Councils handed freedom to set car parking charges

Local authorities have been handed complete freedom to set car parking charges after national planning restrictions were lifted this week.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said the government would remove the restrictions on car park charging contained in Planning Policy Guidance 13: Transport (PPG13). These were intended to encourage use of alternative modes of transport.

Restrictions on the number of parking spaces allowed in new residential developments – also contained in PPG 13, in conjunction with Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS3) – have also been ended.

Ministers said the restrictions – first introduced in 2001 – had lead to “over-zealous” parking enforcement and unsightly on-street parking congestion, and their removal would mean councils were free to draw up parking policies that were right for their areas.

Councils will now be able to set competitive local parking charges without interference from Whitehall, the government said.

Ministers stressed, however, that the Department for Transport's Operational Guidance on Parking Policy and Enforcement means that “charges should not be used to raise revenue or as a local tax and an authority is likely to be acting unlawfully if it were to do so”.

In a separate move, Pickles and Hammond said the government intends to allow electric vehicle charging points to be built on streets and in outdoor car parks without the need for planning permission.

Pickles said: "Whitehall's addiction to micromanagement has created a parking nightmare with stressed-out drivers running a gauntlet of unfair fines, soaring charges and a total lack of residential parking. The result is our pavements and verges crammed with cars on curbs endangering drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, increased public resentment of over-zealous parking wardens and escalating charges and fines.

"The government is calling off Whitehall's war on the motorist by scrapping the national policy restricting residential parking spaces and instructing councils to push up charges. We expect councils to follow suit. From now on communities have the freedom to set competitive local charges that bring shoppers to the high street, proportionate enforcement and the right number of spaces for new development. We're getting out of the way and it's up to councils to set the right parking policy for their area."

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond added: "This is a key step in ending the war on the motorist. For years politicians peddled the pessimistic, outdated attitude that they could only cut carbon emissions by forcing people out of their cars.

"But this government recognises that cars are a lifeline for many people - and that by supporting the next generation of electric and ultra-low emission vehicles, it can enable sustainable green motoring to be a long-term part of Britain's future transport planning."