Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors U C Clay and R V Smith.

 

In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the City and County of Swansea, the following interest was declared:

 

Councillor V M Evans - Agenda as a whole - employed by First Great Western - personal.

 

To approve the Minutes of the Services Cabinet Advisory Committee meeting held on 9 March 2015.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Services Cabinet Advisory Committee held on 9 March 2015 be approved as a correct record.

 

The Parking Services Manager provided the Committee with a detailed and informative briefing on car parking enforcement.  He outlined that whilst car parking enforcement was not statutory, it was a service provided by the City and County of Swansea to improve road safety, to ease traffic congestion and to assist the local economy. 

 

He outlined that currently the Authority had 19 on-street Civil Enforcement Officers, qualified enforcement staff who oversee car parks, multi-storey car parks and Park & Rides, plus 3 cashiers who administer the cash from pay and display machines.  He added that there were currently 4 Senior Civil Enforcement Officers, 3 who cover on-street enforcement and 1 who covers car parks.  There are 3 teams of Officers which include 1 Senior Officer and 5 Civil Enforcement Officers.  The Authority averages 15 Officers on-street per week and the shifts between Monday and Saturday are 7.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m., 8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., and 2.00 p.m. to 10.00 p.m.  The service operates on a Sunday between 8.30 a.m. and 4.30 p.m.

 

The City and County of Swansea camera van had been in operation since January 2015.  To date, the Council had issued 437 warnings and 2,702 penalty charges which provided income of £37,000.  £46,000 remained outstanding this year from outstanding penalty charges.  1,753 penalty charge notices were issued for bus stop enforcement and 140 from school ‘keep clear’ zones.  Civil Enforcement Officers had issued 35,000 penalty charge notices between April 2014 and April 2015, giving an average of 725 notices per week.  This provided an income of £1,252,636.  74% of the penalty notices had been paid, 14% were ongoing and 12% had been stopped for various reasons.  5,169 penalty charge notices were issued for people parking without residence permits, 4,869 were issued for parking in pay and display car parks without tickets, 2,626 were issued for overstaying in pay and display car parks, 2,705 were issued for parking in loading bays and 5,142 were issued for overstaying in on-street limited waiting zones.

 

It was added that the Civil Enforcement Team enforced across the Authority including the City Centre, Mumbles, Liberty Stadium, Gorseinon and Uplands and responded to requests from residents. 

 

The Committee asked a number of questions of the Officer, who responded accordingly.  Discussions centred around the following:

 

·         Parking around the Liberty Stadium on match days, including evening fixtures;

 

·         Problems encountered by the Authority, such as contractors not replacing double yellow lines, faded street markings and the camera van being unable to recognise number plates in darkness;

 

·         The necessity for a travel plan for the Liberty Stadium, particularly in light of the proposed expansion of the Stadium;

 

·         Use of the camera van, particularly around schools and in bus stops;

·         Problems encountered by residents of Clase caused by DVLA staff parking, particularly parking around sheltered accommodation;

 

·         Use of excessive speed in bus lanes by taxis, particularly on Neath Road;

 

·         The possibility of looking at new initiatives, i.e. stop charging in pay and display car parks and concentrate resources upon on-street parking;

 

·         Roadside parking on off-kerb areas, i.e. green areas around Liberty Stadium and caravans stored by residents;

 

·         The ongoing requirement by the Authority to educate residents;

 

·         Abuse of the Blue Badge Scheme and prosecutions undertaken;

 

·         The continued requirement for Councillors/residents to highlight problems to Enforcement Officers.

 

The Chair thanked the Officer for updating the Committee. 

 

RESOLVED that:

 

(1)       the contents of the briefing be noted;

 

(2)       the Parking Services Manager circulate details of school/bus stop visits     by the camera van to the Committee.

 

 

The Chair presented the updated Work Programme for 2014/15.

 

RESOLVED that:

 

(1)       the contents of the report be noted;

 

(2)       representatives of the Disability Forum be invited to a future meeting of     the Committee in order to discuss transport matters.