Members of the public who live or work in the District are welcome to speak and may ask one question or make a statement of not more than three minutes duration relating to items to be discussed in Part 1 of the agenda only. If a question is asked and answered within three minutes, the person who asked the question may ask a supplementary question that arises from the reply.
A person who wishes to speak must register at least 15 minutes before the time the meeting is scheduled to start.
There is an overall limit of 15 minutes for public speaking, which may be extended at the Chair’s discretion.
Minutes:
Prior to hearing from public speakers, and receiving the report, the Chair outlined the procedure for this particular Extraordinary Overview and Scrutiny meeting.
The following members of the public then spoke under this agenda item:
1. Frank Stennett, a local businessman from Bury St Edmunds and as a West Suffolk resident, made a general statement in connection with the Parking Review Report. He stated that due to climate change the owners of all environmentally friendly vehicles should be allowed to park for free, as well as blue badge holders.
2. Mark Skinner, a local businessman representing Brandon traders,addressed the Committee in connection with the Parking Review Report. Mr Skinner owned a funeral business for over 30 years and he believed bringing in parking charges would be the final nail in coffin for Brandon. He identified that Brandon did not have national brand traders and understood traders were struggling to pay bills. Mr Skinner raised concern that parking charges would also reduce footfall to the town and if people had to pay £1 to park in the High Street they would not stay in the town. Whilst Mr Skinner welcomed traffic wardens in the town, he asked the Committee to please reconsider proposals to charge and suggested speaking with the people of Brandon. He summed up by stating a petition had been set up, which had over 2,000 signatures which was against charging in Brandon.
3. Eddie Stewart, a resident from Brandon, addressed the Committee in connection with the Parking Review Report. He had lived in Brandon for over 30 year and was a District Councillor for Forest Heath District Council for 12 years. He explained that bring in parking charges would not improve the viability of Brandon. He believed staff working in Brandon would be affected by parking charges and asked the Committee to consider the potential displacement of traffic to side roads.
4. Mark Cordell, Chief Executive Officer from Our Bury St Edmunds Business Improvement District who represented over 400 business in Bury St Edmunds, made a statement in connection with the Parking Review report. He acknowledged there had not been any parking increases over several years and the reduction of Government grants but highlighted that 2019 was the worst footfall in the town for several years. He felt parking tariffs discriminate against the low paid and that some of the proposed increases in rates in the report were 50-60%. He believed the proposal to remove the free from 3 parking initiative was disappointing. Mr Cordell highlighted the flexi park trial and had been in regular conversations with the Cabinet Member for Operations, Councillor Peter Stevens, about this. He felt there were some good proposals in the report but would suggest deferral or that they were gradually introduced over a three-year period.
5. James Sheen, founder of We Love Bury St Edmunds, made a statement in connection with the Parking Review Report. He advised that a petition was running asking for two free days parking across West Suffolk, with one of those days being on market days. He felt having free parking on a Wednesday would bring in more people into Bury St Edmunds and to the market. He recognised Civil Parking Enforcement would be implemented soon but high street shops were declining and assistance from the Council was vital.
In response, the Chair explained it was estimated that the Council subsidised the “free from 3” scheme Tuesdays in Bury St Edmunds by approximately £80,000 per year.
The Monitoring Officer the set out the procedure on how petitions should be submitted to the Council, and subsequent validation of signatories on petitions.
6. Rod Portwood, a local resident from Bury St Edmunds,addressed the Committee in connection with the Parking Review Report. He stated he had sent a list of his concerns on the parking proposals to his Ward Member. He raised issues around public transport and was concerned with the proposal to remove the free from 3 parking on Tuesdays. He felt Bury St Edmunds needed to have a better high street offer than Cambridge and he was concerned with the effect that the departure of a major retailer such as Debenhams could have on the Arc shopping centre. He asked that the Council makes Bury St Edmunds the go to town.