Meeting documents

PRESENT: Councillor Mrs Davies (Chairman);  Councillors Mrs Butler, Cooper, Evett, Isham, Metherell, Newman, Richards (in place of Jennings) and Mrs Willetts.  Councillors Baldwin, Miss Reynolds, Rowlands, Searle and Sir Beville Stanier attended also.

APOLOGY:  Councillor Jennings.

The Cabinet's decisions regarding this matter had been called in for review as it had been felt that the decisions were premature.  At the invitation of the Chairman, a representative of Wendover Parish Council, accompanied by one of the local Members, the Chairman of the Winslow Safety Committee and the Buckingham Town Mayor, attended and spoke in relation to the areas they represented.  The Cabinet Member for Asset Management attended also and responded to points made by Members of the Committee and the external representatives.  An extract from the Cabinet decision notice had been circulated previously to all Members of the Committee.

The Parish Council representative indicated that current car parking facilities in Wendover were inadequate to meet the demand and that this situation would be exacerbated when planned future development took place.  The Parish Council felt that the proposals to introduce charges could only be viewed as a partial solution to the parking problems in the village.

It was felt that consideration should be given to the acquisition of additional land for parking, and to the introduction of residents' parking schemes, particularly in those areas where rail users sought to avoid the charges in respect of the Chiltern Railways car park.  The issue of alternative sites had previously been considered by this Council, but the Parish Council believed that this aspect should be re-examined as part of an overall package designed to reduce the current shortfall of parking facilities in Wendover.  Of particular concern to the Parish Council was the fact that it felt that inadequate consultation had taken place in relation to the Cabinet's proposals.

Having heard the views of the Parish Council, which were supported by the local Member, the Committee felt that the Cabinet's proposals should be deferred to enable discussions to take place regarding a comprehensive parking strategy for Wendover.  Accordingly it was

RESOLVED -

That the proposals to introduce car parking charges in Wendover be referred back to the Cabinet with a recommendation that discussions should take place between representatives of AVDC, Buckinghamshire County Council and Wendover Parish Council, which took account of the following:-

Reference was made to the fact that the Cabinet's proposals did not appear to make appropriate provision for traders who lived on site, or those who needed a vehicle in connection with their business activities.  Also, concern was expressed about the lack of provision for local residents, particularly in Market Square.

The Committee was concerned about the lack of response from the Town Council to previous offers to meet and discuss town centre parking issues.  The Chairman had received a letter from the Town Council indicating that it had previously offered to take over the running of the two car parks in the town, but that this offer had not been pursued because of ongoing discussions with the County Council regarding the introduction of a Special Parking Area.

The Town Council felt that the introduction of charges would have a detrimental effect on local trade.  Also the Town Council was not convinced that the income generated from the introduction of charges in Winslow would have any real impact on the District costs of parking provision.

The Committee felt that further statistical data was required before proceeding on the basis of the Cabinet's proposals and it was, therefore

RESOLVED -

The Town Council felt that the proposal to introduce machines to dispense tickets for free car parking had not been discussed fully with them.  The Town Council was not convinced that the cost of the proposal was in proportion to the savings in management/enforcement costs.  The Town Council was also concerned about misuse of the machines.

During the course of the discussions, reference was made to the possibility of the Town Council taking over the management of the car parks in the Town.  The Committee felt that this was an option worth exploring further and it was

RESOLVED -