Cabinet considered the report regarding the proposed introduction of a resident parking discount scheme.

The Lead Member for Public Protection and Parking informed Cabinet that in 2020 the council ended the current resident discount scheme, which was delivered through the Advantage Card. At the time it was agreed that a review would be undertaken to see if a resident discount could be provided in a different way when it was financially prudent to do so.  The report proposed to introduce a resident parking discount scheme with 1 hour free parking in selected car parks across the Borough, officers had looked at historical data prior to the pandemic to help make an informed recommendation.

Cabinet were informed that the introduction of a resident parking discount scheme would make the Royal Borough one of the only local authorities in England to offer such a scheme.  This report provided four options and these were shown in Table 1.  The scheme would be provided by RingGo.  The RingGo system was already in place in the borough and was a natural extension to this service. 

As the scheme was based on a permit system residents would have to register for each individual car park they wish for the discount to be applied in.  Based on the data and financial envelope option 4 within the report was the recommended option.  This would allow residents to apply to get the discount at car parks in Alma Road and Alexandra Gardens in Windsor, Grove Road and West Street in Maidenhead, Horton Road in Datchet, and Meadow Lane in Eton.

These six car parks were chosen because they were mainly used by short stay users and proved popular when resident discounts were previously implemented. Free parking will continue to be offered for disabled users and those using electric vehicles.  There will be help to those who do not have online access to set up their accounts, in our libraries, and use the service. More than 75 per cent of car parking payments in Windsor and Maidenhead were already completed digitally, using a card payment or the RingGo app.  Funding for the scheme would come from increased fees in our car parks and the scheme would remain under review and extended when prudent to do so.

The Chairman welcomed the scheme and showed the administration keeping its promises.  The Council was now in a financial position to offer this new discount scheme and when prudent to do so we would be looking to extend it further.  The draft budget was currently out for consultation and he welcomed any fully costed recommendations including any alternative to the proposed scheme.  As mentioned fully electric vehicles would remain to get free parking in RBWM car parks.  This was a sustainable, prudent and deliverable discount scheme.

The Deputy Leader of Council welcomed the report but was disappointed that Victoria Street car park had not been included, she asked if this could be considered in the future.  The Lead Member replied that nothing was fixed and there would be a review at the end of the year and changes could be made when prudent to do so.

Mr Ed Wilson addressed Cabinet and asked if RBWM would be engaging with businesses in our town centres to promote the new scheme, how will RingGo promote the use of their service and will RBWM have a contingency to ensure that discounts do not run out during the year?  The Lead Member replied that they would be engaging with business and Ringo.  There was no need for a contingency as there was not a fixed number of discounts, the scheme would run all year and reviewed throughout. 

Cllr Tisi said she broadly welcomed the paper, it would be welcomed by residents especially those in Windsor who felt their car parking charges was too high.  She would like to see more people getting the bus, walking or cycling int town but if this encourages people to shop locally then it was welcomed.  She questioned the rational behind the car parks chosen in Windsor as Elma Road was a ten minute walk into town taking 20 minutes out of the free hour.  She asked if it was possible to see the data behind the decision to choose this car parks. 

The Lead Member replied that the data was freely available on request to officers.  Residents who parked for more then one hour would still get the discount, it was not just for one hour and you had to move.  Cllr Tisi said that residents would also wish to see the data. 

Cllr Bowden mentioned that most of Windsor Car Parks were in his ward and that with regards to Elma road this was a popular car park and easy to access the town centre vis the stairs and lift into the shopping centre.  He looked forward to the scheme being extended when possible.  He was also please to see the Ringo system being used and mentioned that with regards to data during the Christmas Tree lights on there was over 6000 car park visits.  He had asked for the data Monday and received it on Wednesday. 

Cllr Reynolds asked if  the data used was the number of transactions as the larger car parks would naturally get more visits.  The Lead Member said the car parks were those most popular for short visits.

Cllr Singh said he was concerned about the report.  It was dependent on the Ringo App so what would happen for those who did not have a smart phone, what about the elderly and disabled residents.  He questioned the car parks chose in Maidenhead as the multi story car parks were not included.  He also mentioned the previous farcical issue with the installation of car park machines that had cost the authority £1 million, he wanted to know if legal action was possible to reclaim some of the money.  He was glad to see a scheme introduced.

The Chairman replied that the issue from the car park machines date back to 2018 and there was little that could be done now.  This paper was about looking forward and offering a residents discount scheme and that the car parks chosen were accessible to the town centre.  Other car parks mentioned could be included in the future when feasible. 

Resolved unanimously:  that Cabinet notes the report and:

i)            Agree the recommended proposal to introduce a Resident Discount Parking Scheme

ii)          Agree to increase the maximum stay at Grove Road, Maidenhead car park from 2 hours to 3 hours.

iii)        Delegates authority to the Executive Director of Place Services and Head of Neighbourhood Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Parking, to implement the recommended resident parking discount scheme.