Council to spend £442,000 converting free parking near Prom into permit scheme for luxury flats residents

Town hall chiefs are set to borrow £442,000 to convert Harrow Place to a residents-only parking scheme for the sole use of people living in luxury flats at Coastal Point.

They will be charged £400 a year for a permit, compared to £15 for a parking permit at other residents-only parking schemes in the town. If the residents' parking scheme fails, the bays will be converted to public pay-and-display.

A council report says the £400 permit charge is necessary for the council to recoup its costs in providing the 76 parking spaces needed for the Coastal Point development on South Promenade.

Proposals were first unveiled in 2021 to reconfigure parking on Harrow Place to provide parking for Coastal Point and a separate flats development due to be built at 6-8 Harrow Place.

It was felt the changes were necessary in order to support investment in the area with 102 new flats being built. But there is not enough on-site parking meaning the on-street spaces need to be used.

A report to the council's executive, which will meet on Monday (May 20) to consider the proposal, says: "It is considered the proposals at Coastal Point and numbers 6-8 Harrow Place offer significant regeneration benefits and may encourage further investment for the town.

"In order to ensure that resident parking does not result in undue pressure on existing on-street parking provision, it is proposed that parking to meet the needs of the developments is created within the highway."

Legal agreements are being drawn up with the developers to also include some of their land, and also to contribute to the cost of the work. They must also commit to the purchase of parking permits for a period of five years once the scheme has been implemented.

The council says in order for it to recoup its outlay it "would be necessary to charge £400 per year for each resident parking pass."

This would raise £30,400 per year if all the 76 spaces were used by residents, and if the spaces are not used by residents and are converted to public pay-and-display they are expected to raise even more revenue.