for residents seeking use of dedicated bays.  We anticipate this change will be introduced from November, with residents who rent bays being formally notified.   The changes will be as follows:

	Central Zone	Middle zone
Council tenant and resident leaseholder	£13.16	£8.54
As above with Blue Badge	£2.90	£2.22
Private resident	£26.34	£17.14
As above with Blue Badge	£13.54	£9.58

Residents interested in applying for a space can apply online via the car parks and garages area of the website.

Fly tipping in the car park should be reported to EstatesServiceTeam@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Tel: 01273 294769.

Action:

Amend parking charges; advise existing licences and update information about charges on council website.

Start date:

October 2022

End date:

November 2022