County hoping to take over parking powers from police

North Yorkshire County Council has announced it is drawing up proposals to take over the role of parking enforcement from the county’s police force.

Civil parking enforcement – where parking offences on public roads are regulated by local highway authorities rather than the police – already operates in many parts of the UK.

Legislation was brought in to allow local authorities to apply for the powers under the Road Traffic Act of 1991 as police resources across the country were becoming increasingly stretched.

Concerns were voiced nationally that police chiefs were having to pinpoint which crimes to tackle first, with parking offences not deemed to be a major priority.

These worries are now being accentuated with the swingeing financial cuts that police forces are having to make.

The North Yorkshire force alone is having to counter a £24m budget deficit caused by a reduction in Government funding.

Civil parking enforcement is already the responsibility of the county council in both the Scarborough and Harrogate boroughs. But the council is now considering extending the parking enforcement to the remaining districts of Craven, Hambleton, Richmondshire, Ryedale and Selby.

The council’s executive member for highways, Gareth Dadd, said: “As the highways authority it makes sense for the county council to consider taking on civil parking enforcement so that we can coordinate all our efforts in keeping our highways clear and free from any illegal obstruction.

“We believe it would lead to less congestion and therefore a reduction in pollution and better road safety.

“We also believe it would make it easier to park in town centres and help businesses with deliveries. We welcome people’s views on this matter to assist us in developing our ideas.”

A 12-week public consultation was launched on Monday (JUNE 13) and a questionnaire is available online at www.northyorks.gov.uk/parkingsurvey

More information is available by calling the council on 0845 8727374.