Reply from Torbay Council to Keith Williams, Brixham Chamber Vice-Chair regarding clarification of car parking arrangements within the proposed Tesco development.
Dear Mr Williams
Thank you for your letter of 25th November, I apologise for the delay in responding.
Firstly, please let me assure you that the Council and Tesco are working hard to produce a Car Park Management Agreement (‘CPMA’) and agree a form of planning obligation (‘s.106’) that will allow the planning permission to be issued. Works cannot commence until planning permission is issued.
I believe that the contents of the s.106 are nearly agreed. The s.106 has not yet been finalised and it will not be finalised and signed until the Chair of the Development Management Committee and Cllrs Morey and Stockman have been briefed and are satisfied with its contents. The part of the obligation that deals with car parking is quite straightforward; it currently provides as follows:
- level 1 of the car park is to be open for use 24 hours per day
- the remainder of the car park is to be open for use at least between 08:00 – 22:00 (the Developer can keep it open longer if it wishes)
- there must be at least 338 car parking spaces
- the car park is to be for short-term (up to and including 3 hours) parking only (with the exception of parking made available for the 14 residents of the Site) – there is to be no contract parking, staff parking or visitor parking for residents of the Site that would result in fewer than 338 short-term spaces being available
- parking tariffs are to be similar to those levied at other Council-run, short-stay car parks in Torbay
- people who spend at least £5.00 in Tesco will be entitled to 1.5 hours free parking
I am instructed that these provisions are to be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that the car park is functioning in such a way that it enables users of the new store to park and also encourages linked trips into the town centre. For this reason, I have been asked to include a review clause in the agreement. I understand that there are concerns that the terms of the s.106 may be altered in a way that results in maximum stay times being reduced. The review clause in the s.106 will be drafted to require that any alteration is made only with the consent of the Development Management Committee.
I am not involved with the Car Park Management Agreement I understand that it is a more complex document than the planning obligation and that it deals with issues that are not relevant to the planning merits of the scheme. The s.106 does provide, however, that the CPMA must accord with the car parking provisions of the s.106.
I trust that this clarifies matters for you. Please contact me if I may be of any further assistance.
Regards,
Ailsa Delaney
Solicitor (Property & Environment)
Legal Services, Torbay Council