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Issue - meetings

Car Parking Strategy

 

 

Meeting: 09/07/2025 - Executive (Item 364)

364 Car Parking Strategy pdf icon PDF 157 KB

Purpose:

To consider and agree the revised car parking strategy 2016 – 2031.

 

Recommendation(s):

That the Executive resolves to:

  1. Endorse the revised West Oxfordshire District Council Car Parking Strategy 2025 -2031 at Annex A.
  2. Authorise the Business Manager (Support and Advice) to make minor amendments to the draft strategy prior to finalisation in consultation with the accountable member of the Executive.
  3. Adopt the Action plan in Annex A of the strategy recognising it as a working document to be updated throughout the life of the strategy as a consequence of further consultations with Towns and Parishes. 
  4. Instruct Officers to make a variation to the Parking Order to implement a mixture of long and short stay times to better meet customer demand in Woodstock, Burford and Charlbury.  Recommended splits are attached at Annex B with final exact splits to be determined by Officers in consultation with Executive Member for Environment
  5. Delegate authority to Executive Director of Resident Services in conjunction with the Executive Member for Environment to consider consultation feedback on the variations to the parking order and decide whether to make the variation to the Order in whole or in part or to abandon the proposal.
  6. Approve the funding to resolve the drainage and mitigate flooding at Guildenford car park in Burford at a cost estimated at £20,000.

7.    Delegate further minor amendments to Parking Orders to the Executive Director Residents Services in consultation with the Executive Member for Environment to deal with items arising from Parish and Town Council liaison meetings subject to formal Parking Order consultation requirements

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Tim Sumner, Executive Member for Leisure and Carterton Area Strategy, presented the item, the purpose of which was to consider and agree the revised car parking strategy 2016 – 2031. In presenting the item Councillor Sumner explored the conundrum of car parking which he stated had no absolute solution. Therefore, a car parking strategy needed to balance the demands of parking volume, traffic flow, the needs of residents and businesses and decreasing traffic pollution. It was noted that satisfying one group would not necessarily satisfy others. Councillor Sumner encouraged local engagement with the process and advised that this would be factored into the strategy in future. Finally, Councillor Sumner advised that the Council had finite resources for parking and must maintain and continue to monitor these resources as well as continuing with the free parking offered in the district.

 

In the discussion the following points were raised by the Executive and Members of the Council present at the meeting:

 

  • It was noted that there was a difference in the figures for parking need in Witney between the proposed strategy, which showed a surplus of parking spaces, and the previous strategy, which showed a deficit. It was explained that this was reflective of changing parking habits since the previous version of the strategy. This change may have been attributable to changes in working and shopping habits.
  • The figures were explored in relation to Woodford Way. The data suggested that the main users of this car park were shoppers and not workers. The data had been gathered using two surveys over a two-year period. The surveys included asking customers the purpose of their visit to the car park.
  • The potential use of Council owned land for car parking, in particular Brook Hill and Union Street in Woodstock, was questioned.
  • The balance of the number of long stay and short stay parking spaces at Hensington Road car park in Woodstock was explored. It was noted that the survey for Hensington Road had also been completed over a two-year period.
  • It was concluded that the strategy provided a platform based on data and was therefore a snapshot. The strategy would go out to consultation following the decision of the Executive. Operational and management matters would also be considered following the consultation. When changes were made subsequent parking orders would be required and this would result in a further consultation.

 

Councillor Enright informed the Executive that the wording of recommendation 6 was to be amended in accordance with a recommendation from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The revised wording of the recommendation would be:

 

“Approved the funding to investigate the drainage and mitigate flooding at Guildenford car park in Burford at a cost estimated at £20,000”.

 

Councillor Ashton noted that the report showed that the amount of parking needed in Burford was not provided for at present and advised that the Town Council was looking into ways of increasing parking provision.

 

Councillor Ashton proposed a wording change to the strategy on page 15. He  ...  view the full minutes text for item 364

Meeting: 02/07/2025 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 26)

26 Car Parking Strategy pdf icon PDF 158 KB

Report to follow

 

Purpose

Pre-decision scrutiny of an Executive report seeking agreement of a revised car parking strategy 2016 – 2031.

 

Recommendation

That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee resolves to:

1.    Note the report and agree any recommendations it wishes to submit to the Executive.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Lidia Arciszewska, Executive Member for the Environment,  introduced the item and was supported by the Business Manager for Support and Advice and the Publica Interim Executive Director. The Executive Member highlighted the following points;

  • That a comprehensive review of the parking strategy had been carried out.
  • The report was reflective of local parking demand, and it was clear that free parking was valued by businesses and residents.
  • In terms of demand, there was a surplus of parking in areas of Witney but an unmet demand for parking in Woodstock and Charlbury.
  • The strategy’s aim was to provide a framework for challenges and options for increasing capacity.
  • The Executive Member thanked Councillor Tim Sumner, Executive Member for Leisure and Carterton Area Strategy, who had previously held the parking portfolio, for their prior work on the area.

 

The Committee made a number of recommendations to the Executive, which are included as an annex to these minutes.

 

The Executive Member and the Officers thanked the Committee for their questions and suggestions.

 

Resolved: That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee note the report and recommend that the Executive accept the suggestions in the annex to these minutes.

 

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