AGENDA ITEM 4
BOROUGH OF POOLE
ECONOMY OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
17 OCTOBER 2013
MANSFIELD ROAD CAR PARK
1. PURPOSE OF THE REPORT
1.1 To consider the implications of the potential closure of Mansfield Road Car Park.
2. RECOMMENDATIONS
Economy Overview & Scrutiny Committee members:
2.1 Note the contents of the report
2.2 Request that Transportation Services undertake more work in respect of parking mitigation as set out in this report by reconsidering the existing parking restrictions along Weymouth Road, Woking Road and other similar roads in the vicinity.
2.3 Confirm that no further work be undertaken to assess the purchase of the car park on the basis that it would not pass any value for money assessment.
2.4 Request that Transportation Services alert Wessex Water of the petition received, demonstrating the degree of local concern over the potential negative impact that this closure may have.
3 BACKGROUND
3.1 Following the announcement by Wessex Water that they are considering disposing of the site on which Mansfield Road Car Park is located, a petition of 1,052 signatures was received by the Council at its meeting of 24 September 2013.
The petition read:
“We the undersigned object to any loss of car parking facilities in the car park adjacent to the Health Centre in Mansfield Road, Parkstone”.
3.2 In consideration of this petition Council resolved that :
“Officers be asked to report to the Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the potential impact of any closure and to consider the practicalities of any possible mitigation with all transportation and economic issues fully addressed.”
4 MANSFIELD ROAD CAR PARK
4.1 The site at Mansfield Road owned by Wessex Water comprises the following:
(a) Water Tower, decommissioned in 2010.
(b) Area leased to the Borough, operated as a 52 space public car park. This is the subject to a lease to the council.
(c) Area leased to the adjacent Parkstone Health Centre, used for staff car parking. This is an area which is outside of the potential disposal by Wessex Water and is therefore unaffected.
4.2 The water tower is no longer required for operational purposes by Wessex Water since modern systems of supplying water rendered the existing structure redundant. Furthermore the tower is a Grade II Listed Building and is known to require significant works to ensure its continued safety, security, and to address it’s backlog maintenance, - it is therefore a liability to Wessex Water’s future operating model. As the water tower does not form part of the land currently leased to the Council we cannot with any accuracy state the value associated with this liability. However based on informal discussions with Officers of Wessex Water an optimistic estimate is that the cost would be around £0.5m.
Wessex Water’s view is that it has a duty to safeguard the financial interests of its customers regardless of the community impact. Therefore in this respect any asset or liability which has no operational benefit should be disposed of to avoid continuing financial liabilities.
4.3 The main features of the public car park arrangement are as follows:
(a) It is leased to the Council from Wessex Water based on a 12 month notice period from either side to terminate.
(b) Council required to pay £6,200 per annum rent.
(c) Car Park operated by the Borough as a District Car Park:
· 52 spaces
· Charges: Monday to Saturday 8am to 6pm - 30p per hour (up to 10 hours)
· 8pm to 6am free
· Sunday 8am to 6pm : 50p
· Annual season ticket : £175
(d) Financial arrangements
Income - £000’s / Expenditure - £000’sDaily
Fees / Season
tickets / Total / Rent / Rates / Maint / Total / Net
£000s
2011/12 / 19.9 / 0.9 / 20.8 / 6.2 / 3.4 / 0.5 / 10.1 / 10.7
2012/13 / 20.4 / 1.0 / 21.4 / 6.2 / 3.5 / 0.5 / 10.2 / 11.2
(e) Details of parking incidents obtained from ticket sales :
Over the past three years there have in the car park been an average of :
· 121 users per day
· 851 users per week
Of these 2/3rds are for stays up to one hour, ie short term visits
5 WESSEX WATER – DEVELOPMENT PLANS FOR THE SITE
5.1 In March 2013 Planning Consultants appointed by Wessex Water began pre-application discussions with Poole’s planning officers on a proposed residential development scheme to include a conversion of the water tower building.
Officers advised that :
· Any development will need to demonstrate that the loss of parking can be sustained by current parking, and / or other modes of transport
· The application site is currently used as a public car park which is leased to the Borough. It is anticipated that the loss of the car park may result in a high level of interest from nearby businesses and users of adjacent facilities. In addition, the medical centre is located adjacent to the applications site and may be reliant upon existing parking spaces for its clients. Potential redevelopment of the site may need to offer some provision for these users, particularly those who are less mobile.
Planning Officers have though sought some changes to the scheme which was seen at the public consultation exercise.
