Changes to on-street parking permits – have your say

People can have their say on proposed changes to on-street parking that include new on-street parking permits based on vehicle emissions, in a Bath and North East Somerset Council consultation.

The On-Street Parking TRO consultation has been launched today and runs for 21 days to November 11.

This is the last stage of consultation on proposals for how the council manages controls for on-street parking, including permits and parking charges.  It follows cabinet approval in July this year to base residents’ parking permit charges on vehicle emissions. It is the council’s first price review of the permits since 2013. 

The scheme is designed to encourage people to switch to low emission vehicles and in so doing improve air quality, ensuring a safer environment for pedestrians by reducing air pollution risks and meet the council’s wider transport policy aims. 

Changes to permits also includes increases to the cost of on street parking; changes to hotel, guest house and holiday let permits to accommodate long stay visitors in the city centre in off-street car parks, and revisions to medical permits and trade permits. 
Earlier in the year the council ran a public consultation to get detailed feedback on central elements of these proposals. This included proposed terms and conditions for the range of parking permits that we issue, monitor and control as a council.

Now the council has updated terms and conditions for its on-street parking permits, combining feedback from the April 2021 consultation with additional wider council policy.

And in order to enforce these new regulations, it has to publish a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO).

Councillor Manda Rigby, cabinet member for Transport, said: “The changes to on-street parking charges are part of a much broader ambition to achieve better air quality for B&NES, make charging fairer and nudge people to consider air quality when they purchase a car.  We haven’t increased residents’ parking charges for eight years. This will rebalance the provision of on street parking in favour of residents rather than visitors.”

“We ran a consultation in April and listened to residents and businesses before cabinet made its decision in July. We have a legal duty to advertise any TRO, and to invite public comment so we are now inviting people to state their support or objection to the TRO and give their reasons.”

 The on-street parking permits proposals also include: 
•    Residents’ parking visitor permit charges to be increased by 50p a day in year one with subsequent rises of 25p a day in years two and three
•    A review of hotel, guest house and holiday let permits to include the introduction of digitised permits
•    A review of medical permits – to include the introduction of digitised permits to counter misuse and an increase to bring the charge in-line with existing residents’ permits
•    An increase in trade permit charges
•    The introduction of half day paper visitor permits to support vulnerable residents unable to access the financial savings offered by digital permits.

View the report on Council Cabinet policy decisions based on feedback from our consultation on these proposals, in April 2021.