Agenda item

To consider any items referred to the Executive.

RESOLVED that the Executive agreed that no further action be taken in respect of the referral made by the Council in respect of the petition relating to Car Parking Charges.

REASONS FOR DECISION: The Council must act urgently to address its in year forecast overspend and set a balanced budget for next year. Options to reduce expenditure are constrained by the fact that approximately 80% of Council services are statutory. The 2023/24 budget presented to Community and Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee shows a funding gap of just over £4m. This figure already takes into account cost reductions and income generating options across all Council Services, including the assumed increase in car parking charges in 2022/23. Avoiding the opportunity to generate additional income from car parking will increase the calculated budget gap for next year to in the region of £4.6m. The Council will be required to approve a balanced budget for 2023/24 when in meets in February 2023.”

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED:

1.    Taking funding from the reserves: Reserves were low, making this option unviable. Depleting reserves would create a signifant risk of the council being placed in the hands of central government. In the way that Slough and Thurrock had been, leading to devastating consequences.

2.    Closing Park and Rides: Without park and rides, bus services would be at severe risk without further significant financial support from the council. Local bus services allow children to get to school and vulnerable adults can travel to social activities. The concessionary bus pass allows elderly and disabled residents to travel on local bus services. Without bus services, there is a risk of social isolation. For residents travelling to medical appointments, increased pressure for travel assistance would fall on community transport and to the NHS.

3.    Reducing Revenue Highway Services: These are services that cover routine safety functions, including emergency work to keep networks safe for the use by the public. The Council is a Highway authority and as such has a statutory duty to maintain the highways. Further, users can claim damages for physical injury or as a result of failure to comply with statutory duties. Taking any finding from this area, poses significant risk of claims.

4.    Officers and Members had considered every area of expenditure and all budgets to close the £2m shortfall in budgets.

The Chair reported that a referral had been made to the Executive by the Council at their meeting on 17 November 2022. The Executive were asked to consider the petition on Car Parking Charges which was the subject of a debate at the Council meeting.

The Executive Member for Active Travel, Transport & Highways reported that the last time off street car parking fees rose in Wokingham was nearly five years ago, despite rising costs in providing the service the previous administration didn’t keep pace with those costs.

Last year, the previous Conservative administration did propose to cover the growing shortfall with a car parking recovery plan that was published in the Corporate and Community Overview and Scrutiny report on 24th November 2021 with an estimated additional income of £500,000.

If they had gone ahead with that it would have made a significant reduction in the financial shortfall that we now face. But unfortunately, the previous administration did not, and we are now picking up the consequences. They chose to use reserves where they took £2.2m.

At the meeting of the Executive on 28th July 2022, we were provided with a report indicating a budget shortfall of £600,000 to £800,000 for this year.

What options are available to balance the car parking service budget?

·       Taking funding from the reserves?

Taking funding from the reserves, is not an option open to us as the reserves are now too low and we cannot allow this authority to be placed in the hands of central government like Slough and Thurrock and a growing list of authorities as the consequences would be devastating.

·       Closing the Park and Rides?

Let’s go through them one by one.

Mereoak operated jointly with Reading BC is open and running at about 25% pre-pandemic levels. The 600 bus service operates from here and also services villages south of the M4 such as Three Mile Cross, Spencers Wood, Swallowfield, Riseley and Shinfield with additional financial support from Wokingham Borough Council. Without the park and ride those bus services would be at severe risk without further significant additional financial support from Wokingham Borough Council.

Local bus services allow children who are eligible for travel assistance to get to school and vulnerable adults can travel to social activities. Alternative provisions would need to be put in place to enable the Council to fulfill its statutory duties for adults and children. The concessionary bus pass allows elderly and disabled residents to travel on the local bus service, without these services there is a risk of social isolation. For residents travelling for medical appointments increased pressure for travel assistance would fall on community transport services and the NHS.

Thames Valley Park & Ride is closed as a public park and ride but is currently being used by the hospital as a Park & Ride for staff, operating between Thames Valley Park – Royal Berkshire Hospital and the Mereoak Park & Ride site. Income from the hospital will allow the site to breakeven under the current arrangement. Discussions are taking place to grow this use further next year.

Winnersh Triangle is closed as its under construction, but still has ongoing revenue costs. The project has a £1.3m overspend that is a consequence of the unforeseen issues caused by the Thames Water main at Winnersh Park and Ride.

It has come to light that this was known about in the autumn of 2021 but unfortunately the previous Conservative administration failed to deal with it and make provision in the budget. It falls to us to remedy this and has put even more pressure on this year’s budget.

Even closed, there are still costs for ongoing security, maintenance, insurance and business rates. We are looking at options to do something with this site, but it will not cover anything near the required shortfall.

