Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Malik.

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed on the agenda.

Councillor Sandhu, Vice Chair of the Commission, declared that he ran a small family business in the city centre which did not provide parking to its emplyees and would be considering th eitem with an open mind.

Councillor Porter declared that he had spear headed a campaign against this proposal.

The Monitoring Officer to report on any questions, representations and statements of case received in accordance with Council procedures.

The Chair noted that the email representations that had been received in relation to the Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) from school teachers would be considered as part of the main item.

The Monitoring Officer to report on any petitions received in accordance with Council procedures.

The Monitoring Officer noted that none had been received.

The Director of Planning and Development submits a report on the Workplace Parking Levy Consultation.

Members of the Commission are recommended to consider and comment on the proposals set out within this report and the consultation documents.

The Chair noted that the Chairs and Vice Chairs of other Scrutiny Commissions had been invited to attend and participate in the discussions.

The Deputy City Mayor for Environment and Transportation introduced the item as a manifesto commitment. It was noted that this was radical action to the climate emergency, consideration of public health and the need for an improved infrastructure for public transport with the growth in population. Extensive engagement had been carried out with stakeholders and the concerns raised had been highlighted.

The Director for Planning Development and Transportation delivered a presentation providing the Commission with an overview of the Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) consultation.

As part of the presentation the Director of Planning Development and Transportation gave a summary of what the WPL was and detailed the future benefits of a WPL in Leicester.

It was noted that the consultation had launched on 16 December 2021 and would end on 13 March 2022. This process had allowed for engagement with key stakeholders, extensive cover through various media outlets and over 2700 responses on the consultation to date.

It was further noted that the next steps following the end of the consultation would be to consider the responses received in detail. Ultimately a business case would need to be submitted to the Secretary of State who would be the final decision maker and the earliest date the proposal could be introduced would be the spring of 2023.

As part of the discussion with the Members of the Commission it was noted that:

·      A survey team would engage with employers to identify who had more than 10 parking spaces provided and who would qualify for the WPL

·      Nottingham City Council took an early decision and adopted the WPL in 2012, this took a number of years to develop and measure the levels of success

·      Officers would provide Members of the Commission information on the ratio of the funds that would be generated from the WPL from different organisations

·      Vast majority of the objections to the WPL had been received from schools in the city

·      Officers were confident that the business case developed was robust and the consultation process had allowed for wide responses from the public

·      Some members of the Commission recognised the need for a WPL and suggested it was overdue.

·      Support from Nottingham City Council was available to help avoid any potential issues and with the new technology available, the delivery of the WPL would be made easier

·      The analysis of parking spaces would be done through a targeted approach focussed on the larger businesses in the city. It was suggested that at least 80% of textile industries in the city would receive the small employer discount and this would help protect small businesses in the city

·      Support would also be available to businesses, and all liable businesses in the city would be able to licence their workplace parking online.

·      Based on what would be possible from contributions from the government and bus operators, the potential £450  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67.

There being no other items of urgent business, the meeting closed at 7:33pm.