Request
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding council-operated town centre car parks.
This information is being collected as part of research into the potential cost of a national, ring-fenced government grant to local authorities in England to enable councils to provide free parking in town centres. The purpose of the research is to understand the potential financial impact on councils and the scale of funding that would be required, with the wider objective of supporting town centre footfall and economic growth.
For the purposes of this request, please use the Council's own definition or designation of a "town centre" rather than undertaking any new analysis to determine whether a car park falls within a town centre.
For each of the financial years 2024/25 and 2025/26, please provide:
1. The total income from parking charges received from council-owned or council-operated off-street car parks located within town centres.
2. The direct operating expenditure associated with those car parks.
3. The resulting net income/surplus or deficit, if this is already calculated by the Council.
4. The number of car parks and total number of parking spaces covered by the figures above, where this information is readily available.
5. The names of the car parks included within the figures, so that we can understand how the Council has interpreted "town centre".
Please exclude income from Penalty Charge Notices or other parking enforcement activity.
If season tickets, permits or other non-casual parking income are included within the income figure, please either identify the amount separately or indicate that they are included.
Where information is not held in precisely this format, I would be grateful if you could provide the closest information already held by the Council rather than undertaking new calculations.
Response
1. This information is available on the Council’s website at Parking policy, strategy and data - Dover District Council
2. This information is available on the Council’s website at Parking policy, strategy and data - Dover District Council
3. This information is available on the Council’s website at Parking policy, strategy and data - Dover District Council
4. This information is available on the Council’s website at Find somewhere to park in the district - Dover District Council
5. The income shown is generated from all car parks, and we do not separately define "town centre" car parks.