Annual Parking Report 2023/24

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Bus Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs)

In 2023 as part of our work with the Bus Service Improvement Plan, a new post of a bus service Civil Enforcement Officer (CEO) started. Every day a bus CEO now travels on buses in Lewes and Rother districts and Eastbourne and Hastings boroughs.

NSL, Brighton and Hove buses, Compass, and Stagecoach, worked together to identify routes affected by vehicles parked in contravention. The bus CEO then travelled on the bus to see what the problems were and how best to help resolve them, either asking the driver to move on or to issue a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).

It soon became clear that there were other factors which were impeding the buses. Where possible the CEO would report these issues to the relevant departments. Examples include overgrown hedges and the need for new restrictions in some places. In some areas we have also changed how we enforce the on street restrictions.

In Eastbourne and Hastings boroughs and Lewes and Rother districts, the feedback has been very positive. Both passengers and drivers have expressed their satisfaction. Some have commented on the buses being on time with a bus driver saying they “feel they have a magician on board”.

During the year bus CEOs have spent 1,444 hours on bus routes, issuing 246 PCNs and have moved 173 vehicles on.

Pay and display machines

There has been a decline in use of our pay and display machines making some of them no longer economical to run. To address this, we carried out a project to identify machines with low levels of use. We reviewed the income by payment method and transaction number at each machine. Over 12 months we were able to see which machines had the lowest levels of use. We found only around 40% of transactions were being made at a machine, with cash payments making up around only 25%.

We knew that removing machines would affect some users but needed to balance this against the financial burden of maintaining the existing number of machines. We did an equality impact assessment before considering any changes, as part of this we wanted to:

limit any adverse impact on users
ensure the full range of payment methods would still be available
make sure every parking space still had a pay and display machine within a reasonable distance

After identifying which machines had the lowest transaction numbers, we visited all the machines. This was to assess if it was suitable for removal, or if another machine would be more appropriate. This involved several checks including:

the distance and route to walk to another machine
the time taken to walk to and from the alternative machine
the mobile phone signal
identifying any changes needed to the signs

We identified 153 out of our 340 pay and display machines for removal, all with another machine nearby that motorists could still use to make cash or card payments. Below is a summary of the machines by CPE area.

Pay and display machines by CPE area
Area	Number of machines	Being removed	Remaining
Eastbourne	141	71	70
Hastings	65	34	31
Lewes	82	29	53
Rother	52	19	33

Visiting the machines for this project had another benefit. It meant we were able to note areas where the parking restrictions are not achieving the aim of making efficient use of the kerb space. Thus, some of the machines identified through the project will not be removed as part of this. The locations will be considered in the next parking review to see if the restrictions need any changes.

The machines identified for removal were covered in February 2024. After three months we will consider any feedback about them. In June 2024, any adjustments will be made before permanently removing the machines.

Finances

All areas

Income

Combined income for all areas
Income for all areas	2023/24 £	2022/23 £
On street charge	3,724,533	3,764,629
Off street charge	79,999	68,681
Permit income	982,274	963,848
Penalty Charge Notices	1,559,441	1,599,323
Bus lane Penalty Charge Notices	145,622	114,739
Payments from other Local Authorities	266,892	290,567
Other income	7,039	5,452
Total	6,765,800	6,807,239

Expenditure

Combined expenditure for all areas
Expenditure for all areas	2023/24 £	2022/23 £
Enforcement contract	2,639,638	2,343,492

Operational surplus

Combined operational surplus
Operational surplus for all areas	2023/24 £	2022/23 £
Operational Surplus	348,458	588,034

Schemes funded by the surplus

Schemes funded by the surplus
All schemes funded by the surplus	2023/24 £	2022/23 £
Parking Review	353,170	191,042
Approved by parking board	25,600	25,600
County Hall	0	13,183
Real Time Bus Information	170,991	156,084
Total Payment and investments	549,761	385,909

Net surplus or (deficit)

Combined net surplus or (deficit)
Net surplus or deficit for all areas	2023/24 £	2022/23 £
Net surplus or (deficit)	(201,303)	202,125

Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs)

47,850 PCNs were issued to vehicles for parking contraventions over the last year and 3,835 were issued to vehicles for driving in a bus lane.

