The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) is located less than 30 miles from central London and is known internationally for its rich historical connections and unique royal patronage. Featuring permanently in the top ten list of ‘must visit’ places in the world, the borough is home to the iconic Windsor Castle, Ascot Racecourse and Legoland Windsor. It is also a top location to many leading UK and international businesses and a natural choice for meetings, conferences and events.
The Challenge
RBWM wanted to find an effective solution to a number of key issues relating to its in-house parking enforcement service. NSL was asked to carry out a detailed evaluation to identify service improvements and areas where potentially significant cost savings could be achieved. The following issues were identified:
• Overall quality of service
• Staff recruitment and retention
• Lack of visible enforcement for residents, businesses and visitors
• High levels of non-compliance
• High cost of service
The council subsequently carried out its own strategic review which supported NSL’s evaluation.
The Solution
Following an independent options appraisal, an outsourced delivery model was selected as the most effective way forward and NSL was awarded the civil parking enforcement contract after winning a competitive tender.
According to Cllr Carwyn Cox, RBWM’s cabinet member for environmental services (including parking), said: “We have looked long and hard at how best to meet the demand for parking enforcement in the borough and are confident this new partnership with NSL will lead to a more responsive service.”
A key challenge during the first 12 months of the contract was to reach the desired headcount of Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) to manage enforcement across the borough effectively. In addition to transferring 17 of the council’s staff at the outset of the contract under TUPE, NSL invested in its CEO pay rate to make the position more attractive.
NSL provides RBWM with a number of key services. They include:
• On and off-street civil parking enforcement
• First and second line machine maintenance for both on and off-street machines
• Vehicle removal, relocations and abandoned vehicle enforcement
• IT software provision including virtual permit system
• Suspension management around the borough
• High profile event management- Royal Ascot, Changing of the Guard and other major Royal and national events
• Partnership working with RBWM community wardens and Thames Valley Police, including joint patrols and sharing of key intelligence
The Benefits
The smarter deployment of resources across the borough has maximised compliance and delivered a £325K financial improvement within the first year. It has also increased visibility of enforcement across the borough supporting residents, businesses and visitors alike.
“As with many other service areas we have sought the model best allowing us to provide residents with an excellent service and good value for money,” added Cox. “Residents and visitors want to know that they can park safely and reasonably in the borough and by delivering parking services differently we will be able to continue to make that happen.”
The use of the latest IT technology enables customers to self-serve for all parking related services, reducing demand on the authority. In addition, NSL’s frontline resource is ready to respond to planned, unplanned and emergency events.
