Agenda item

With reference to article 27 of the minute of the meeting of the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee of 18 January, 2011, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which advised of the development of a process for consideration and approval of complementary uses of existing and future Park and Ride/Park and Choose services.  The process developed continued to recognise, support and promote the primary function of these assets which was to support the provision of Park and Ride/Park and Choose services.

By way of background, the report reminded members that the Committee had previously been presented with two options, which would require to be addressed separately, of complementary uses of existing park and Ride sites, namely:-

Category 1.    Temporary, ad hoc events which require no permanent set up e.g.  promotional, community, special events, training and awareness; and

Category 2.    Permanent facilities and/or routine events which would require fixed or invasive set up, or which require lease arrangements

On consideration of the above, the Committee had instructed officers to develop a draft process for the consideration of Category 1 uses in the first instance, similar if possible to the school lets system and also on the possibilities associated with Category 2 uses.  It was emphasised that there should, at the very least, be no additional costs to the Council in supporting, facilitating or enabling any agreed complementary uses.

Firstly, the report highlighted the legal issues surrounding the proposal, wherein it was advised that the use of a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) to acquire the land for the Kingswells car park meant that there could not be full and unrestricted use of the site for alternative uses.  Any uses would need to have some connection to a local authority function, which might include for example, community uses.  Any complementary use that involved commercial or profit making organisations charging to provide a service would not be considered competent given the legal restrictions on the uses which could be made of land acquired under a CPO.  Further, the Council should not apply significant charges for uses, although small charge based on the school lets system, for which the revenue generated would help cover the running costs of the site would not be unreasonable. 

On the basis of the above, the process therefore would need to consider the competency of any use in relation to the CPO restrictions and whether there was some connection to a local authority function.  It was likely that a number of Category 1 uses would provide some sort of community benefit and therefore could be considered to fulfil a Local Authority function.  However, it was possible that even Category 1 uses would involve commercial organisations or individuals charging for a service such as motorcycle training or shopping delivery service.  Given the various possible types of usage, the view was put forward that each individual application should be dealt with on a case by case basis to remove the need to categorise each application.

Thereafter, the report outlined the proposed procedure for complementary usage, namely that the same letting system for school and educational properties supported by the Facilities Management team to enable the let to open and operate be utilised.  A modified application form for use by applicants who required use of a particular Park and Ride site was attached as appendix 1, whilst appendix 2 showed the proposed procedure that would then be followed in determining if the application was suitable and the subsequent process to be followed, through to acceptance or rejection of the application.  With regards the proposed charges, it was advised that these would be dependant on the type and length of usage and on whether the application was internal or external to the Council.  An additional charge would also be applied if the applicant required the waiting area and toilet facilities to be made available.  A charging policy had been developed for consideration and was detailed in appendix 3.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the process detailed in the report for the consideration and approval of complementary uses, which had been based on the school lets system; and

(ii)        to refer the report to the Finance and Resources Committee for approval of the charging policy.