Ministers accused of ignoring drive for pavement parking ban
Ministers have been accused of kicking proposals for a national pavement parking ban into the long grass after three years of inaction.
Wednesday marked the third anniversary of the end of the Government’s consultation that put forward policies that would allow councils outside of London to fine motorists found parking on pavements and verges.
However, the Government has yet to respond to the consultation, and has indicated that it has no publication date in the coming months.
It has also failed to issue a summary of responses to the consultation, something it promised within three months of its closing.
The Local Government Association has branded the delay “disappointing” and said government inaction was preventing authorities from tackling pavement parking.
Afzal Khan, Labour MP for Manchester Gorton and long-time campaigner for a ban, said the delay was “laughable”.
‘Into the long grass’
He said: “Ministers are too timid to take difficult or controversial decisions, and are determined to kick this and other consultations into the long grass in hope someone else will have to do it instead.”
The calls come weeks before Scotland is bringing in a national pavement parking ban on Dec 11, which would see offenders hit with £100 fines.
Currently, parking on pavements and verges is only outlawed in London, with boroughs only able to permit pavement parking through an administrative resolution, at locations indicated by signs.
In all other English councils the reverse is true, with motorists able to park on pavements legally, unless a Traffic Regulation Order has been secured for an area, which can be an onerous process.
For several years, local authorities and disability campaign groups have been calling for changes to the law that would either see a blanket ban, or councils given more powers to prohibit pavement parking.
This culminated in the transport select committee calling for a nationwide ban on pavement parking throughout England, with powers for local authorities to make exemptions.
Three options
In 2020, the Government launched the consultation which asked respondents to consider three options as a route forward.
This included introducing a national pavement ban which would mirror the London approach and make it illegal to park, or an option to give local authorities the powers to issue PCNs to vehicles that are “obstructing pavements”.
Currently, only police are able to issue PCNs for this reason.
However, despite receiving 15,000 responses there has been a complete lack of progress since November 2020.
This week, Living Streets, a charity promoting pedestrian safety, marked the third year anniversary of closing the consultation by delivering a petition to No 10 calling for action.
Stephen Edwards, the chief executive of Living Streets, said: “Pavement parking affects us all. It makes streets inaccessible for older and disabled people and forces families with pushchairs into the road.
“The consultation was a welcome step, but three years is too long for a response. We need to know now how the Government intends to tackle pavement parking across England.”
The issue of pavement parking and the report’s progress has been repeatedly brought up by politicians of all colours.
In the last two months alone there have been 16 written questions by MPs from all the three major parties about the issue.
LGA transport spokesman Cllr Darren Rodwell said pavement parking was the biggest complaint authorities received from people.
He added: “We have long called for the rest of the country to be brought into line with London, where there is a default ban on pavement parking, with councils having the powers to exempt certain roads.”
This is the second time promises by the Government to take action have failed to convert to meaningful action after a series of consultations and roundtables on the issue were carried out by the Department for Transport in 2015.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, said that while it supported action against antisocial parking, drivers often parked on the kerb to give space to traffic.
He said: “We’d recommend local councils are tasked with carrying out a street-by-street assessment to see what could be done within local communities, and then work with residents to deliver the best solution for them.
“That could be marking out on the pavement exactly how much a driver could use, stopping parking on one side of the road or other bespoke solutions that would gain the support of pedestrians and road users alike.”
A Department for Transport said: “We appreciate concerns around pavement parking, and while local authorities already have powers to prohibit it through local regulation, we have consulted on further helping them take action. The response to this will be published in due course.”
