The Coppid Beech P&R has been open for more than two months, I’ve passed it on at least two dozen occasions and am yet to see a single user. That’s great in respect of carbon net zero but not so good for council finances. In fairness my wife did see a car in there, but it was a remote-controlled toy operated by a six-year-old – I suspect he didn’t pay the parking fee.
Clearly the millions spent building the car park are lost but I’d like to know the full operating loss to date taking account of the budgeted income, actual income (if any) and running costs?
Minutes:
The Coppid Beech P&R has been open for more than two months, I’ve passed it on at least two dozen occasions and am yet to see a single user. That’s great in respect of carbon net zero but not so good for Council finances. In fairness, my wife did see a car in there, but it was a remote-controlled toy operated by a six-year-old – I suspect he didn’t pay the parking fee.
Clearly the millions spent building the car park are lost but I’d like to know the full operating loss to date taking account of the budgeted income, actual income (if any) and running costs.
Note: For Councillors’ benefit a photo showing operating costs being incurred in the year before the P&R opened was included.
Answer
Firstly, I wish to point out that on numerous occasions I highlighted to the previous administration that a Park & Ride facility located at Coppid Beech was a poor investment of funding. The business case was weak it required the car park to be 90% full to break even and only got through the benefit cost ratio scoring on potentially saving personal injury accidents between the Park & Ride and the town centre. Unfortunately, it went ahead, and this administration has now inherited this project.
Park & Ride sites have struggled since Covid nationally and locally and Mereoak, which was operating successfully before Covid, has gradually increased usage to 60% of its pre-pandemic level.
Coppid Beech usage as a car park for the frequent Lion 4 / X4 service into Wokingham and Bracknell town centres is anticipated to be low but opening it and to consider potential options for its usage were considered to be the best way forward at the moment.
Due to a change in working patterns the demand for park and ride nationally has reduced. Consequently, no income target was set for this financial year. To date there have been 78 parked vehicles using the site. 36% of users were using the EV charging bays. The cost of operating the site to date is £4,122, of which £1,343 is covered by grant funding. The largest proportion of cost to date relates to an annual maintenance charge for the parking machines. Income to date is £220, therefore the operating loss to the Council to date is £2,559.
When making the decision to open the park and ride it was made clear that if it is not used then it may close again. It is too early to decide on the site’s future. However, it should be noted that there is month on month growth in the number of users parked. We are actively talking to partners and seeking opportunities to encourage further use of the site.
Supplementary Question
The gamble to build a speculative, zero use car park has clearly failed and I presume that there is no Plan B. The site has good bus and road connections and, thus, would be ideal for housing, thereby saving a few green fields from development. It should not be difficult to negotiate a change of use agreement and, maybe, a financial settlement with the developer who provided the current “white elephant”. Is the Council planning to do this, or will the eyesore be preserved as a monument to folly?
Supplementary Answer
As I said in my response, we are considering all options at the present time.