PCNs issued by month for parking contraventions

PCNs issued by month for parking contraventions
Month	Eastbourne	Hastings	Lewes On Street	County Hall	Lewes District car parks	Rother
April	1,272	1,343	515	30	158	606
May	1,357	1,173	535	38	173	658
June	1,419	976	466	74	149	611
July	1,454	1,141	511	54	179	654
August	1,727	1,277	409	51	122	749
September	1,143	1,302	464	52	168	865
October	1,403	1,337	548	37	173	669
November	1,513	1,144	414	75	133	606
December	1,244	1,073	580	44	89	656
January	1,299	1,238	572	57	132	800
February	1,412	1,303	368	53	98	713
March	1,425	1,241	558	68	59	841
Total	16,668	14,548	5,940	633	1,633	8,428

PCNs issued by month for bus lane contraventions

PCNs issued by month for bus lane contraventions
Bus lane PCNs by month	2023/24 Total	2023/24 Gildredge Road	2023/24 Terminus Road
Apr-23	404	293	111
May-23	358	247	111
Jun-23	307	189	118
Jul-23	358	269	89
Aug-23	259	137	122
Sep-23	202	104	98
Oct-23	378	287	91
Nov-23	328	246	82
Dec-23	364	292	72
Jan-24	308	245	63
Feb-24	295	253	42
Mar-24	274	216	58
Total	3,835	2,778	1,057

PCNs issued by contravention code

PCNs issued by contravention code
Contravention	Code	Eastbourne	Hastings	Lewes	Rother	Total
Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours	1	3,344	4,891	2,375	1,812	12,422
Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force	2	1,397	812	228	103	2,540
Parked after the expiry of paid-for time	5	826	450	117	300	1,693
No valid ticket	6	1	0	0	0	1
Parked with payment made to extend the stay beyond initial time	7	1	0	0	0	1
Parked without payment of the parking charge	11	619	1,963	215	1,878	4,675
Parked without clearly displaying a valid pay and display ticket or permit	12	4,279	2,235	791	288	7,593
Parked in a permit space without displaying a valid permit	16	1,426	3	670	1,723	3,822
Displaying an invalid permit	19	819	69	262	10	1,160
Parked in a suspended bay/space or part of bay/space	21	106	56	59	15	236
Re-parked in the same parking place within the no return period	22	0	0	1	0	1
Parked in a parking place or area not designated for that class of vehicle	23	590	430	17	252	1,289
Not parked correctly within the markings of the bay or space	24	18	22	21	5	66
Parked in a loading place during restricted hours without loading	25	719	665	275	285	1,944
Parked 50cm or more from the kerb	26	36	22	7	5	70
Dropped footway (new contravention)	27	258	124	28	108	518
Parked on a raised verge	28	0	3	0	0	3
Parked longer than permitted	30	791	811	421	901	2,924
Parked in a designated disabled person's parking place without clearly displaying a valid disabled person’s badge	40	635	723	181	473	2,012
Parked in a Police space	42	9	6	0	0	15
Parked on a taxi rank	45	221	98	83	22	424
Stopped on a restricted bus stop/stand	47	365	345	47	193	950
Parked on a clearway	46	0	0	0	5	5
Parked on a school keep clear	48	112	108	16	16	252
Commercial vehicle in overnight waiting ban	55	2	0	0	0	2
Parked in contravention of commercial waiting	56	6	0	0	0	6
Parked on contravention of a bus ban	57	6	0	0	0	0
Parked on a footway / verge	62	30	623	119	0	772
Parked without payment of the parking charge (car park)	73	0	0	1,483	0	1,483
Overstayed paid-for time (car park)	80	0	0	34	0	34
Parked in a restricted area (car park)	81	0	0	32	0	32
Expired pay and display ticket (car park)	82	0	0	184	0	184
No pay and display ticket (car park)	83	0	0	1	0	1
Parked with payment made to extend the stay beyond initial time (car park)	84	0	0		0	0
No permit (car park)	85	0	0	327	0	327
Out-of-bay (car park)	86	0	0	117	0	117
Parked in a disabled bay without clearly displaying a valid disabled person’s badge (car park)	87	0	0	32	0	32
Area not designated for class of vehicle (car park)	91	0	0	56	0	56
Parked on a pedestrian crossing	99	52	89	7	34	182
Total		52	14,548	8,206	8,428	47,844

