Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 16 September 2024 be confirmed and signed by the Chair as a true record.

Councillor Naomi Tweddle declared a Personal and Pecuniary Interest with regard to the agenda item titled 'Lincoln BIG Ballot'.

Reason: She sat as a Director on the Lincoln Business Improvement Board.

Purpose of Report

To provide details of a formalised process to the extension and/or creation of Residents Parking Zones within the city and seek recommendation for approval.

Decision

That Executive approve the formalised Resident Parking Scheme process, subject to

·       Minor amendments to the format of the final policy document as agreed with the Director of Communities and Environment to incorporate wraparound text and an explanatory flow diagram on existing County Council working criteria.

·       Final feedback on the policy document being requested from the County Council once drafted.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not having a formalised process for Residents Parking Schemes clearly publicised meant that ward members and officers could be subject to ad-hoc pressure to respond to isolated complaints and that this could be repeated multiple times creating abortive work whilst raising expectations.

Reasons for the Decision

The provision of adequate and efficient parking in the City was crucial in helping ensure Lincoln successfully continued in its role as the key urban centre for Lincolnshire and the wider area. Resident Parking Schemes (RPS) were a key component to balancing the requirement to provide visitor parking whilst safeguarding adequate provision for residents of a number of our more central wards.

A formalised process for the extension and/or creation of a new zone was required to provide clarity to both elected Members and residents of the city.

The city already had a number of RPS zones which were administered by the Parking Services team on behalf of the County Council.

Following several enquiries from both Ward Members and local residents regarding the potential extension of some Residents Parking Schemes (RPS) in Lincoln it had highlighted the requirement to establish a more formalised and systematic approach so that all parties had more clarity on the process.

Whilst as a City Council we administered such schemes through our Parking Services team the ultimate responsibility and decision making for any schemes as well as their enforcement rested with the County Council as the Highway Authority.

There was a set criteria that the County Council worked to before agreeing to implement a new RPS. Firstly, there needed to be evidenced support of at least 50% of the residents in the proposed zone and secondly there needed to be evidence of a measurable problem of non-resident parking on the effected streets. They also screened out streets which had at least 50% provision of off-street parking within the curtilage of a property or within 30m already in place.

The County Council would also consider whether an appropriate level of enforcement could occur to ensure effectiveness and that the scheme would not create wider impacts on the highway network.

In addition to this there would also be an assessment of resource allocation by the County Council to establish whether such a proposal could be accommodated given the officer work required. Likewise, the process required significant resource allocating within the Council’s Parking Services team and so the Assistant Director – Planning and City Services would also need to review  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

(Further to a declaration of a Personal and Pecuniary Interest, as outlined at item 37 above, Councillor Naomi Tweddle left the meeting during the consideration of this item.)

(Councillor Donald Nannestad, Vice- Chair chaired this item).

Purpose of Report

To present to committee the Lincoln Business Improvement Group (BIG) ballot arrangements and to seek Executive views on how the nominated officer should vote in the ballot using the votes attributable to council properties within the Business Improvement District (BID) designated area.

Decision

That the Chief Finance Officer be instructed to cast votes for City Council properties with a ‘yes’ to the continuation of Lincoln Business Improvement Group for the next 5 years, in the upcoming ballot.

Alternative Options Considered

The alternative would be to mandate officers to vote ‘no’ in the ballot. As covered in the main body of the report this would lead to a full range of activities being closed down. At a time where city centres needed dedicated support to help them evolve into new and exciting places, the role of BIG in creating those visitor experiences would be lost with a ‘no’ vote, which would have a large impact on the vibrancy of the city centre.

Reason for Decision

The Lincoln Business Improvement Group would be undertaking its fifth voting process from September to November 2024 for its operational period July 2025 to June 2030. A workshop for all members of the Council was held on 18 September 2024 where the full extent and remit of Business Improvement Group operations were discussed and a range of views expressed, which were reported to Policy Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 1 October 2024. (copy of minutes appended to the report)

The Lincoln Business Group Business Plan 2025-2026 was appended to the report. This set out priorities up to 2030, together with the proposed annual budget and the benefits of the Business Improvement Group.

The report set out the ballot process that would be followed, with the ballot itself being held on Monday 25 November 2024.

The BIG Board, at its meeting on 20 August 2024 approved a bid levy rate increase from 1% to 1.75%. According to the documentation supplied to the Board, this increase brought them into line with BIDs around the country, where the average was now 1.7%. For the City Council this would increase its overall BID levy charge from £30,877.05 to £47,417.13 (based on current figures). This did not yet include the Cornhill market as it was taken out during the refurbishment so would be assessed and brought back into listings imminently.

Clearly this was a large increase for many businesses in the BID area, softened for those whose rateable value had decreased in the 2023 list for business rates.

The BID Ballot process 2024 and levy mechanics was set out in paragraph 4 and 5 of the report respectively.

The impacts of a ‘yes’ vote and a ‘no’ vote were set out in paragraphs 7 and 8 of the report respectively.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.