Questions about the postponement of the implementation of new policies:

Q: What has prompted this decision? Is it a u-turn?

A: The decision to postpone was prompted by the high court judgment and the impending Olympic Games. Westminster Council is abiding by the law and will postpone implementation of the scheme, pending the full hearing. 2012 is an important year for London and we do not wish this public debate to become a distraction to preparations for the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics.

Q: Will you press on with the policy?

A: We have announced a postponement until the court hears the Judicial Review and the Olympics are finished. But we still believe that the policy is the right one to ease congestion in central London.

We are confident that we will be successful at such a hearing on the strengths of our arguments, the comprehensive consultation and the need to make central London less congested. 

 

Q: Why did the court find against you?

A: The judge rejected 10 of the 12 grounds for judicial review submitted by the applicants. The judge observed that we did not close our mind to the options; our use of an 80% stress test was not unlawful, applied the Road Traffic Acts properly and rejected the argument based on our decision not to implement parking controls in 2003. Significantly the judge said he did “not think that there is sufficient [evidence] to establish even arguably that financial matters were paramount. 

In granting the Judicial Review the judge offered to expedite the hearing and said that “the scheme will commence perhaps two months or so later.

So, we have to make our case which is right and proper, but believe that we have compelling arguments in the majority of areas. 

Q: Why delay until after the Olympics?

A: London faces many challenges in 2012 and we do not wish this public debate to become a distraction to preparations for the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics. Westminster has an important part to play in both these national celebrations and will be devoting substantial effort to making them both a success.

We will of course use the intervening period to discuss our policy and continue to listen to the concerns of residents, visitors and business who like us want to see congestion reduced while sustaining the economy.

Q: How much have the changes to parking cost Westminster?

A: Westminster City Council has spent a total of around £400,000 on the changes hours of parking controls in the West End.

Should the scheme be implemented later in 2012, we anticipate recovering all but £25,000 of these costs.

 

Q:  Has Westminster got this wrong?

A: No - there is a very real problem with traffic congestion in the West End and we continue to stand by that. We are a council that abides by the law and we are awaiting the results of the judicial review, however London faces many challenges in 2012 and we do not wish this public issue to become a distraction to preparations for the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics. Westminster has an important part to play in both these national celebrations and will be devoting substantial effort to making both a success.

Q: Will anyone be resigning over this decision?

A: No.

Questions about the policies in general

Q: Won’t everyone else just copy you now?

A:  In fact, Westminster is not the first place to charge for parking in the evenings and on Sundays. There are many other places in London, across the UK and around the world where similar policies have been implemented  for some time:

• London boroughs that charge on Sundays
• Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames 
• London Borough of Camden
• London Borough of Greenwich
• London Borough of Tower Hamlets

UK cities that charge on Sundays

• Manchester
• Worcester
• Aberdeen
• Birmingham
• Oxford
• York
• Liverpool
• Carlisle
• Cardiff
• Reading
• Newcastle
• Portsmouth
• Bournemouth
• Southampton
• Canterbury

UK cities that charge after 7pm

• Bristol (in the centre to midnight)
• Stoke (charges 24/7 across the entire city)
• Aberdeen (8am until 10pm)
• Birmingham (charges until 7.30pm)
• Leeds (charges until 10pm)
• Manchester (charges until 8pm)
• York (until midnight)
• Reading (some bays are 24/7)
• Portsmouth (charges until midnight)

Internationally an IBM survey of drivers in 20 cities placed London second behind Montreal for managing parking. A large number of cities charge for evening and weekend parking:

Places that charge on Sundays

• Los Angeles
• Tokyo
• Vienna

Places that charge after 7pm:

• New York (Greenwich Village until 10pm)
• Los Angeles (until 8pm)
• Chicago (until 9pm)
• Sydney (off-peak 6-10pm)
• Vienna (until 11pm)
• Madrid (until 8pm)
• Barcelona (until 9pm)
• Rome (charges until either 8pm or 11pm)
• Copenhagen
• Lisbon (until 8pm)

Q:  Isn’t the council just seeking to make money?

