I BELIEVE IT COULD LEAD TO NOTHING LESS THAN A FUNDAMENTAL RESTRUCTURING OF THE WHOLE SECTOR
to invest and manage their parking estate on their behalf, as some have already done. Councils will be open to innovative ideas from the private sector as to how they can make better use of what is, in many places, a seriously underperforming asset base. However, the parking operators will face intense competition from developers, who will also be eyeing up some of these sites as potential development opportunities.
VAT increase Apart from these major changes, the CSR will have some other more minor impacts. Te VAT increase to 20 per cent from the new year will have a small effect on both public and private off- street car park operations. Planned real increases in rail fares of 10 per cent over the next four years may lead to a reduction in parking at stations, where car parks are generally run by private sector contractors; meanwhile some rail travellers will switch from rail to their cars for trips to town and city centres, leading to increased parking demand. Reductions in bus subsidies will lead to increases in bus fares and the withdrawal of more marginal bus routes, both of which will lead to a small switch to car usage. In London, a new opportunity may arise for parking companies,
as Transport for London has announced it will start charging for parking on the capital’s Red Route Network. Te present enforcement contract of red routes is with the Metropolitan Police and its traffic wardens, but pressure to reduce costs could lead to it being contracted out to the private sector. However, to reiterate, the biggest impact of the spending review
could be the complete restructuring of the off-street car parking sector, opening up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to the private sector to significantly expand their portfolios of sites, leaving councils concentrating on managing and enforcing the on-street parking market.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Siraut is director of economics at transport planning, planning, urban design and economics consultancy Colin Buchanan.
www.britishparking.co.uk
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