Issue - meetings

Town Centre Car Parking Strategy

Meeting: 09/11/2017 - Central Stockport Area Committee (Item 7)

7 Town Centre Car Parking Strategy pdf icon PDF 63 KB

To consider a report of the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration

 

The report presents and seeks feedback on the draft Town Centre Car Parking Strategy which aims to:-

 

·         Review existing car parking provision within the town centre, including tariffs, payment methods and signage

·         Consider future needs of retail, business, leisure and residential users for town centre parking facilities, including disabled spaces, electric vehicles, and bikes.

·         Consider an approach to on and off street parking and permitting within the town centre, taking account of the impact of known new developments

·         In light of future needs, and the potential impact of new technologies and lifestyle choices, review tariffs, payment methods and associated facilities, including signage, electric vehicle charging etc.

·         Consider and recommend a future parking policy approach for the town centre.

 

The Area Committee is requested to review and comment on the draft Town Centre Car Parking Strategy.

 

Officer Contact: Sue Stevenson on 0161 474 4351 or email: sue.stevenson@stockport.gov.uk

Additional documents:

Minutes:

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place Management submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) and made a presentation on the draft Town Centre Car Parking strategy which aimed to :-

 

·         review existing car parking provision within the town centre, including tariffs, payment methods and signage.

·         consider future needs of retail, business, leisure and residential users for town centre parking facilities, including disabled spaces, electric vehicles, and bikes.

·         consider an approach to on and off street parking and issuing of permits within the town centre, taking account of the impact of known new developments.

·         in light of future needs, and the potential impact of new technologies and lifestyle choices, review tariffs, payment methods and associated facilities, including signage, charging of electric vehicles etc

·         consider and recommend a future parking policy for the town centre.

 

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

 

·         A member requested to know how much the Council had paid the consultants for the study.

·         The number of charging points for electric vehicles needed to be increased.

·         Monies that the Council could generate from people parking to use Manchester Airport should be considered.

·         There needed to be a strategy for some of the larger companies to encourage their staff to use public transport.

·         How the Council dealt with proposals for residents parking in the town centre had to be re-examined because of the number of ‘buy to let’ properties in the area.

·         Areas adjoining the town centre like Edgeley and Heaton Norris suffered from people parking on residential streets in order to avoid paying car parking charges in the town centre.

·         It was highlighted that development applications for residential accommodation in the town centre had been submitted to this Area Committee with limited parking spaces included in the applications. A number of the proposals in the strategy were predicated on increased residential development taking place in the town centre.

·         There was a greenspace area off Lancashire Hill which could be considered for a car park. Land next to the ambulance depot on Heaton Lane could also be considered for a car park.

·         The growth of electric vehicles in the future needed to be considered, plus, with an increasingly elderly population, there would be a need for more disabled bays. Bays for electric vehicles and disabled people may need to be shared in the future. The use of electric vehicles needed to be encouraged.

·         The Council could not cater for an ever increasing number of vehicles on the road. There needed to be a clear policy to improve public transport and provide a fully comprehensive and integrated public transport system, and a commitment from Transport for Greater Manchester to expand the Metrolink service to Stockport and Marple, and provide a service from Stockport to Manchester Airport.

·         The use of bicycles in the town centre need to be promoted, including the use of mobikes.

·         A Member queried how increasing car parking charges in the town centre would increase usage when some of the car parks were already operating below capacity.

·         The frequency of car journeys into the town centre needed to be reduced.

·         The report needed to link into the work on brownfield sites earmarked for residential development and how these areas fitted in with greenspace, play areas and car parking provision. Showing these areas on the same map would help people to visualise how the town centre may look in the future.

·         The possibility of the town centre being too overcrowded in the future was a concern.

 

RESOLVED – (1) That the comments of the Area Committee be forwarded to the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration for consideration.

 

(2) That the revised version of the strategy be submitted to this Area Committee for consideration as well as the Economy and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee.