Agenda item - Petitions for Council Debate

Petitions to be debated at Council:

(a) Free Sunday Parking.  Report of the Monitoring Officer (copy attached).

97.1         The Mayor explained that she had received notification of one petition that had over 1250 signatures triggering a debate at Full Council. The petition would be debated for a period of up to 15 minutes having been first presented by the lead petitioner. There was also an amendment from the Conservative Group which would be moved during the debate by Councillor Cox.

97.2         The Mayor invited Mr Gale to present the petition concerning Free Sunday Car Parking for debate.

97.3         Councillor Davey then responded to the petition and stated that the city was one of the busiest tourist destinations in the UK and often Sunday was the busiest day. The impact of this activity on the road was easy to see in terms of congestion and the difficulty in parking. The management of car parking was a vital aspect of managing the wider traffic demand in the city; however, there was concern that making car parking free on Sundays would create more congestion and reduce air quality. Furthermore free parking could undermine bus services and would cause long term damage and particular example of a scheme at Aberystwyth where the impact had been negative was referenced. It was disappointing that the Liberal Democrats [the petitioners] had not recognised these problems and the administration would be unable to support the petition. Councillor Davey noted that there was scope to support sensible targeted schemes to help reduce congestion such as reduced weekend prices. It was also important to create the right balance between the needs of residents and visitors.

97.4         Councillor Cox then proposed the amendment on behalf of the Conservative Group and stated that he commended the Liberal Democrats for collecting so many signatures, and expressed his concern that the city was presenting an image of overcharging parking. There were residents in the city that had no choice but to own a car for various reasons and there was a still significant cost implication both to park and to use public transport. Whilst the Conservative Group were not able to support the petition they felt there was scope for changes ‘around the edges’ especially during the winter and in relation to some of the underused car parks. Rather than dismiss the work of the petitioners the Group considered a report could be bought to the Policy & Resources Committee setting out the costs of a partial scheme or measures.

97.5         Councillor A. Norman formally seconded the amendment.

97.6         The Mayor then opened the matter up for debate and the following Members spoke on the proposed amendment and the petition: Councillors Hawtree, Mitchell, West, Wealls and Robins.

97.7         The Mayor then invited Councillor Davey to respond to the debate and he stated that it was view that the petition should be considered by the Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee rather than the Policy & Resources Committee, but the Green Group would support it going to the latter. The Group would not be able to support the Conservative amendment and noted that it did not give a clear steer to Officers.

97.8         The Mayor then asked for the electronic voting system to be activated and put the Conservative Group’s amendment to the vote.

97.9         The Mayor confirmed that the amendment was carried by 29 votes to 21.

97.10    The Mayor than asked for the electronic voting system to be activated and put the substantive recommendation, as amended, to the vote.

97.11    The Major confirmed that the recommendation, as amended, had been carried unanimously.

97.12    RESOLVED – That the petition is referred to the Policy & Resources Committee for consideration accompanied by a full Officer report on the proposal, including an estimate of the costs of partial or full implementation of free Sunday parking and an impartial assessment of the advantages and disadvantages.