A:  No – it isn’t legal, and the council doesn’t do this. Our new and existing parking policies have been introduced solely to manage traffic and meet our legal requirements under the Traffic Management Act 2004 to secure the ‘expeditious movement of traffic’. That’s why, for example, we introduced a charge at half the usual price from 18:30 – midnight Monday – Thursday, when the traffic is less busy.

As the largest parking authority in the country, the council does however generate a surplus from operating its parking service. All of this surplus income is ploughed directly into transport improvements and services, as required by law. In 2010/11, projects funded by parking revenue included bridge and highway maintenance, street lighting, and concessionary transport such as the Freedom Pass – which allows elderly people to travel for free across London.

Q: Why is the council bringing in extra controls in the evenings and on Sundays in the West End?

A: We have a duty to manage traffic properly across the city and this means that we need to ensure that there is a regular turnover of spaces so that motorists have a reasonable expectation of finding somewhere to park. We also need to make sure that the many different road users, from emergency services to delivery vehicles, and from taxis to cyclists, have access to the kerbside.

With the growth in Sunday trading and the night-time economy, people now use the roads differently and we have a duty to respond. The evidence that we have gathered shows that, in the West End, some of the busiest times of day are in the evening and on Sundays. Whilst the precise patterns of use vary, it’s true that some of our streets are busier at 10pm than 10am, whilst paid-for parking bays in the West End are most densely occupied on Sundays – in some bays in parts of the West End there is worse than a one-in-nine chance of finding somewhere to park.

Q: Will the new controls damage business in the area?

A:  We believe that the new controls will not damage business in the West End. Indeed, by providing extra facilities for businesses to load and unload, by increasing provision for taxis, introducing more parking bays and by controlling traffic better, we hope that these proposals will help to support the continued success of the West End. When charges were introduced on Saturdays there were similar concerns – these have since proved groundless.

However, we do understand concerns about the West End economy. We will, therefore work with the Mayor on his economic impact assessment as well as carrying out our own review of the impact of these policies on the wider West End.

A recent news story suggested that a consultancy called CEBR had carried out research into the impact of parking charges. This was untrue. Of course, if any other organisations do carry out assessment of the impact of these changes we would welcome this information to help us come to an informed decision.

Q: Why is the council seeking to cut traffic and congestion?

A:  The council has a legal duty under the Traffic Management Act 2004 to secure the ‘expeditious movement’ of traffic on our own and our partners’ road networks, by taking action to reduce congestion and traffic disruption.

It is important to make sure that we manage traffic as effectively as possible so that road users can get around safely and quickly. The West End is very busy and we estimate that there are 17 different demands on the kerbside. We have to balance these demands as fairly as possible and parking controls are how we do this.

For example, it’s vitally important to make sure that the emergency services can get rapid access to all parts of the city without obstruction. Ensuring that traffic can get around easily and that there’s plenty of parking and loading is also important for the economy. For example, the CBI estimated that congestion can cost the economy over £20bn per year.

Our evidence suggests that parking controls are necessary to achieve these ends, and without these controls we could fail to deliver on this duty and undermine the interests of the West End. This approach is completely in line with the Mayor’s Transport Strategy and his London Plan.

Q:  Where did this idea come from? Should I have heard about it?

A:  Westminster’s Strategic Parking Policy review started in early 2010 and has been extensively covered in the regional media and the council’s own publications. We carried out a survey in late 2010 and a consultation in the spring of 2011.

The council took all reasonable steps to ensure that the consultation was seen as widely as possible. Alongside media coverage of the review in the local news and the council’s own publication (delivered to every household in the city), the draft proposals were publicised through the MyWestminster eNewsletter (47,000 residents), the Westminster Business eNewsletter (700 businesses), Stakeholder e-newsletter (450 community leaders) and a link was hosted on the Westminster City Council, NHS Westminster and Metropolitan Police intranet sites (reaching around 3,000) and on some amenity society websites, as well as the council’s own homepage.

