Brook Street Parking
There has been much debate recently regarding the revised car parking arrangements in Brook Street, Chester. The Brook Street parking dilemma promises to rumble on it seems. Last week (21st March) a petition with more than 400 customer and 60 businesses signatures was handed over to Mike A Jones from Cheshire West and Chester Council. The petition urged the council to abolish plans to charge people to park on a “unique” shopping street in Chester.
The traders from Brook Street fear that a new £1 charge for on-street parking could put some of them out of business. Presently it is free to park for up to one hour.
Representatives from Brook StreetLed by Stewart Tattersall, of Dee Sports, and John Kenyon, of the Friends of Brook Street traders group, handed the petition over to Cheshire West and Chester Council.
Brook Street Parking-Signed Petition
Brook Street Parking
Before getting into the specifics of the new parking proposals, it is worth mentioning that, like every other local authority in the country, Cheshire West and Chester Council need “to make ends meet” so to speak. With a supposed £57m shortfall from Central Government, gaps have to be plugged. So where do the local authority look to plug those gaps? Clearly the Brook Street parking scheme is one of the options chosen.
Understandably those on the receiving end of any money making schemes will ask, “why us?”
In order to answer that of course you would have to be present at the high level meetings where discussions of how to meet any shortfalls are deliberated. Not being privy to that information, it is again understandable that each individual scheme will be questioned and disputed as and when they become known.
Brook Street Parking – What Does It Replace?
As mentioned above, currently visitors to Brook Street can park free for one hour. What happens after that one hour? Not unsurprisingly the obvious presence of traffic wardens (are they still called traffic wardens?) will answer that for you. Public parking tickets are issued. They are issued by the local council. Generally, a public parking ticket will be issued in the form of a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).
I’m not sure exactly what the PCN charges are. Typically a PCN will carry a fine of £70, or £50 for a smaller parking violation. Depending on when offenders pay the PCN, the amounts can change.
Paying the PCN
The earlier you pay the PCN, the less it will cost. If it is paid within 14 days of issue (or 21 days if it was sent via the mail service) then the charge will be reduced by 50%. Therefore a £70 fine will be reduced to £35. If however, it is not paid within this initial period, the full amount will need to be paid.
If the PCN is not paid within 56 days, the council has the power to increase the fine by a further 50%, taking a £70 fine up to £105.
How Much Does PCN Charges Raise?
I am not a resident or a trader in Brook Street so I cannot really comment, but I would imagine those collecting signatures for the Brook Street parking petition have requested this information from the council under a Freedom Of Information (FOI) request. It would be interesting to see how much income is generated from PCN’s and the associated costs. Presumably revenue collated in such a way will be ring-fenced. If there is a surplus, what is the surplus used on? Maybe there is no surplus but nevertheless, it would be interesting to see the figures anyway.
With regard to the new Brook Street parking proposal, again I would imagine that a similar request would also be made to see what is the anticipated income and associated costs from the new scheme. As the scheme commences a request for the actual figures would no doubt be requested to compare actual to budget. Only then could it be seen if the new Brook Street parking scheme is effective and equitable.
Local Traders Income
Running alongside this I would also imagine the local traders would be closely monitoring their income. No doubt monthly revenue information will be collated to monitor the situation. As already mentioned, the traders fear their businesses will be damaged and that they could face the threat of going out of business. If that were to happen what effect will that have on the council? A reduction in NNDR (business rates) collections to begin with. Also it is likely that more people were to become unemployed. This of course would cause an increase in Universal Credit claims…..etc…..etc….
Obviously, any scheme to plug a Central Government shortfall could be challenged in such a way. This does not only apply to the Brook Street parking scheme. I’m guessing the Brook Street traders and residents are already on the case to review any figures available or to become available.
It seems this Brook Street parking issue will rumble on. Hopefully, it can be sorted to the satisfaction of all parties.
Increasing Revenue Streams
So, how else could the council increase revenue streams to plug this Central Government shortfall? Open to suggestions here folks. What do you reckon? One area I was interested in also had a safety angle to it. I don’t know about you but I’m not entirely sure what those cameras are, or do, on top of pelican lights, or any traffic lights for that matter. Are they, or could they be, used to catch drivers bombing through red lights and to fine them? The safety aspect is obvious of course. I regularly cross over the pelican lights by Richer Sounds on Hoole Road. I would say that cars bomb through on a red light virtually every time I go to cross the road. Frustrating? Yes. Dangerous? Undoubtedly.
Having said all that, I did phone the Council to ask about these cameras on the lights. I did not get an answer as to what they do exactly, but it was confirmed that any such revenue (if there were any) would go to the Police. So, no direct benefit to the council.
There would be an indirect benefit though as the annual Police Precept request would be reduced, so the council would need to pay the Police less, thereby the demand on Council Tax requirements would also be reduced. Householders paying less Council Tax provides more disposable income. More available income, more money spent in local traders shops. More income for local traders, fewer traders going to the wall. And so on. Rinse and repeat. A tenuous link maybe, but a link nevertheless.
On The Spot Penalties
Anyone know of anyone being issued with an on the spot penalty? Back onto my post about Chester races, I would imagine the police and the Community Support Officers (CSO’s) would have a field day on Chester Races day for on the spot fines for drunk and disorderly offences. These fines are £80 a pop aren’t they? Judging by the amount of drunken race goers wobbling around the City centre on a race day……Kerching!!!
Maybe there is already a fair bit of revenue raised in this way. If so, how much is raised? I feel another FOI request coming on.
Anyone else very wary of walking over Hoole Bridge for fear of being knocked over by a cyclist cycling on the footpath? Very dangerous. Particularly so if you are walking up the steps from Station Road and about to step onto Hoole Bridge. I always pause at the top and look right and left before stepping onto the bridge. Crazy isn’t it? Not only Hoole Bridge though. Are there any on the spot penalty fines figures available from the council for these offences?
On the spot fines for littering? Again, how much is generated?
And so on.
I’m not saying that these are the only ways to raise additional income. And, as I say, they may already be well covered. These are just general observations. But these figures should be available for us to review. And if there isn’t much income generated in this way, then why not?
How Can We Help?
The main point is, I think we should all be aware of what is going on around us as best we can. What other ways can the local council generate more income? What do you think?
The council after all do have to make good any Central Government shortfall. So, if we managed to identify a variety of additional, potential revenue streams for the council, it may be schemes like the Brook Street parking are not required? If we could help in some way then everyone’s a winner…..aren’t they?? Any thoughts folks?
