Agenda item

This report reviews the twelve month pilot policy ‘Placing Objects on the Highway’ operated in Chatham High Street from July 2016.

Discussion:

The Acting Head of Integrated Transport introduced a report reviewing the twelve month pilot policy ‘Placing Objects on the Highway’ operated in Chatham High Street from July 2016.

The Committee was reminded that the aim of the policy was to:

·         Promote parity and uniform standards across all traders.

·         Improve the quality of displays whilst promoting safety for pedestrians and compliance with emergency service access regulations.

·         Provide a solution that has minimal cost to businesses and is cost neutral to implement and operate.

·         Deliver an option that is acceptable and enforceable.

For the pilot, traders were required to pay £162 per annum for their object licence which entitled the trader to place furniture in an assigned area of the High Street affronting their premises for a period of 12 months. The policy had also included a £40.00 charge for each enforcement visit where traders were displaying furniture without the necessary licence.

The 12 month period ceased in July 2017 but had been extended for a further 12 month period to July 2018 and traders in Chatham High Street had been invited to purchase a further 12 month licence at a fee of £162.

It was confirmed that there were currently 13 licences in place on Chatham High Street, 8 for the placement of tables and chairs and 5 for the placement of A-Boards.

A review of the pilot commenced in September 2017 and consisted of two separate surveys, one for Chatham residents and one for shop tenants. In addition to the surveys, officers had also contacted the Kent Fire and Rescue Service and the Kent Association for the Blind to obtain their views on any changes to the High Street area since the commencement of the pilot.

Details of the survey results and the views of the Kent Fire and Rescue Service and the Kent Association for the Blind were set out in the report.

Officers had also examined the current processes behind the management and operation of the policy within the Council.

The Committee discussed the report and sought information on the timescale for rolling out the scheme to other parts of Medway, should Cabinet approve that the scheme be made permanent.

The Acting Integrated Transport Manager advised that no timescale had yet been set, but if the scheme in Chatham was made permanent and it was decided to expand the scheme to other appropriate areas in Medway, the identification of timescales and a project plan for implementing the expansion of the scheme would be a priority task. Officers would also investigate the option of charging per metre of space used so as to take account of the type of shop front display used. 

The Acting Integrated Transport Manager also confirmed that throughout the pilot scheme, no enforcement fines had been issued and officers had liaised with tenants to ensure that they were aware of the scheme and the need to obtain a licence.

A number of suggestions were put forward concerning communication of the scheme to traders through the Town Centre Forums, obtaining data from traders as to whether they considered the scheme had improved footfall and profitability and the possibility of surveying visitors to the High Street for their views on the scheme.

Decision:

The Committee agreed:

a)            that based on the pilot scheme in Chatham it be recommended to Cabinet that a permanent scheme be designed and implemented in Chatham High Street, taking into consideration the analysis set out in this report and a detailed options appraisal;

b)            that it also be recommended to Cabinet that further work be carried out to extend the scheme to the other appropriate areas within Medway once the Chatham scheme has been fully embedded;

c)            it be noted that if the scheme in Chatham is made permanent and it is decided to expand the scheme to other appropriate areas in Medway, the identification of timescales and a project plan for implementing the expansion of the scheme would be a priority task; and

d)            subject to the scheme being approved by Cabinet, a further report be submitted to this Committee at a future date outlining the finalised scheme and plans for the expansion of the scheme to other areas of Medway.