To comment on the Cabinet report.

Members considered the Budget Preparation 2018/19 report that would be presented to Cabinet on 23 November 2017.

Mark Lampard, Finance Partner, explained that details of the budget were being presented earlier than usual to enable full scrutiny before the final Council approval in February. The September 2017 RPI figure of 3.9% had been utilised in most cases to increase fees and charges. There were a few exceptions when market benchmarks were higher or lower. The budget proposals included £4.1m of efficiencies and increased income. Council tax would increase by 1.95% alongside an Adult Social Care levy of 3%. £700,000 of revenues would be used to balance the budget.  Significant capital investment of £54m was planned including funding for regeneration-related projects such as £10m for temporary parking. The road resurfacing programme totalled just under £2m.

Councillor Beer commented that to keep people coming into the town centres, parking charges needed to be as low as possible He asked if comparisons had been undertaken with other towns including tourist attractions. The Executive Director confirmed that Windsor had been benchmarked with York and Bath; Maidenhead had been benchmarked with Reading, Bracknell, Slough and Wokingham.  Councillor Hunt commented that Reading had the Oracle and Bracknell had a new shopping centre. Maidenhead did not have this yet and therefore she felt parking prices should only be increased once the regeneration was complete. The Executive Director explained the benchmarking had been undertaken before the new centre in Bracknell had opened. Slough and Wokingham did not have large shopping centres compared to Reading.

The Chairman highlighted that charges had not been increased for a few years. 1 hour and 2 hour tickets were still free for residents with an Advantage Card. The council was also spending £1.3m on CCTV to ensure cars were safe and there were new parking machines in Windsor. The rate of inflation had been increasing and operating costs had risen. The Executive Director highlighted that eleven car parks in Windsor would have increased charges, compared to six in Maidenhead. 61% of the increases were in Windsor compared to 29% in Maidenhead.

Councillor Shelim commented that Windsor was in the  main used by tourists coming by coach therefore they did not use the car parks. He received lots of emails from business complaining their staff could not afford the parking charges. Windsor charges were already high compared to the rest of the borough. He understood the concessions for Advantage Card users but it was not fair for workers in Windsor and this could affect businesses.

The Executive Director commented that if the tariffs for both towns had been matched to the benchmarked figures, the increase would have been £3.1m. If the 3.9% figure was removed from the £750,000, the parking tariffs were still good in comparison. It was confirmed that the only factor considered in the benchmarking was parking tariffs, for example local house prices were not taken into account. Olu Odeniyi highlighted that Maidenhead had to compete with free parking at Taplow.

Councillor Bicknell highlighted that residents with an Advantage Card would see no increase in prices. On-street parking in Maidenhead was still free. Maidenhead had a number of attractions including a large M&S, an undercover shopping centre and a popular fruit market. Councillor Grey commented that the new charges should be embedded now with regeneration in mind.

Olu Odeniyi highlighted that a retail study undertaken in 2015 which showed the independent shops in Maidenhead town centre were kept alive by officers workers during the week. Councillor Bicknell commented that any town relied on office workers. He saw the main competition going forward to be internet shopping.

Councillor Shelim asked officers to discuss the proposals for increased parking charges in Windsor with the Windsor Town Manager and the Windsor Town Partnership Board.

Councillor Sharma commented that free parking could lead to problems when people left their car all day. Sensible charges would mean a space was used multiple times. Councillor Bicknell commented that he had received complaints from bus companies that charges were not high enough so people were not using buses; it was a difficult balancing act.  Olu Odeniyi commented that buses running once an hour were not conducive to encouraging people into the town. The borough had a higher than average demographic for families with children compared to the south east. It was not feasible for people to travel with young children on buses that only came once an hour.

The Executive Director confirmed that the redevelopment element had been outside the benchmarking for Broadway car park. The council was investing in both temporary and permanent car parking therefore realistic tariffs were required.  Councillor Beer commented that low parking charges could act as a pump primer to encourage businesses and shops into the town centre. Park and Ride services were a key attraction for other towns. Councillor Hunt highlighted that business rates had once again increased this year.

Councillor Grey was pleased with the way officers had approached the issue; instead of a blanket increase, selective tariffs had been increased in comparison to other boroughs. Olu Odeniyi commented that some independent shops were just breaking even and were fearful that a reduction in footfall during regeneration could put them out of business. It was confirmed that certain car parks were at peak times full, therefore the 1 and 2 hour tariffs had been targeted.

Councillor Sharpe commented that it would be important to be clear when charges were last increased. When prices had not been raised for some time and there was a need to increase by round amounts, a balance needed to be struck. Councillor Bicknell commented that the technology had not yet fully caught up; contactless would resolve this issue.

Members noted the details of the capital programme for the relevant service areas.

Councillor Hunt raised an issue with traffic backing up at the Burchetts Green roundabout. Councillor Bicknell responded that officers were aware of the issue and he would be happy to ask officer to look at possible solutions and come back to Councillor Hunt outside the meeting. Tony Carr, Traffic Engineer, commented that a number of locations had been highlighted including the Burchetts Green roundabout. The proposed budget of £120,000 may not be enough to cover all the locations.  Councillor Lion commented that traffic lights could be an option at Burchetts Green. Councillor Bicknell explained that the council had term contractors for such works; checks were in place to ensure contract prices were competitive.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That The Panel noted the report and the appendices relevant to highways, transport and environment service areas.