In accordance with
the Constitution, a Member may
ask the Leader, the Chair of the Council or a Committee Chair, a question on any
matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties or which affects
the Borough.
Two questions have been received.
Minutes:
There were two questions received however one question was withdrawn on the day of the meeting.
Before reading his question Councillor Lumley paid tribute to late Councillor Mel Steadman and referred to her being a hard-working Councillor.
Councillor Lumley asked the following question :
‘Can the Member
strongly consider free or reduced MBC-operated car parking charges in the
Melton town area after 3pm Monday-Saturday, to help town centre businesses,
assuming existing very low revenue after this time is confirmed?
This would greatly
help due to the inefficiency of our current car parking payment machines (where
there is complimentary individual central government money to upgrade
Council-maintained car parking payment machines) where feedback is that people
are put off by not having the correct change denomination and no change is
given, to generally to uplift a quieter time of day throughout the town centre,
and with a key time of day of where parents and guardians pick up their
children from nursery and school, which could then entice them into the Town
Centre.’
The Portfolio Holder for Growth and Prosperity, Councillor Bindloss, responded as follows :
‘I appreciate and
thank the member for his question and I agree as I’m
sure we all do that supporting town centre businesses particularly at this
difficult time is important for the vitality and prosperity of our town. We are
indeed listening to the businesses not just in the town but across the Borough
and we welcome your feedback on the issues faced by those attempting to utilise
the car parks to visit and shop in the town area.
As we all know we have
gone from one national crisis to another with people now feeling a financial
squeeze and indeed a genuine hardship through the cost of
living crisis, with so many now identifying this it is now also becoming
a cost of business crisis.
We are keen to support
town centre businesses where possible and to that end we have allocated
significant funding to support the wider town centre and ultimately attract
more people into it through the recently submitted UKSPF fund and I can say we
are always keen to do more and look at more options.
The question of car parking
is rightly something that should be considered as part of the budgeting process
for the authority and to this end I have requested that officers look into this further so as to advise members on the
financial impact of this and to consider other scenarios to try and balance our
commitment to the town centre alongside our need to remain fiscally responsible
and maintain the financial sustainability of the Council.
With regard to the car
parking machines themselves we plan to undertake a car parking needs assessment
to ensure we future proof accessibility to the town and provide enough space
for future users and visitors taking into consideration the expected growth within the area
over the next 10-15 years.
As part of this we are
looking at not only the costs and the viability but also the wide-ranging
methods for alternative parking and ticketing measures which make it as easy as
possible for people to use the car parks.
Whilst this is
ongoing, we acknowledge the concerns of those who currently use our parking
machines and have installed a cashless option within all our car parks in 2020
this is increasingly being used on a yearly basis and now accounts for around
20% of total ticket sales.
Naturally the findings
of this report will be sent to the appropriate committees for consideration and
evaluation and this process has already started and is being dealt with now.
This is a very broad subject and there are lots of possibilities and variables.
We need to make sure that we maximise the benefits to the town and its
businesses and in the decisions we make towards this.’
Councillor Lumley was invited to ask a supplementary question however as the supplementary question raised by Councillor Lumley was not directly related to the original question the Mayor indicated no response was required.
(Councillor Child re-entered the meeting at 7.20 pm during the preceding item.)