Knowsley Council has decided to extend a loss making parking enforcement contract despite it losing the council money.
According to a report published on the council’s website, its contract with APCOA Parking UK Ltd for for parking enforcement services, as well as contracts with Jacobs and Equita for enforcement and debt recovery, will be extended until May next year amid “uncertainty” over the council’s plans for Huyton.
This is despite the parking contract currently running at a deficit of £15k instead of generating the £4.7k surplus it was planned to make.
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According to the report, this was because of the council’s decision to have officers placed outside schools to enforce parking rules as well as because of the decision to suspend parking charges in many of the town centres, resulting in a sharp decrease in penalty charge notices issues.
The report adds that the extension to the contract is now needed because of the level of “uncertainty” that exists in how the council is planning to manage parking in the future – a decision which had been put on hold while waiting for the outcome of its recent failed Levelling Up Bid for Huyton Town Centre.
The report notes that the council had been “optimistic” of success in bidding for government money for its town centre regeneration plans and had not sought out a new contract for parking while waiting on the outcome.
It states that following the unsuccessful bid there “continues to be some uncertainty around the way forward regarding future parking charges, parking controls and the staff parking permit scheme” adding that the situation could “remain unresolved for a prolonged period of time.”
As a result, the council said it has decided to extend the current loss making contract with APCOA Parking Ltd, which will create a further £75k defecit to be funded from the highways budget while a tender process gets underway for a new parking contract.
Knowsley Council was asked about the decision, and a spokesperson said: “The Council made the decision to waive car parking charges for Council-owned car parks in April 2020 in order to support local businesses and the local economy in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Council-owned car parks remain free to use and we have no plans at all to reintroduce car parking charges.
“The council took over responsibility from Merseyside Police for all on-street parking on 11 May 2015. A key priority for the Council is ensuring that the Borough’s roads and Council-owned car parks are safe for drivers and pedestrians.
“Our Civil Parking Enforcement service works to ensure that vehicles are not obstructing junctions, causing hazards, blocking driveways and entrances to schools and other buildings. We also want to make sure that disabled bays are being used appropriately and that cars are parked within allocated bays and within advertised time limits within our car parks.
“Overall, we want to ensure that visitors and shoppers in Knowsley’s town centres can access the services and facilities they need.
“The fact that we no longer collect income from parking charges is having an impact on the Council’s budget as we still have to pay for the daily maintenance and management of the Borough’s highways and Council-owned car parks. These services will continue to be funded through the Council’s Highways budget.”
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