General Question – 25 February 2010

Under Standing Order 14, Councillor Lawrence Nichols asked the following question:

"For each Car Park in Lower Sunbury, what has been the income received to date compared to the original budget?

In each case what has been the cost of setting up the charging system?

What are the expected annual costs of running the charging mechanisms including enforcement costs and any attributable business rates?

Councillor Councillor Andrew Hirst responded as follows:

“The question that you ask is quite detailed in the breakdown of income and expenses you have asked for by each car park.

I have a full written answer to all of your questions, which I will pass to you, but, in summary the costs of installing the necessary equipment in the five Lower Sunbury Car Parks has been about £18,500 in total. Based on income received so far we anticipate annual income in excess of £12,500. Ongoing costs associated with charges in the car parks (machine maintenance, cash collection) amount to less than £2000 per annum.

A quick calculation shows that the pay back period for this is less than two years after which time the income received will contribute to the maintenance costs and business rates of the car parks (which would have been incurred any way).

In this way the costs of running these car parks will fall upon the users rather than the general Council tax payers.”

Written response by Councillor Andrew Hirst:

“There are five car parks in Lower Sunbury where charges are made. Two of these (Thames Street and Old Bathing Station) have been chargeable car parks for the whole of this financial year to date. Charging was only introduced during the financial year for the other three car parks (Walled Garden, Orchard Meadow and Sunbury Park / Green Street).

In answer to your question on income received then from the 1 April 2009 to 9 February 2010 the following income (after tax) has been received:

Old Bathing Station £ 708.89p

Thames Street £3,831.70p

The car park machines and signage were installed in the other three car parks in October / November 2009 and enforcement of the new charges commenced in December 2009. From December 2009 to 9 February 2010 income (after tax) was received was as follows:

Walled Garden £358.13p

Orchard Meadow £381.45p

Sunbury Park/Green Street £705.15p

In addition to this, income is received from the sale of business and residents permits. So for this financial year £3340 has been received.

Individual budgets are not allocated for each of our car parks; rather an overall budget is set for car parks income and a budget code allocated for all of our smaller car parks combined. So far as costs are concerned the expenditure this financial year so far has been:

£2835 each for the Pay and Display machines installed in each of the three car parks where charges were introduced this year.

£270 per machine for installation.

£1734.51 for signage for all of the three car parks where charges were introduced this year.

£245 for installation of the signage.

The purchase price of the Pay and Display machines includes the first year’s maintenance charge.

The annual costs of operating the charging mechanisms are:

£264 maintenance charge per Pay and Display machine.

There is also a charge for cash collection but it would not be appropriate to give an answer in public that could reveal the frequency or volume of cash collection from our car park machines. I am prepared to give Councillor Lawrence Nichols a private response to that aspect of this question.

There are no other enforcement costs involved as patrolling of these car parks is undertaken by our existing car parks staff. There has been no need to increase our staffing to accommodate enforcement of these car parks.

So far as business rates are concerned then so far this year the following business rates have been paid:

Thames Street £3492.00

Orchard Meadow £4365.00

The Old Bathing Station and the Walled Garden are not rated. We are pursuing with the Valuation Office whether or not business rates should be levied on any of these car parks together with the business rate that is levied on Sunbury Park which we are now investigating.

In addition to this there is also the question of maintenance of the car parks and whilst no money has been spent on these car parks so far this financial year, there will undoubtedly be maintenance costs in the future and this should always be kept in mind in support of our policy that in running the car parks the costs should be met by the users rather than fall on the general council tax payers.”