Bus lane PCNs issued by contravention code

Bus lane PCNs issued by contravention code
Contravention	Code	Eastbourne 2023/24
Being in a bus lane	34	3,835

Parking PCNs paid

Parking PCNs paid
Summary of PCN outcomes	Eastbourne	Hastings	Lewes (On Street)	Lewes (Off Street)	Rother	Total
Paid	9,908	9,915	5,075	2,009	6,965	33,872
At Discounted Rate (£25)	1,451	1,809	747	1,390	2,035	7,432
At Discounted Rate (£35)	6,492	5,795	3,422	307	3,515	19,531
At Full Rate (£50)	278	457	148	195	374	1,452
At Full Rate (£70)	1,163	1,287	533	43	644	3,670
After Charge Certificate (£75)	37	57	15	27	49	185
After Charge Certificate (£105)	159	150	75	7	89	480
After debt registration (£84)	65	69	18	33	109	294
After debt registration (£114)	263	291	117	7	150	828

Bus lane PCNs paid

Bus lane PCNs paid
Bus lane PCNs paid	Gildredge Road	Terminus Road	Total
Paid	2,370	760	3,130
At Discounted Rate (£25)	0	0	0
At Discounted Rate (£35)	2,065	686	2,751
At Full Rate (£50)	0	0	0
At Full Rate (£70)	111	31	142
After Charge Certificate (£75)	0	0	0
After Charge Certificate (£105)	98	27	125
After Registration (£84)	0	0	0
After Registration (£114)	96	16	112

Parking PCNs challenged and appealed

Out of the 47,850 PCNs issued for parking contraventions we received 11,264 challenges and appeals against them.

33,872 were paid
2,507 were cancelled
291 were written off
11,180 are still open
33 were appealed to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT)

Outcome of appeals to TPT

Outcome of appeal to TPT
Appealed to Independent Adjudicator (TPT)	8	11	7	1	6	33
Dismissed (PCN upheld)	6	10	6	1	5	28
Not contested (PCN cancelled)	1	0	1	0	0	2
Allowed (PCN cancelled)	1	1	0	0	1	3

PCNs cancelled by reason

PCNs cancelled by reason
PCNs cancelled by reason	Eastbourne	Hastings	Lewes on street	Lewes off street	Rother	Total
Adjudicators decision	1	0	0	0	0	1
Blue badge holder	112	72	43	2	79	308
Cashless or Virtual parking - error accepted	219	58	63	37	73	450
CEO error	96	99	64	29	55	343
Mitigating reasons	200	164	107	67	123	661
Emergency; gas, water or electric	15	19	10	0	3	47
Loading or unloading	28	37	23	0	19	107
Medical emergency	6	1	1	0	2	10
Meter fault	11	0	0	4	4	19
Missing, obscured lines or signs	7	10	2	4	3	26
Multiple PCNs, one contravention	24	48	8	4	8	92
Police vehicle	1	6	2	2	0	11
Processing or system error ESCC	7	14	3	1	1	26
Processing or system error NSL	7	7	13	10	5	42
Unforeseen delay	0	0	1	1	0	2
Valid pay and display ticket supplied	92	23	11	32	29	187
Valid permit held	33	9	9	9	10	70
Vehicle breakdown	29	40	19	2	15	105
Total	888	607	379	204	429	2507

Bus lane PCNs challenged and appealed

Out of the 3,835 PCNs issued for entering a bus lane, we received 733 challenges and appeals against them.

