Parking laws in England and Wales have been updated in order to make the system fairer to motorists and more transparent to everybody. The new laws will also make enforcement of parking restrictions easier to enforce.
The Department for Transport says that its aim is: "Transport that works for everyone. This means a transport system which balances the needs of the economy, the environment and society."
In an effort to continue reaching their goals as of 31st March 2008, Part 6 of the Traffic Management (TMA) Act 2004 titled "Civil Enforcement of Traffic Contraventions" came into power. This is also known as Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE).
This website provides information about the new laws and some current laws and also provides links to local authorities website parking pages in order to give you an overview of the parking laws in England and Wales.
The main changes as of 31st March 2008 are:
- Parking Attendants will become known as Civil Enforcement Officers.
- 'Differential Parking': There will be two levels (bands) of Penalty Charges depending on the severity of contraventions.
- Within London the higher band will be £80 - £120 while the lower band will be £40 - £80 (reduced by 50% if paid within 14 days).
- Outside London the higher band will be £60 - £70 and the lower band London will be £50 - £60 (reduced by 50% if paid within 14 days).
- There will no longer be a need for a Penalty Charge Notice to be placed on a vehicle, or handed to a driver in order for it to be properly served.
- If a vehicle is driven away before the Notice is issued, it may be posted to the registered keeper of the vehicle.
- If a Civil Enforcement Officer for whatever reason is unable to serve the Notice it may be posted to the registered keeper/owner of the vehicle.
- Clamping will only be used for persistent offenders.
- No targets or bonus schemes for Parking Attendants / Civil Enforcement Officers.
- More powers for parking adjudicators.
- Clearer guidance on how to appeal.
- Councils across England gain the right to use CCTV to detect offences on roads where parking is banned. Councils in London already have this power.
- Extended discount payment period for Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) that were detected by a camera.
'Differential Parking' is the name given to a new system of High and Low Band Penalty Charge Notices to be issued to as part of the Traffic Management Act 2004 (TMA). Click here to see the new Higher and Lower Penalty Charge Notice offences.
Not all local authorities have taken up Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) but over 200 have. Click here to see a list of the councils that have opted for Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE).
Where councils have not taken up the scheme, parking restrictions will still be enforced by the police and are still criminal offences.
Please use the menus on the right to learn more about parking laws in England and Wales.
You are welcome to comment on the posts and if warranted your comments may be incorporated into the Main post. To add a comment just fill in the box at the end of each posting.
We hope you enjoy using this website and that you find information presented here to be useful.