Decision details

1.Background.
1.1.Phase one of the off-street parking review and the introduction of an off-street parking strategy seeks to explore the tariff structures of all Town Centre parking places which fall within the Crawley Borough Council Off-Street Parking Places Order. The applicable sites within the remit of Phase one are Town Hall Multi-Storey Car Park, Orchard Street Multi-Storey Car Park, Kingsgate Multi-Storey Car Park, and Orchard Street Surface Car Park.
1.2.The scope of the phase one review is to understand more fully the role of our Town Centre Parking Place which include income generation which supports wider delivery of the council’s functions and supporting the economic vitality of the Town Centre.
1.3.The overarching principle of phase one is to explore the sites individually, assessing what attracts users to that area of the borough and ensuring that the tariff structure is designed in such a way that it attracts customers from our parking place competitors in the same or close by locations. The aim to is focus less on generating income through tariffs, and instead focussing on increasing the volume of parking occasions through an attractive and competitive offer.
1.4.Whilst generating income from car parks is recognised as an important activity for Council budgets, the Council also plays a role as custodians of the public realm and needs to ensure that town centre assets are used appropriately to support the economic vitality of the area.
1.5.The Borough’s Town Centre Multi-Storey Car Parks have been upgraded to provide a more secure offer using ANPR technology which also reduces the need for physical enforcement activity to take place within the structures. The sites are also now accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This 24/7 model is a unique offer for secure parking in the Town Centre, with the closest commercial competitor closing their site overnight.
1.6.Since 2020, parking behaviour has changed significantly and due to hybrid working and less overall footfall in public places, this is unlikely to ever return to pre-pandemic levels. As a result, occupancy rates in the sites have reduced across the estate, which has in turn, resulted in a reduction of income generated by the sites.
1.7.Traditionally, fees and charges for the sites has increased by inflation year or year with the last revision to tariffs being completed in late 2021. As a result, there is a disjointed offer which no longer correlates with the surrounding environment factored into the charges i.e., residential units, retail offer or the night-time economy.
1.8.The introduction of an evening surcharge has also proved to be confusing for customers and has generated negative feedback, from users of all three MSCPs who pay higher tariffs if arriving in the car parks before 6pm and expecting to pay an evening rate.
1.9.Due to low levels of occupancy at Kingsgate Car Park, a festive charging period was trialled from December 2022 which introduced a flat rate £2.50 to use the space, regardless of length of stay between 00:00 and 23:59. This saw a sharp increase in occupancy and did not adversely affect the usage of other CBC parking places. It has therefore been deemed that this trial attracted customers from our biggest commercial competitor in the Town Centre, County Mall. The trail has continued into 2023 with an increase in revenue by around 100% when compared with the previous monthly average.
1.10.The data gathered from this trial has indicated that customers will choose price over convenience and therefore, in order to create sustainable levels of occupancy at our parking places, our tariff structure needs to reflect the needs of our customers and be designed to support the surrounding environment.
1.11.This report aims to set a framework for managing car parks and tariff setting. When reviewing the tariff policy in the town centre car parks, and to make the below recommendations; the following factors were taken into consideration:
•Who are the customers and why are they using the site?
•What is the nearby offer i.e., retail, night-time economy, businesses, residential?
•What is the current parking behaviour and lengths of stay?
•Who are the sites competitors, and how do we compete?
2.Kingsgate Carpark – Proposed Fees
2.1.1.Kingsgate is a 5-storey carpark within the Town Centre close to shops and a prime location for Town Centre parking. The site has recently undergone renovation having come back into CBC control in 2021 and reopening in 2022. The site boasts ANPR technology and a secure parking offer and is open 24 hours a day.
2.1.2.Before the £2.50 special tariff, the original tariff for Kingsgate replicated Orchard Street MSCP as follows:
•£1.60 – one hours
•£3.20 – 0-3 hours
•£5.30 – 3 – 12 hours
•£7.40 – 12-24 hours
•£2.10 – evening use surcharge after 6pm
•£2.10 – weekend parking
2.1.3.The geographically closest commercial competitors parking tariff structure is as follows:
•(Charging hours are 24/7, but only accessible 12 hours per day):
•£2.50 – up to 2 hours
•£3.00 – up to 3 hours
•£3.50 – up to 4 hours
•£5.00 – Up to 24 (but closes at 6.45pm)
2.1.4.Whilst there are a mix of short and long stay users, Kingsgate Carpark users most commonly access the site for short stays between 0 and 3 hours which is largely attributed to the site’s proximity to the Town Centre retail offer and the adjacent bingo hall. There is little overnight use, and weekend usage is higher than during the week, which is not unexpected due to its location.
