The Bury Council Car Parks Manager will attend the meeting for the item.
Minutes:
Following the number of questions raised at meetings of the Township Forum regarding car parking in Whitefield and Unsworth, Mr John Foudy (Council’s Car Parking Supervisor) attended the meeting to explain how parking within the borough was managed and to answer questions.
The meeting was informed that the Councils Car Parks service involved the following areas:
· Management of 65 car parks;
· Arrangement of school enforcement patrols (checks made morning and evening);
· 50+ yellow line restrictions checks and enforcement;
· The Council has appointed NSL to undertake parking enforcement action provided by 6/7 operatives operating on 2 shifts (7:30am – 4:40pm and 10:00am – 7:00pm). The tender for this service runs until 2019;
· Attending ‘hotspot’ areas covered between 7:00pm – 9:00pm;
· Sunday operations covered over 2 (four hour) shifts.
A team of enforcement officers will target areas of the borough to address ‘hotspots’ following concerns or complaints made by residents/ businesses. It was not possible to cover all areas as and when required due to the limited resources available. The Council no longer used cameras to monitor parking and take enforcement action following a decision by the government and instead enforcement officers undertake the work.
When officers are patrolling around school, social media is used to alert parents when enforcement officers are seen, usually resulting in a reduction in illegal parking. However, the parents will continue to park near to schools once officers move on. In most instances illegal parking involved a minority of drivers with the majority parking in unrestricted areas.
The most common complaint received involved taxis and fast food delivery drivers parked on major roads and blocking a lane. It was difficult for officers to carry out enforce in these situations due to the time required to observe a vehicle, giving a reasonable amount of time for the driver to return, before taking action (usually up to 10 minutes).
Visits by enforcement officers to areas around schools in the borough take place about twice each term.
The Chair invited questions.
Mr Knight asked if the Council could employ extra enforcement staff on a self funding basis where commissions could be used to enhance pay based on the number of penalty notices issued.
It was explained that the projected income generated from penalty notices would not cover the on-costs of additional staff. Also, setting of penalty notice targets for enforcement officers would not be considered as acceptable practice. The contract that had been agreed with NSL was seen as the providing the best value for money in comparison to specifications set by other councils.
Requests were made for action to be taken at the following locations:
· Unsworth Pole – vehicles over staying the allowed time limit;
· Co-op store on Parr Lane – vehicles being parked on yellow lines;
· Faded yellow lines on Manchester Road (Hollins Lane to Sunnybank);
· Cars parking in bus lay-byes:-
o Prestwich – adjacent to the Tesco store
o Knowsley Street (outside Town Hall)
o Market Street, Bury
The information provided would be used to target resources in the areas.
The Chair thanked Mr Foudy for his attendance.