Specialist organisations such as the Westminster Faith Exchange (300+ contacts) and Neighbourcare (50 contacts) were also consulted. Officers and members from Westminster personally met with a wide range of people, including all of our Area Forums, as well as holding a series of focus groups and a major stakeholder event.

Therefore, we believe that these changes will not affect the vast majority of visitors in any way, apart from making it easier to walk, cycle and use public transport such as buses.

In addition, as the map below shows, the affected area is very small (about 25% of the whole of Westminster). There will be no change for people who come into the West End on a Sunday morning to go to a church, or who want to go out north of Oxford Street from Monday – Saturday.

Some people may need to drive into the West End regularly at night to work and we will continue to work with car park companies to secure special deals for those who need to come to the West End at night.

Q: If I want to park in the West End in the evening or travel to Westminster on Sunday what should I do?

A:  We believe that the majority of visitors are right, and that public transport is the best way to get into the West End. If you’ve decided that you still want to drive into the West End, perhaps if you work nights, you still have a wide range of options available:

• On Street Parking – you can use our pay-by-phone system to park on the street easily. Remember that evening charges in the West End will be half price (£2.40) Monday – Thursday. We’re also reviewing single yellow lines to provide more on street parking for residents and visitors.
• Parking nearby – the area covered by the controlled hours is small and you can still park free on the street in the evenings and on Sundays in surrounding areas, then walk, cycle, or use public transport.
• Off street parking – there are around 20 car parks across the West End, and currently they are not working at anywhere near total capacity, with hundreds  of spaces available. These are modern, secure facilities with features such as CCTV coverage to help keep you and your vehicle safe. We are working with car park operators and businesses to agree special deals for people who visit or work in the West End. For example, theatregoers can already park for half price in many car parks in the West End.

Q:  Aren’t you just taking away parking spaces?

A:  No. It’s true that the hours when you can park on single yellow lines are being reduced. However we are replacing some of our single lines with parking bays and we will continue to seek to provide more parking spaces on the street – although there are already more on and off street parking spaces in the West End than at Westfield in White City.

In addition, in the affected area alone there are around 20 car parks, with many more in the broader area, as well as on street parking bays. We estimate that, outside normal working hours, there is enough space for everyone who currently parks on the street to continue parking in the area, whether on street or in car parks.

Q: I’m disabled. Why are you stopping me visiting the West End?

A:  We’re not! By extending parking controls we hope to make it easier for disabled motorists to park near to their destination.

We know that disabled people may have a particular need to park near their destination. For that reason disabled motorists displaying a white or blue badge will continue to be able to park on single yellow lines during the extended hours of control in the evenings and on Sundays.

Q: How do you respond to the accusation that these changes will cost the West End £800m?

A: The figure of £800m was quoted in a report by the Centre for Economic and Business Research, commissioned by people protesting against the charges. Cebr themselves acknowledge that the report is ‘rough and ready’, based on ‘indicative analysis and assumption’.

Unfortunately, this figure is inaccurate. Some of the information used by Cebr was incorrect, some is out of date, and other data and methods have been arrived at through guesswork. There is no justification for the figure of £800m, which is simply irresponsible scaremongering.

Our policies have always been based on evidence about the transport network in Westminster. We have made all of our source information available for everyone to view here 

Q: I’ve heard about deals available in West End Car Parks, but will there be space for everyone?

A: Westminster no longer manages any car parks. However we have sought to lead discussions between car park operators and others about possible deals for people working and visiting in the West End.

Car parks tend to be under-used at night and therefore there is plenty of space for motorists to park at these times.

Car park operators have therefore offered a number of deals to motorists in these times that vary between £5 for parking all night to £8 for parking all night:

• Q-Park (Chinatown, Trafalgar Square, Cavendish Square)
• NCP (15 car parks across the West End and Soho, 50 in total across central London)

Both Q-Park and NCP operate secure car parks with CCTV and on-site staff to ensure that you and your car are kept safe and secure.

You can find out more about car parks in the West End here.