·       Revenue highway services

This is not about the resurfacing schemes as those are capital funded but these services cover routine safety functions including emergency works to keep out network safe for use by the travelling public. Wokingham Borough Council is a highway authority and as such has a statutory duty under the Highways Act section 41 to maintain the highways maintainable at the public expense for which it has responsibility for. However, those users can claim damages for physical injury or damage caused by a failure to comply with the duty.

Therefore, the highway authority must demonstrate that it has adequate provisions in place, including financial as a defense under section 58 of the Act. Taking any funding from this extremely important safety function poses significant risk of claims, which can lead to large payouts and expensive court costs. We have a duty to protect the public using our highways assets and this is an area that cannot have any funding removed.

·       What about other services and savings?

Officers and Executive members have been looking through all the budgets in an attempt to close a £2m shortfall this year and a £4m funding gap next year. These financial adjustments are shown in the draft MTFP that is going through Community and Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The cupboard is empty of any other funding.

·       What about Income generation?

Income to run the car parking service is obtained from car parking charges. I presented to the meeting of the Executive on 29th September a proposal to increase car parking charges that would generate an estimated £540,000 of additional income and substantially cover the shortfall in the budget for the service.

The Conservative group called-in the decision, and this was heard on the 25th October at the Overview & Scrutiny Management Committee, where it was resolved that the Executive decision, relating to Off Street Car Park Charges, be confirmed.

The Conservative group submitted a petition requesting that the Council freeze the car parking charges, which was debated at Full Council on 17th November. This has been referred to the Executive this evening to consider.

The Executive Member set out the recommendations laid out in the report and confirmed that all possible alternative avenues had been explored. Many of the alternatives explored required additional funding, money that the Council simply did not have. Reluctantly, the Council had agreed to increase car parking charges after five years of no increases being made.

The process for making and advertising of the draft Traffic Regulation Order has been delayed by the call-in, the petition to Council and the referral to this meeting. A draft timetable was now proposed as follows: the earliest date for advertisement of the Traffic Regulation Order, which is a Notice of Proposal, would be a target date of the 8th December. Due to the Christmas/New Year festive break the period for objections would be extended to Sunday 22nd January 2023.

It was originally hoped to introduce these new charges in this financial year (January/February 2023) but with the delays mentioned above, costing around £45,000 per month in lost additional income they will now not be started until sometime in the new financial year.

The Executive Member recommend that the Executive agree to i) that no further action was needed in respect of the referral, and officers proceed with the making and advertising of the draft Traffic Regulation Order.

The Chair thanked the Executive Member and officers for all their hard work on this and for their determination to explore all possible alternative avenues. He reported that he had visited Woodley Town centre retailers over the weekend, with Councillor Lindsay Ferris. As well as some retailers in Wokingham Town centre in the previous week.

They hadexplained the councils need to balance the budget both this year and next year. There was from many retailers an acceptance that the Council had been left in a difficult position and that the whole country was in a difficult financial position.

Some businesses were already facing issues such as strong competition from other retailers, competition from online retailers and general changes in shopping habits. Increases in rents and energy costs were also having a significant impact on retailer’s profitability.

One manger of a significant business said that Wokingham Borough Council needed to explain why these changes were necessary. It was therefore necessary to improve communications to ensure that everyone understood why the increases were necessary.

RESOLVED that the Executive agreed that no further action be taken in respect of the referral made by the Council in respect of the petition relating to Car Parking Charges.

REASONS FOR DECISION: The Council must act urgently to address its in year forecast overspend and set a balanced budget for next year. Options to reduce expenditure are constrained by the fact that approximately 80% of Council services are statutory. The 2023/24 budget presented to Community and Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee shows a funding gap of just over £4m. This figure already takes into account cost reductions and income generating options across all Council Services, including the assumed increase in car parking charges in 2022/23. Avoiding the opportunity to generate additional income from car parking will increase the calculated budget gap for next year to in the region of £4.6m. The Council will be required to approve a balanced budget for 2023/24 when in meets in February 2023.”

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED:

1.    Taking funding from the reserves: Reserves were low, making this option unviable. Depleting reserves would create a signifant risk of the council being placed in the hands of central government. In the way that Slough and Thurrock had been, leading to devastating consequences.

2.    Closing Park and Rides: Without park and rides, bus services would be at severe risk without further significant financial support from the council. Local bus services allow children to get to school and vulnerable adults can travel to social activities. The concessionary bus pass allows elderly and disabled residents to travel on local bus services. Without bus services, there is a risk of social isolation. For residents travelling to medical appointments, increased pressure for travel assistance would fall on community transport and to the NHS.

3.    Reducing Revenue Highway Services: These are services that cover routine safety functions, including emergency work to keep networks safe for the use by the public. The Council is a Highway authority and as such has a statutory duty to maintain the highways. Further, users can claim damages for physical injury or as a result of failure to comply with statutory duties. Taking any finding from this area, poses significant risk of claims.

4.    Officers and Members had considered every area of expenditure and all budgets to close the £2m shortfall in budgets.