3,130 were paid
138 were cancelled
0 were written off
567 are still open
13 were appealed to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT)

Results of appeals to TPT

Results of appeals to TPT
Bus lane challenge and appeal outcomes	Gildredge Road	Terminus Road	Total
Appealed to Independent Adjudicator (TPT)	8	5	13
Dismissed (PCN upheld)	7	4	11
Not contested (PCN cancelled)	1	0	1
Allowed (PCN cancelled)	0	1	1

PCNs cancelled by reason

PCNs cancelled by reason
Bus lane PCNs cancelled by reason	Total
Adjudicators decision	1
Appeal not contested	0
Blue badge holder	0
Cashless or Virtual parking - error accepted	3
CEO error	0
Mitigating reasons	102
Emergency; gas, water or electric	2
Loading or unloading	4
Medical emergency	0
Meter fault	0
Missing, obscured lines or signs	1
Multiple PCNs, one contravention	0
Police vehicle	1
Processing or system error ESCC	23
Processing or system error NSL	0
Unforeseen delay	0
Valid pay and display ticket supplied	0
Valid permit held	0
Vehicle breakdown	1
Total	138

Permits

All our permit schemes have permits for residents, businesses, traders and carers. There are other types of permit available but these differ in each area. You can read more about the different types of permits available on our website.

The following tables show the numbers and types of permits issued.

Resident permits

Eastbourne permits

Until this year there were eight permit zones in Eastbourne, this has now reduced to seven. In the last review one of the smallest zones, zone J, was removed. Only two permits were sold for the zone J in 2022-23 and the after consultation with the residents it was evident there was no longer a need for the permit restrictions.

In total 2,755 resident permits were issued across all of the zones. The breakdown of permits issued by zone can be seen in the chart below.

bar chart showing 2023/24 resident permits in Eastbourne by zone

Hastings permits

In total 3,245 resident permits were issued across all of the zones. The breakdown of permits issued by zone can be seen in the chart below.

Bar chart showing 2023/24 residents permits in Hastings by zone

Lewes permits

In total 2,206 resident permits were issued across all of the zones. The breakdown of permits issued by zone can be seen in the chart below.

Bar chart showing 2023/24 residents permits in Lewes by zone

Rother permits

In total 3,296 resident permits were issued across all of the zones. The breakdown of permits issued by zone can be seen in the chart below.

Bar chart showing 2023/24 residents permits in Rother by zone

All other types of permits and dispensations

Eastbourne
Permit type	Permits issued
Resident Visitor	45,480
Trade	9,060
Hotel	69,420
Healthcare workers and carers	15,490
Business	240
Doctor	14
Volunteer	62

Hastings
Permit type	Permits issued
Resident Visitor	17,168
Business user scratch cards	1,538
Business	8
Doctor	1
Primary Care Worker	190

Lewes
Permit type	Permits issued
Resident Visitor	34,300
Trade	2,793
Hotel	150
Healthcare workers and carers	4,555
County Hall West (CH)	160
County Hall East (CP)	281
Business	13

Rother
Permit type	Permits issued
Resident Visitor	47,290
Trade	2,533
Hotel	2,250
Healthcare workers and carers	9,230
Business	53
Doctor	1

Dispensations and all CPE area permits
CPE area dispensation covers	Dispensations issued
All CPE areas	100
Eastbourne	18
Hastings	19
Lewes on street	14
Lewes off street	43
Rother	17
Eastbourne and Hastings	2
Eastbourne and Lewes	50
Hastings and Rother	5
All CPE areas emergency care worker permit	216

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