2.1.5.Close monitoring of the sites usage alongside the trialled reduced rate for parking indicates that even at weekends, average usage is around three hours and therefore, there is a case for the weekend and evening pricing structure to be replaced which will not adversely impact on users or usage.
2.1.6.Since December 2022, a £2.50 24-hour tariff was introduced to explore if a ‘volume over value’ approach had a positive impact on both usage and associated income. The trial has seen both increase in usage and income. Initial data suggests that customers chose Kingsgate over the County Mall parking offer and did not impact on other CBC operated parking places within the Town Centre. Feedback from customers has been positive with a more affordable offer being the most common theme. It should also be noted that at weekends the £2.50 charge is higher that the nearby Town Hall car park at £2.10 at weekend.
3.Recommendations:
3.1.1.End the special flat rate tariff and introduce a revised, differential tariff structure for all day parking that removes weekend and evening tariffs, but still supports most current users visiting local amenities.
3.1.2.Introduce a new tariff structure:
•£2.50 – 0-3 hours
•£3.00 – 0-4 hours
•£5.50 – 4-12 hours
•£9.00 – 24 hours
3.1.3.Introduce a permanent seasonal tariff between 1st December and 5th January:
•£2.50 – 24 hours
4.Rationale
4.1.1.The 0–1-hour tariff use is not reflective of how the majority customers are using the space and does not significantly contribute to the income potential of the site. In addition, this price point does not encourage visitors to spend extended periods of time in the Town Centre to support the wider local economy. In contrast, the 0-3 hour stay length is the most common for the site and is currently priced just slightly higher than our commercial competitor. The trialled reduced rate evidenced that whilst priced just £0.50 less, this was a factor into customers decision at which site to park their vehicle.
4.1.2.Consideration was given to making the £2.50 flat rate permanent; however, it was concluded that this would in time, lead to people using the site for long-term parking as it would be cheaper than anywhere else and could impact on the overall availability of space in the site for shopping and leisure.
4.1.3.The introduction of a 0–3-hour tariff reduces income potential; however, parking behaviour does not currently align with our charging structure, and the volume over value approach seeks to result in a modest increase in income generation with this being the most realistic method to achieve the £300,000 income target associated with the site for 2023/24.
4.1.4.The rationale to abolish the evening surcharge payable for any parking beyond 6pm to 6am has had a negative consequence on both customer experience and expected use of the site overnight. The surcharge was originally intended to generate income through overnight and night-time economy parking, but the data gathered during the first year has not signalled this has been an effective approach and may in fact, be preventing people from using the site for this purpose. Our closest commercial competitor does not have this charge, and therefore are the most likely alternative choice for customers.
4.1.5.The weekend tariff was introduced to increase footfall within the Town Centre by having a flat rate for any number of hours between 0600hrs and 1800hrs on Saturday and Sunday. Whilst the rationale sought to achieve the volume over value approach being designed in this phase 1 review, it is significantly reducing income potential and again, not consistent with how customers are using the site with the 0–3-hour parking period being the most common; this reduces income potential by around 50% each day and again, is not an approach taken by our commercial competitors.
4.1.6.The introduction of a permanent seasonal offer for Kingsgate Multi-Storey Carpark recognises the vital role the site plays in the economic vitality of the Town Centre during the busiest shopping period of the year, and to encourage those to make use of wider retail and leisure offers available in the Town Centre.
4.1.7.The revised tariff structure will not reduce income/agreements made with any commercial partners and will be considered in a sperate policy context.

Option 2: End the special flat rate tariff and introduce a revised, differential tariff structure for all day parking that removes weekend and evening tariffs, but still supports most current users visiting local amenities.
New tariff structure:
•£2.50 – 0-3 hours
•£3.00 – 0-4 hours
•£5.50 – 4-12 hours
•£9.00 – 24 hours
Introduce a permanent seasonal tariff between 1st December and 5th January:
•£2.50 – 24 hours.
Decision made in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change on 09/01/2024.

Option 1: Do nothing.
This option is not recommended as it does not meet the aims outlined in the report and the current tariff structure does not meet the needs/behaviours of our customers.
Option 2: Proceed as proposed.
This option is recommended as it meets the needs/behaviours of our customers and seeks to increase usage and commercial competitiveness of parking provision within the Town Centre.