The public consultation raised some concerns relating to the potential loss of public car parking and they were concerned that this would not be a material consideration for the planning authority when considering their decision.
5.2 A number of informal discussions have recently taken place between officers from the Council and Wessex Water. The main elements arising from these were:
(a) Wessex Water are considering disposal of the site by 2015. This being the case it is anticipated that it would be sold with the Council’s current lease arrangements in place, leaving the potential buyer / developer to serve the twelve months notice on the Council. Notice has not yet been given.
(b) Wessex Water have advised that they would be prepared to offer the whole site including the water towers to the Council for sale ahead of any wider marketing that they propose to undertake. They were clear that they would be unwilling to exclude the water towers from the sale package. It is also clear that they would expect the sales value to reflect what they believe they could achieve for the site as a residential development not based on the basis of what the site generates as a car park.
5.3 Car parking provision across the borough is currently being assessed through the Strategic Car Parking Review. The position with respect to parking provision in the Mansfield Road area is that :
· currently there is slightly better parking provision in the area compared with optimum (1).
· Using model forecasts of demand in future years (2026) it shows that with Mansfield Road car park being available there would be an overall shortfall in parking spaces against demand
· If Mansfield Road car park is closed then the under provision of spaces occurs immediately.
(1) Note: Optimum occupancy considered as 75%, achieving balance between maximising use of car park assets vs users not being deterred because a car park is frequently full.
Any under provision in parking supply could be seen as an opportunity to encourage a shift towards public transport and other modes of travel in this area
6.0 MITIGATION STRATEGY
Alternative Parking Provision On Street
6.1 Consideration has been given to the opportunity of creating more on street parking to offset the potential loss of the 52 spaces from Mansfield Road car park. However this is limited by the fact that Upper Parkstone is a densely populated area, consisting primarily of terraced housing with little off road parking facilities. There is therefore considerable demand from residents for on street parking, which combined with the fact that most of the roads are narrow means that there is in reality little available space.
6.2 As a result it would be difficult to reintroduce significant levels of on street parking without compromising safety or accessibility. Using Manual for Streets guidance on road widths the following consideration has been made:
Road / Comments / ProposalMansfield Road / Drivers already park on street on Saturdays / No action
Victoria Road / Extremely narrow / No action
Belmont Road / Reduced clearance at junctions now acceptable / Create 3 spaces
Weymouth Road / Reduced clearance at junctions now acceptable / Create 3 spaces
Woking Road / Too busy to reduce clearance at junctions / No action
6.3 In addition to the 6 spaces created above it would also be technically possible to consider removing the existing parking restrictions along Weymouth Road and Woking Road. However while this could potentially create 34 additional spaces, the fact that there is mostly forecourt parking here could create tensions with visitors parking blocking driveways.
Purchase of site
6.4 As highlighted in 5.2.(b) Wessex Water has indicated that they would be prepared to offer the whole site including the water towers to the Council for sale before going to the open market. However if the Council were to consider such a proposal it would need to accept that :
a) In taking on the Water Towers it would be taking on a significant liability, valued tentatively at £0.5m to correct the current backlog repairs, at a time when it is trying to reduce the number of such liabilities which itself holds The water tower would have no operational benefit to the Council so therefore would be an ongoing burden on the Council’s scarce financial resources.
b) That Wessex Water would expect the Council to pay consideration for the site based on its value as a residential development not based on the basis of what the sites generates as a car park.
6.5 On the basis that no capital resources have been earmarked for either the purchase of the site or the repairs to the water tower and that the site yielding such a low net revenue (which would be the basis of supporting a prudential borrowing business case to Council) that the purchase option is considered unviable and not pursued further.
6.6 It should be noted that the purchase of the car park would not pass any ‘value for money’ test given this low yield in respect of parking income. Furthermore the Council has a duty to all council taxpayers, not just those in the effected area, when considering the application of its resources.
7 CONCLUSION
7.1 The potential closure of Mansfield Road car park has wider implications other than the financial cost set out in this report, primarily the potential for an adverse impact on the trading position along Ashley Road.
7.2 The Council will continue to explore the options listed in 6.2 and 6.3 of the report as a means of providing mitigation for the loss of the site.
7.3 On the basis of financial considerations it is recommended that no action should be taken by the Council in respect of purchasing the site
JULIAN McLAUGHLIN
Head of Transportation Services
Background Papers
Council 24 September 2013
Name and Telephone Number of Officer Contacts:
Steve Tite (01202) 262020