Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on permitting motorists to park briefly on double yellow lines, single yellow lines or loading bays; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis

In December, our consultation on parking asked for comments on the scope for introducing new grace periods for parking, including what areas it should apply to. In the recently published Government response to the consultation, we announced we will introduce a mandatory 10 minute free period (a) at the end of paid-for on-street parking, (b) at the end of free on-street parking, and (c) extend the same grace period to local authority off-street parking.

This measure will support local shops and stop shoppers being penalised for returning to their car a few minutes late. This Government recognises that if parking on local high streets and shopping parades is made too difficult, shoppers will merely drive to out of town superstores or just shop online. Our position is in stark contrast to the Labour Government which actively encouraged councils to hike parking charges, cut the number of car parking spaces and adopt aggressive parking enforcement.