The item was introduced by John Hill, Assistant Director, Public Protection.  It was highlighted that the report provides a general update on parking with a focus on major projects and that whilst the purpose of the council’s parking strategy is stated in the report additionally there has been significant focus on improving the customer parking offer.  It was noted that the Parking and CCTV team comprises 91 staff, is completely resourced in-house, issues 15,000 resident parking permits a year, takes 4,000 calls per month and is responsible for enforcement at the Wimbledon championships and around all the borough’s schools.  Over the last year, there has been close to a 25% drop in the number of complaints received and an accompanying improvement in the number of appeals against enforcement orders won.

The Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system has allowed the automation of what had been a resource heavy manual process.  Merton is the first London council to introduce ANPR at such a scale (across the entirety of the borough).  This has resulted in a 100% increase in the number of enforcement notices issued.  However, it hasn’t yet been possible to sign-off the system.  There is a good relationship with the contractor (Siemens) and work is currently on-going to optimise the operation of each of the 41 installed cameras.  It is anticipated that this work will be completed after Easter at which point it will be possible to provide a sign-off.

Ringo, the cashless payment system, and pavement parking were highlighted as the other major parking initiatives currently on-going.

In response to member questions, officers clarified:

·         No final payment has yet been made to the contractor and will not be made until the system is working as per contract requirement.  This means making sure that the operation of each camera is optimised (the region of interest for each camera is correctly positioned and triggers to capture data for enforcement). 

·         Whilst the number of enforcement Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued is behind target this is a 100% increase on the number issued during the same period last year.  This has been achieved whilst releasing staff who have been able to go back on foot patrol which has achieved a 20% improvement in enforcement of offences;

·         Whilst the number of complaints received isn’t benchmarked, it was noted that 46 is a very low number for such a big service;

·         It is believed that the decline in parking complaints has resulted from ANPR  implementation; it provides incontrovertible evidence of contraventions making it difficult to challenge or complain about PCNs;

·         No breakdown can be provided by complaint type.  It was suggested that these will potentially have arisen from PCNs issued by foot patrols which are also correlated to the 14% loss in appeals;

·         ANPR hasn’t reached its financial estimates but the objective of the system is enforcement and not income generation.  However, the system has already paid for itself;

·         It is anticipated the potential for income growth will be limited by the impact ANPR will have on driver behaviour; it is anticipated that the system will result in fewer enforceable offences being committed;

·         Cameras are fixed but it is possible in the future for ANPR to link in with police systems.  This will be used to identify known vehicle registrations and notify these to the police for action;

·         A ‘white list’ of exempt vehicles has been collated by the council working in partnership with, for example, buses companies and ambulance services.  This is to prevent officer time being wasted on reviewing digital capture of exempt vehicles.  It was clarified that this largely means not capturing vehicles that are entitled to use bus lanes.  However, buses and other vehicles are entitled to use bus lanes are not exempt from box crossing infringements and will be pursued.  ANPR cannot capture speeding by exempt vehicles in bus lanes (the cameras capture static images only and not movement).  Speeding offences are enforceable by the police;

·         Pavement parking is continually under review.  The council is currently enforcing this new policy in 300 of a potential 600 roads.  Marked parking bays each need a Traffic Management Order and are subject to a survey and consultation with residents.  However, some roads are too narrow to enforce the policy without blocking access for emergency vehicles;

·         Any building company that parks its vehicles on the pavement causing damage is responsible for reinstating at its cost.  This is enforced through building conditions.  Any such damage can be reported to the Highways and Maintenance Team.  Action: Paul McGarry, Head of futureMerton, will look at the issue reported at Seymour Avenue; and

·         Where there is evidence that crossovers are being installed without permission, they should be reported to Traffic and Highways.  Councillor Chung’s offered officers the chance to join him on a visit of his Longthornton ward to see the impact crossovers installed incorrectly without permission are having (the impact on disabled residents was specifically noted).