Car park review

A review of all assets, including car parks, was carried out as part of the Councils Asset Development and Disposal Programme (ADDP) and agreed by Cabinet and Council. The programme is aiming to achieve a reduction in the council’s corporate and operational assets in order to decrease the current operating costs, the future costs of maintaining deteriorating assets, and where it is identified there is no longer a need for the asset.

For any revenue generating asset like car parks, which also provide a local amenity, the decision in principle to dispose was followed by assessing the current and future income to establish a net present value (NPV) as well as a detailed review of the supply and demand of car parks in a locality.

The NPV indicated whether retaining an asset and continuing to receive income would be more beneficial than receiving a capital receipt that would reduce borrowing costs, or could be used for targeted re-investment. Based on it being determined there is an oversupply of parking in a locality, development scenarios were also explored to identify land-use changes such as new housing or employment uses.

As a secondary exercise to the initial asset portfolio review, it was determined that car parks should be assessed on a locational basis, not just in isolation, for example, based on car parks that serve the city’s district and town centres. Impact assessments were carried out in each location that consider usage in terms of customers, remaining available capacity across each area’s car parks if any given car park is disposed of, and the potential impact on transport.

All decisions on the car parks selected for disposal will take this analysis into account to ensure that no one area is unduly affected.

The focus of the early phases of ADDP is on the assets that are earmarked for disposal. Therefore, the disposal activities for the selected car parks will likely take place during 2025-26.

The decision to close each car park will follow a statutory consultation process (Car Park Revocation Order), therefore each proposed closure will be formally notified. The sale of car parks will also be subject to planning (the council decision to dispose based on there being redevelopment of the site) there will be a delay between the decision to close the car park and its actual closure in accordance with planning permission timelines, which will maximise the amount of time car parks can remain in use prior to development taking place.

The delivery of disposals will be on a locational basis with car parks within the same ward likely to be progressed at the same time. Information will be made available on alternative parking options within each area as car parks in those locations are brought forward for disposal.

The council has undertaken planning assessments for each of the sites to determine feasible development options for the site taken account of planning policies. These assessments are geared primarily towards various types of housing development that best suit the available land and address the need for new housing in the city. This pre-planning application advice will be made available to any potential purchaser but ultimately a developer will determine and submit their own development proposals, which the council will consider and need to approve as the Local Planning Authority.

Savills have been engaged as a strategic partner for the ADDP and have carried orare carrying out market appraisals for each of the car parks identified within the review. The appraisals will help to prioritise and determine the route to market that produces the best value return for each asset the council are looking to dispose of.

Ultimately, it will be difficult to confirm until the point of sale and the subsequent planning application the exact development proposals. Through the planning application process, development proposals will be in the public domain and include statutory consultation requirements.

We do not intend to dispose of car parks to a third party that would then continue to operate them as private car parks. The principle of a disposal is to support future development opportunities and on the basis the area can accommodate parking demand elsewhere.

The determination of which car parks to retain and which to dispose of is based on analysis of the data collected, including the:

• Usage data
• Potential for displacement to other car parks
• Commercial impact of selling versus retaining
• Development potential of the land
• Current marketability of the site

Usage data for car parks comes via ticket sales at car parks (both machine and pay by phone). Where ticket sales are not available for a car park, a manual count of vehicles is carried out for one day.

The data gives the potential car park numbers at a moment in time based on the time of sale and length of time purchased and is compared to the total available car parking capacity for an area to see if there is an oversupply of car parking spaces. Using ticket sale data in this way is considered to represent a worse-case peak occupancy scenario as some people may leave before their ticket expires.

There will not be a public consultation for the individual car park disposals. As noted above, the closure of each car park will follow a statutory consultation process (Car Park Revocation Order). During the period the order is issued, those who wish to do so will have the opportunity to outline any concerns or objections for consideration.

Season pass availability will continue to be updated in line with any decisions to close specific car parks. As noted in the FAQ above relating to disposal timeframes, the time between the decision to sell and the formal closure of the car park will include a period of marketing and a planning application within which time a season pass is likely to elapse. However, if a season pass for a car park that is closing during the period covered has been purchased it will be accepted at other council-controlled off-street car parks.

See further details about all of our car parks.