Civil parking officer numbers 'wholly inadequate', says Caerphilly councillor

Eight officers will patrol the borough once Gwent Police relinquishes civil parking enforcement (CPE) powers to Caerphilly council on April 8.

The team will be formed of six new recruits along with two officers already employed to police the council’s own car parks.

Priority will be given to enforcing town centres, with councillors asked to share their ‘ward intelligence’ to ensure illegal parking hot spots are addressed.

READ MORE: Newport council preparations to take over parking enforcement under way

Councillors also heard at full council on Tuesday that all officers will wear body cameras for their own safety.

But concerns have been raised about the number of officers being tasked with the job, with Plaid Cymru councillor Lyndon Binding saying: “I think the number is wholly inadequate.

Plaid Cymru councillor Lyndon Binding

“If you look at how many people and how many wards we’ve got, I think it just pales into insignificance.

“Eight is nowhere near enough. It’s going to be very difficult to sell this to our residents when they are now seeing that we have control, yet we’re unable to police it.”

Under the traffic regulation order adopted by the council, parking officers will be expected to work 7am to 10pm, seven days a week including bank holidays.

But the meeting heard that there was flexibility to change shift patterns to address any major problems raised in the first months of operation.

Labour councillor James Pritchard agreed that the number of officers ‘was on the low side’, adding that rural areas ‘would suffer’ with town centres being prioritised.

Labour councillor James Pritchard

“In terms of expectation management, I’ve heard residents saying that once the council comes along it will all be sorted, and I’ve had to say let’s see what happens,” he said.

“It’s a step in the right direction, and I hope there is scope for improving the numbers over time.”

Cllr Pritchard also praised the council for reducing residential parking permit fees from £30 to £15 after the original figure proved controversial amongst residents and some councillors.

READ MORE: New £15 a year residential parking permits approved in Caerphilly

But deputy leader Sean Morgan said the council was adopting a 'prudent' approach in its officer recruitment.

He said: “Surely it’s a lot better to start with too few officers where you can increase them, to start with four officers too many where you have to cause redundancies.”

The scheme will cost the authority £511,000 to implement, with improvements to road signs and lines costing £300,000.

The report estimates that operational costs could cost more than £200,000 in the first five years, with any surplus from fines ringfenced to reinvest into the scheme.

Caerphilly and Monmouthshire councils will be the first of the Gwent authorities to take over CPE from the police. Blaenau Gwent will start on June 30 and Newport and Torfaen on July 1.