Issue - meetings

The Acting Head of Environmental and Housing Services presented a report on the subject of the Council’s Parking Enforcement SLA.

Members were advised that the Council had an agreement with Worcestershire County Council to undertake parking enforcement work in the Borough.  Redditch Borough Council had previously had an SLA in place with Wychavon District Council to deliver parking enforcement work in the Borough.  This SLA had ended in 2022/23 and, since then, there had continued to be an agreement with Wychavon District Council to undertake enforcement work on behalf of the Council on a rolling monthly basis.  The proposed new SLA with Wychavon District Council would help to ensure that there was service continuity moving forward.

Consideration was given to the recommendations detailed in the report and Members welcomed the review and additional business case focusing on the potential to expand the service that was proposed in the report.  Members commented that they frequently received complaints from local residents about parking infringements, particularly around schools, and therefore an expansion of the service would potentially help to address these concerns.

Reference was made to the types of parking infringements that occurred where enforcement action could be taken.  Members commented that the installation of double yellow lines at junctions could actually create challenges, particularly in terms of police enforcement.  As such, it was suggested that Borough and County Councillors needed to work closely together to ensure that appropriate action was taken to address parking infringements in ways that would support enforcement activities undertaken by both Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) and the police.

RESOLVED that

1)          the Council enter into a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Wychavon District Council for the continuation of the management of Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE), commencing 1^st April 2024, for a period of 5 years, with an annual review of outputs and outcomes;

2)          authority be delegated to the Head of Environment and Housing Property Services and the Head of Legal, Democratic and Property Service to finalise the SLA arrangements;

3)          the interim Head of Environmental and Housing Property Services produce a report and business case for the expansion of the service to provide additional enforcement officers for consideration by the Executive Committee at a future meeting; and

RECOMMENDED that

4)     an additional budget of £27,000 for Civil Parking Enforcement be included in the Medium-Term Financial Plan for future years, which is to include an annual inflationary uplift, determined by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), if applicable, agreed by the level published by the Office for National Statistics, or any relevant successor body, for the preceding year.