Decision details
Consideration of a proposal to extend and improvement works to Medway Street car park
Decision Maker: Cabinet Member for Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: Yes
Is subject to call in?: Yes
Purpose:
To consider the proposal to extend and carry out refurbishment and improvement works to Medway street car park, Maidstone.
Decision:
That
1.
The funding works to amalgamate and extend the car
park at an estimated total budget of £177,500, be approved;
and
2. An additional £20,000 (if external funding in whole or part is not available) for provision of a secure green bike store, be agreed.
Reasons for the decision:
The Borough Council own both the public pay and display car park, located at Medway Street and the adjacent car park (currently not within the car parking order). Although adjacent, there are significant differences in the site levels.
There are significant level differences between the
sites. To amalgamate the sites a vehicular ramp would need to be
constructed. The extension area currently has a surface that is
below the standard expected and required to be used as a public car
park, both areas would require resurfacing and relining as part of
the proposed works. To comply and make the car park an attractive
offer to park, a low-level lighting scheme would need to be
installed. In addition to these works, it would be prudent to carry
out some repairs and improvements to the site boundaries, install
additional pay and display metres and new signage. Should this
proposal proceed, on safety grounds the existing access onto the
High Street would require “stopping up” and a bollard
or barrier installed.
The required works can be broken down into stages. The first area
of work concerns topography site surveys, drainage surveys,
lighting survey, drawings, investigation, detailed design work and
proposed layout. The cost of stage 1 is quoted as
£14,500.
Assuming the initial site surveys show that the
amalgamation of the sites is indeed possible, quotes have been
received for the full works, which include -creation of a ramp,
boundary repair and renewal, resurface, reline, installation of
lighting, installation of additional pay and display machines,
installation of bike racks (secure) new signage, stopping up of
access to High Street. The cost of stage 2 is quoted as
£160,000; this is on the assumption that the preceding
survey works do not result in additional works being required to
the site. An example of this would be upgrades or repairs to
drainage systems that run beneath the site, or relocation of
services.
To further the Councils carbon neutral agenda, there is an opportunity to provide a green roof bike store. It is hoped that this work could be funded from external grants or operators, however if the Council were to fully fund this element an additional £20,000 should be allowed for.
The final stage of works is to bring the car park in
its entirety to be within the car parking order, which is a legal
requirement for the Council to be able to treat and use as a public
car park. The cost of stage 3 is estimated to be
£3,000.
There are some existing rights for third parties to park and enjoy access over the site, however it is felt that these existing rights can be accommodated within the proposals and will not frustrate the project.
A further consideration to cost will be the annual
costs for the required additional pay and display machines
(software licences, annual maintenance, electricity and back-office work) Estimated at
£3,000 pa.
The current pay and display car park provides 60 spaces, the
extension land currently provides 23 spaces. There will be some
loss of spaces to accommodate the installation of the ramp and the
proposed bike store.
Therefore, subject to detailed design, it is
believed that this project will on completion provide a minimum of
73 spaces in total.
It is important that Medway Street (new) car park remains a short
stay car park (maximum stay 4 hours). This increases bay turnover
and efficiency and therefore income. It is believed that if
extended Medway Street car park will
continue to enjoy a good rate of occupancy, if the current Medway
Street occupancy rates are matched, an additional income of
£3,790 per bay per annum can be expected,
(13
x £3,970 is £49,270. This is an annual return of
28% on our capital outlay of £177.5K, so is comfortably
in excess of the Council’s minimum
required rate of return of 5%. Please note that, during the
construction phase, the carpark in its entirety will not be
available. This will result in a loss of income during the
estimated construction phase (3 months). However, it is felt that regular users will be
displaced into another Council operated car park, and so the actual
financial loss to the council will be kept at a minimum. The new
car park will attract an additional cost in respect of business
rates, £8,000 pa.
However, the unknown factor to consider is where will the
additional users come from? There is currently adequate number of
car parking spaces within the centre town location to satisfy
demand, with no new shops or entertainment to create an additional
demand for spaces outside of seasonal variations. There is a chance
that the new car park may attract some customers from The Fremlin
complex, which would increase new income, however it is proven that
drivers always park as close to their destination as possible, and
so new custom from the Fremlin complex cannot be relied upon to
create additional income. If additional custom is achieved to the
new extended car park, it should be considered that the new custom
is more likely to come from drivers being displaced from one of our
other town centre car parks, and therefore are moving income A to
income B and not generating significant new money and making a
difference to our income stream.
Local Ward Members have also been consulted on the proposal. The matter was considered by the Planning Infrastructure and Economic Development Policy Advisory Committee on 8 November 2023 with the following recommendation made:
RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND TO THE CABINET MEMBER: That
1.
The funding works to amalgamate and extend the car
park at an estimated total budget of £177, 500 be agreed;
and
2. An additional £20,000 for provision of green bike store and electric car sharing scheme points (if not externally funded in whole or part), be agreed.
Alternative options considered:
1.
To carry
out minor improvement works to the additional land – surface
and boundaries – estimated cost £40,000. To hopefully
attract through marketing, a private tenant to utilise the site for
their own parking need. The site has previously been let on
agreement to local businesses for staff parking, however the tenant
bought the agreement to an end as they no longer required the
facility.
2.
That the
proposed project is not taken forward, and secure the site against
unauthorised use and activity, for reconsideration when there is a
clear demand for additional town centre car parking.
These options were rejected in order to carry out the required works to the car park and increase the number of car parking spaces available in the town centre. The electric car sharing scheme was rejected at this time as there was currently no evidence of the demand for the scheme, but this would not prejudice the scheme being introduced in the future.
Contact: Katie Exon, Head of Property and Leisure Email: katieexon@maidstone.gov.uk.
Publication date: 16/11/2023
Date of decision: 09/11/2023
Effective from: 17/11/2023
Accompanying Documents: