Cabinet gave consideration to the report of the Head of Neighbourhood Services that detailed the latest review of the Council’s fees and charges for 2023/24 and the proposed recommended increases.  Fees and charges were reviewed each year taking into account the increased need to recover the total cost of the services provided and the cost of inflation (Consumer Price Index).  The anticipated income from these charges was built into the draft Revenue Budget for 2023/24.  Charges were rounded to the nearest 25p if under £50.00 or the nearest £1.00 if over £50.00.

Most of the fees and charges within the appendices to the report were recommended to increase at 10% with the following exceptions:

Beach and Foreshore (Appendix 3): A revised Appendix 3 was circulated as VAT would increase to 20% in respect of beach huts in 2023/24.  As beach huts remained in high demand, it was recommended that the fees be increased to £694 (16%) per annum and the minimum transfer fee be held at £2,000 for 2023/23.  It was recommended that seasonable tent site charges increase by 16%, boat licence fees by 20%, winches and equipment box fees by 23%, sailing/angling boat fees by 20% in 2023/24. 

Car Parking (Appendix 4): It was recommended that the car parking charges remained unchanged for 2023/24.  It was recommended that parking permit prices across the district be increased by 43% (from £350 to £500 per annum).  Due to significant increase in costs to manage Camber Western Car park, it was recommended that the summer season tariffs (from 1 April to 30 September) be increased in all Camber Sands car parks.  The increased charges would be as follows: £3.00 (up to 1 hour), £7.00 (1 to 3 hours), £14.00 (3 to 6 hours) and £18.00 (6+ hours).

Some Members were concerned at the level of increases within the proposed car parking charges and sought deferment of Appendix 4 due to its impact on residents, visitors and businesses alike.  This would enable officers and Members to carry out a review of all charges to include consultation, including sensitivity analyses, hours of operation and consideration of the viability of offering weekly / monthly tickets.  Following discussion with the local Member present, it was agreed to increase the fees at the Camber Car Parks as these were primarily used by visitors but to also include Camber in the review.  There was a fine balance at Camber to ensure that the charges were not too high to deter patrons, leading to an increase in antisocial parking.      

Bulky Waste Collection (Appendix 6a): It was recommended that the fee for the Council collecting four to six and seven to nine bulky waste items increased to £75.00 and £110 respectively.

Garden Waste Collections (Appendix 6b): The charge for garden waste had been increased from 15 July 2022 to £50 for customers subscribing to the service.  For comparison the garden waste subscription charges in neighbouring authorities were confirmed as Hastings £73; Eastbourne £57; Lewes £70 and Wealden £55.  The total cost of the service was approximately £625,000 per annum.  The projected income for 2022/23 at £50 per annum per bin at the current rate of just over 20,500 subscribers was approximately £1m.  It was therefore recommended that the annual subscription be increased to £55 per annum which would result in an income of £1.1m.  Officers would continue to investigate ways to promote and incentivise new subscribers to the service.

Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) (Appendix 7):  As a revisit to rate a premises under the FHRS was not a statutory duty, it was recommended that the scale of fees in the appendix to the report was introduced.

Health Certificates (for food exported) (Appendix 7): Food exported required a health certificate.  It was recommended that the scale of fees in the appendix to the report was introduced.

Proof of Life Verification for Foreign Pensions (Appendix 9): From April 2023, the Council would be introducing a £25 charge to carry out ‘proof of life’ verifications for foreign pensions.  Charging aligned with what other local authorities were doing.

Cabinet was satisfied that all other increases put forward were not considered to be excessive and Members were mindful that to maintain income, a balance had to be struck between covering costs and retaining custom.

RESOLVED: That

1)   the charges shown in the Appendices, except for Appendix 4, but including the Camber Car Parks Summer Tariffs, be approved and brought into effect from 1 April 2023 with the exception of charges in Appendix 6 (b) which would be brought into effect from 15 July 2023; and

2)   officers and Members carry out a review of car parking charges to include consultation, including sensitivity analyses, hours of operation and consideration of the viability of offering weekly / monthly tickets and report back to Cabinet in due course. 

(When it first became apparent, Councillor Courtel declared a personal interest as a Rother Car Park season ticket holder and in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct remained in the room during the consideration thereof).