Proposals for changes to Rother parking charges

Overview

We are asking for your views on proposals for changes to parking and permit charges for on street parking in Rother District.

Why your views matter

Increasing car ownership and use adds to:

· parking pressures on the limited kerb space

· congestion

· vehicle- emitted pollutants

The effective management of parking not only addresses local parking problems, it helps achieve some of the transport objectives set out in our Local Transport Plan. These include:

· improving road safety

· reducing congestion by keeping traffic flowing better, improving health and quality of life

· reducing climate change and damage through reduced vehicle emissions

· improving the local economy

Parking management supports transport strategies aimed at influencing travel choices, creating safer, healthier and more pleasant streets. This is done by encouraging people to walk and cycle instead of using cars and using public transport where people have a choice to do so.

The level of charging is an important way that we can try to support these choices and manage parking better to achieve these objectives. This can be by

· type of user, for example permit user or paid for parking

· location, for example different pricing between on street parking and off street car parks

· the type or number of vehicles people have (for example, second residents’ permits or lower emission vehicles)

For these reasons, it is important that charges are set at a level that has some meaningful effect on what people do.

Charges for on street parking have not been significantly changed since the scheme started in 2020. To continue to support its aims, an increase in charges is proposed.

What changes are proposed?

The key changes we are proposing are:

· linking the cost of resident permits to the CO2 emissions from the vehicle the permit covers

· increasing the cost of visitor and day permits

· increasing the cost of on street paid for parking charges

More information about each of the proposed changes is set out below.

Permit prices to encourage lower emission vehicles

Increasing concerns about poor air quality and climate change are leading to many local authorities setting higher parking prices for higher emission vehicles.

Resident Permits

Under the proposals, the price of a resident permit would be standardised across all our permit schemes with owners of low emission vehicles paying less than those with higher emissions. The cost of a first permit would be between £17 and £103 per year depending on the level of emissions.

You can find out the CO2 emissions of your vehicle by looking on the government web site: https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-rate-tables

Business Permits

Also under the proposals, the price of business permits will see an increase with owners of low emission vehicles paying less than those with higher emissions.

The cost of a business permit would be between £154 and £590 per year depending on the level of emission.

Visitor and other permit price variations

It is proposed to increase the visitor and other permit charges to influence driver behaviour and encourage them to use sustainable forms of transport or to use off street car parks if they continue to drive. This also includes doctor, primary care worker, hotel, trade permits, waivers and dispensations where applicable.

Increases to on street parking charges

Parking charges in Rother District were set significantly lower than other areas when the scheme was introduced. The charging regime is having a reduced impact as a demand management tool on influencing travel choices. It is proposed that parking charges are increased to influence driver behaviour and encourage the use of alternative sustainable forms of transport.

The increase in charges for on street parking would range from 70p to £2.70 per hour depending on the location. Blue Badge holders are not impacted by this proposal as they do not have to pay for on street parking.

How to take part in this consultation

Fill in and return the online survey by midnight on 29 November 2024. We expect it to take around 15 minutes to complete.

If you’d like to request a paper copy of the survey, please email parking.consultations@eastsussex.gov.uk If you need more help to take part in the survey, please contact us.

Annual inflationary increase

In April 2025 all parking charges will be subject to an annual inflationary increase. The charges being consulted on here do not include this increase. The inflationary increase will be decided in early 2025.

What happens next

At this stage, no decisions have been made on our proposals.

Once the consultation is complete, your views will be presented to East Sussex County Council’s Lead Member for Transport and Environment in January 2025 to help them make a final decision.