NEPP On-Street Paid Parking

Often referred to as ‘pay and display’ spaces on a street or road. On-street paid parking is where parking spaces are in designated areas along the sides of roads where vehicles can park. These spaces are marked with painted lines and signage indicating parking regulations and payment instructions.

How much it costs to park in an on-street space will vary depending on how long you park, in the same way that car park tariffs work. Clear signage would be displayed at the parking site to explain the options available to you and how to pay.

On-street paid parking offers convenience, especially in areas where off-street parking (car park) options are limited. It allows drivers to park closer to their destinations, reducing the need for long walks, and is common practice in urban areas. Existing on-street sites in north Essex can be found in Epping, Loughton, Buckhurst Hill, Harlow, Harwich, Marks Tey and Saffron Walden.

Paid parking has proven to be an effective tool for managing traffic flow and ensuring parking availability in busy areas. By deterring long-term parking and encouraging turnover, paid parking schemes can help keep roads clear and traffic flowing smoothly and encourage the use of off-street car parks.

Enforcement of paid parking is simpler and more efficient than restrictions like Limited Waiting. This helps us to better manage our Civil Enforcement time as they can do a quick check to see if a driver is exceeding time limits or not paying for parking.

Joint Committee Members, who are all Partner District Council Councillors, have approved the principal of introducing paid parking at several sites across North Essex. Minutes of the meeting, held on 01 February 2024, will be available on our website soon.

This decision was subject to call-in by Essex County Council members but was resolved at the informal stage. The resolution meant that a further report will be taken to the March Joint Committee meeting to outline how the project will proceed and that the final implementation of schemes will only occur after enhanced consultation with Essex County Council Members and approval of the Committee, both prior to and following formal consultation.

This is the very first stage of a big piece of work. We will now start to look at specifically identified sites with the District Council in that area.  This work will include local engagement, detailed site designs, formal public consultation, objection considerations, all before any schemes are approved.

This means it is not certain that any of the identified sites will end up with paid parking being introduced, or if it is introduced, what the final scheme and tariffs may be.

This project is very earliest stage in the governance process. There has been no wider consultation yet as the proposals are in only their earliest possible stages

A paper was taken to the Joint Committee to seek direction for several sites across the Partnership area with the intention, if decided, of designing schemes for each location in more detail in order to take these to consultation. Without the direction first of the Joint Committee, it would not have been prudent to carry out any work at all.

The decision to take the schemes to the Joint Committee has helped prevent any detailed design work from being undertaken for nought; by taking a paper to Joint Committee at the earliest possible stage, formal direction has been gained. This now forms part of the work programme, with draft scheme designs, which will now start to be worked up, being informed, and shaped by enhanced local and statutory consultation and input from local stakeholders where necessary.

For more information on the formal consultation and governance processes, see the ‘What is the process to comment further on this?’ section below.

Plans will be developed alongside Officers and Members of each relevant District to ensure that any pre-advertising engagement with wider Stakeholders is conducted; the timescale for consultation is not known at this stage.

Where the process reaches the scheme consultation advertising stage, residents and other stakeholders may provide feedback and raise any concerns. All comments received will be carefully considered before the amendment, withdrawal, or finalisation and implementation of any scheme.

The Parking Partnership understands the importance of keeping the public informed throughout this process. We encourage everyone to review the detailed reports, which will be available at the appropriate stage, outlining the proposed regulations and permissions, and to participate in the public consultation period. Feedback is invaluable in helping us make informed decisions that benefit the entire community.

Colchester

Clarendon Way
Middleborough
Oxford Road
Kendal Avenue and Military Road
St Johns Green
Brook Street, Dedham

Braintree District

High Street and The Centre, Halstead
The Causeway, Bocking End
Newland Street Witham

Epping Forest District

Hartland Road and Upper Kendal Road, Epping
Lower Kendal Road, Epping
Traps Hill, Loughton
Station Road, Loughton

Harlow

Post Office Road
Westgate
Wych Elm
Station Approach

The plans will involve initial direct engagement with affected Essex County and District/City Members. This will help inform the design of a scheme and contribute to developing communications plans prior to anything being finalised. More localised informal consultation may be necessary and would include affected residents, businesses, and any other identified key stakeholders.

A comms plan will be developed in conjunction with our partner Districts to ensure that local requirements are considered for each site, however an ‘enhanced’ statutory consultation will be undertaken which would include letter drops to affected residents or businesses, alongside the standard street and local newspaper notices.

The process that authorities must follow is set out in The Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996. This is the same process used when making permanent Traffic Regulation Orders such as waiting restrictions or resident permit schemes is also used to introduce paid parking.

Once proposals have been drafted and agreed a Notice of Intention will be advertised. This will give 21 days for any objections or other comments to be made. Any correspondence that is received will be considered before a decision is made on whether to introduce the proposal as advertised, make amendments, or stop the proposal.

There is no confirmed timeline at this stage as it is dependent on decisions to be made at our next Joint Committee meeting in March.

Not all schemes will be considered at the same time due to the resources this process requires. There will be prioritisation of schemes meaning that some will be considered sooner rather than later, most likely on a District-by-District basis.

It’s important to note that the primary aim of civil parking enforcement is not to generate income, but to manage parking and improve traffic flow.

While revenue from paid parking may help cover the increasing costs of patrol and enforcement, any surplus is reinvested back into essential traffic management initiatives.

Section 55 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 ensures that that income generated is ‘ringfenced’ to the parking operations, including enforcement and maintenance of the parking provisions.

This is a highly debated subject, and it is often assumed that there is a direct correlation between free parking and increased footfall. There are several studies that have been conducted that provide some clarity on this issue.

A useful report was produced for the Welsh Government on the impact of parking charges on own centre footfall – this can be found here – https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/statistics-and-research/2018-12/150610-assessing-impact-car-parking-charges-town-centre-footfall-en.pdf

There are many articles available online covering the broad spectrum of views on the impact of introducing paid parking, both on and off-street.

There will inevitably be localised impacts however it is our intention to work with local Members and other stakeholders on proposing schemes that balance the needs of local communities with the need to ensure efficient use of the kerbside in prime locations.

Paid parking has proven to be an effective tool for managing traffic flow and ensuring parking availability in busy areas – several studies have taken place to show this to be the case. By deterring overstays in parking and encouraging turnover, paid parking schemes can help keep roads clear and traffic flowing smoothly.

The bays under review are those in Zone D – being around the Brook Street/High Street/Royal Square area.

Whilst Dedham is not an urban centre, it is an extremely busy tourist area, and parking remains a problem in the village; this is why it has been identified as an area where traffic and parking needs to be managed at a level above the current provision.

A meeting on 26/02/2020 with interested stakeholders identified parking issues in the village, and the Parking Partnership’s Technical Team has been monitoring the situation since then. Data from the patrolling officers’ visits are recorded and details of the patrols, observations and penalty issues can be mapped in our system to show the extent of the issues.

There is no proposal to make any change to the existing Residents’ Certificate of Exemption, a concession which is available to residences which directly front the waiting restrictions already in place.

This would enable residents to make the same use of these bays as they do now, except that the measures being considered are intended to ensure that more space ‘churn’ takes place during the day with the benefit of space being available.

Blue Badge Holders will continue to be exempt from the maximum limit and any charges.