The Council uses Contract law to enforce parking on housing estates. This is effectively an agreement between the Council and a Resident which allows parking on an estate as long as certain conditions are met.
The Government has written to all Council’s stating that they should not be using “contract law” to enforce parking on off street land such as housing estates. It also said that for Councils who continue to use this system, future applications to the DVLA for car keeper details would “more than likely not be approved”.
Since that period, Councils including LBTH who enforce parking control on housing estates by the use of contract law have faced difficulties in pursuing those who park illegally. Residents may be aware that this has had a severe impact in Tower Hamlets with a steady increase in those ignoring the enforcement regime and also the number of complaints.
Like many other Local Authorities, the Council and THH are now proposing to change the parking regime to tackle this ongoing problem.
To make changes to parking on your estate requires that a statutory consultation involving all residents is carried out.
The Council will set out the choices open to you and seek your views.
This will mean that you have the right to make representations about our proposals, say whether you agree with them and make suggestions as to how they can be improved.
A Traffic Management Order is a statutory legal document that is used to regulate traffic. The Council proposes to extend these powers of enforcement to all THH managed housing estates and land.
The removal of individual bays
Our advice is that there is a risk of legal challenge if individual bays are maintained under a Traffic Management Order.
It is therefore proposed to replace individual bays with communal or “courtyard” parking. This means that authorised residents may park anywhere in a given area on their estate.
However, on any estate no more permits will be issued than spaces available meaning that parking capacity will always be available.
The removal of Any Other Vehicle permits
Abuse of the Any Other Vehicles permit system on the estates is rife and would make any parking system difficult to enforce.
To successfully control traffic, enforcement must proceed along the lines of a car being tied to a car registration number. Under our new allocation system, if a car is changed, this can be registered online or through a call centre on the same day.
TMO’s will be introduced ward by ward. On each estate;
- Existing tenants, sub-tenants, freeholders and leaseholders with permits will retain them.
- Any available spaces will then be offered to tenants, sub-tenants, freeholders and leaseholders without a space
- If there are remaining spaces, THH and the Council will then carry a review as to how they are going to be used taking into account the views of residents.
- TMO’s will prevent illegal parking and will be patrolled by uniformed officers who have the same powers as Civil Enforcement Officers who enforce on the streets of our Borough.
- Some THH residents have complained that they are unable to park on their own estate. In many circumstances, this will increase the chances of a Tenant or Leaseholder getting a space.
- Some resident groups also wish to reduce parking availability on their estate and these proposals will ensure that these views are taken into account.
- The works that will accompany Traffic Management Orders may also improve the condition of some estate roads.
Those Out of Borough residents who commute to Tower Hamlets will lose their permits under this scheme freeing up around 430 spaces.
There is also a chance that some LBTH residents who are not tenants or leaseholders may lose their permit under this scheme.
On some estates there may be a loss of spaces if a scheme is not compliant with the Road Regulations Act 1984.
New applications from those who live out of Borough are no longer being taken. Similarly, applications from the LBTH residents’ category are also suspended whilst a review of this category is taking place.
It is proposed to limit permits to 2 per household. Those tenants or leaseholders who have more than 2 spaces will however be able to keep their spaces unless it is evident that there are tenants and leaseholders without a space.
Prices for the scheme are set at £50 for 6 months and £100 for a year, amongst the cheapest in London and will be a reduction on the current price. The scheme will not be income earning and any additional income will be needed to fund a 24 hour service.
Disabled tenants with a blue badge may be eligible for a Personalised Individual Bay if they meet the Council’s criteria. This takes into consideration issues such as whether you are the driver of a Motability vehicle, use a wheelchair or have children with a serious medical conditions.
The Council will use this consultation to ascertain whether residents want space for visitors to park on their estate.