Adur District Council announces findings of its first major review of its off street parking provision in five years

Adur District Council has carried out its first review of off street parking for five years.  The recommendations which are expected to be implemented in January 2017 are designed to retain competitively priced parking provision in the area for businesses, residents and visitors both in terms of short and long term parking.  

Some long term tariffs have been reduced,  short stay tariffs of 30 minutes have been retained and season tickets have been made more convenient by enabling them to be purchased monthly and quarterly as well as annually.  Overall the charges remain lower than those of neighbouring areas.

Adur District Council manages a total of 13 off street pay and display car parks as well as a number of free surface car parks.  The car parks provide both short and long term parking which is of high importance for visitors, businesses and residents.  

The Council followed guidance from The Department for Transport, that states that parking tariffs should be reviewed regularly; more sustainable forms of transport such as cycling and public transport should be encouraged and that short term parking should be encouraged off street rather than on street to curb congestion.  The changes have been designed to encourage increased use of car parks and avoid on street congestion.

* Major changes of note include:

·         The half hour tariff has been retained for people only needing to park for a short period of time.  

·         Season ticket costs have been maintained at £350 /year (less than £1 per day) and will also be offered on a monthly and a quarterly basis to make them more attractive to people who do not want or need to commit to a full year.

·         At key sites (Tarmount Lane, Pond Road and Ropetackle) the all day tariff will be reduced  from £8 to £5 or £4 at Ropetackle.

·         Tariffs have not been changed in five years and increases to some remain at a modest level to encourage use of the car parks.

·         The number of tariffs will be simplified, eg Pond Road and Tarmount Lane will move from nine tariff bands to five.

·         Charges will apply between 9am and 6pm rather than 5pm to bring them in line with on street controls.  

·         A £1 charge will be introduced on Sundays and Bank Holidays to those remaining car parks where currently there is no charging in place on these days.  

·         “Pay-by-phone technology will be adopted alongside traditional pay and display machines to provide customers with greater flexibility when paying for parking.

* Full details of all charges can be found on the Adur & Worthing website  https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/parking/ on Thursday 27th October 2016.

In line with most authorities in the South East and many other parts of the country, charges for Blue Badge holders will be introduced.  The British Parking Association advised the review that Blue Badges are designed to help people park closer to where they need to get to and that charging Blue Badge  holders is considered to be reasonable. The charges themselves must be set at a reasonable level, adequate parking facilities must be provided and most importantly the car parks and payment mechanisms must be easily accessible.  The Council is working with the British Parking Association on reviewing disabled parking provision and implementing recommendations for improvements.

Councillor Emma Evans, Adur District Council Executive Member for Environment adds “After five years it has been necessary to review our parking provision.  The implementation of the recommendations will mean that our charges remain amongst the lowest in the area.  This, together with various options for season tickets and making payments by phone as well as cash, will encourage more people to  choose Adur as their destination whether it be business or leisure.”