Councillor Maney introduced the report and stated that it sought endorsement for a suite of documents which, if approved, would shape the Council’s policy and approach in respect of vehicle parking in the borough. He stated that it was important that the Council implemented an updated Parking Policy and Strategy document, along with a set of Parking Standards, in order to meet current national objectives and keep pace with changing transport trends and vehicle ownership. He stated that the two documents contained within the report would assist the Council in ensuring the right level of parking provision across the borough and make sure it was of appropriate design and standard. Councillor Maney explained that the documents would also guide the parking requirements for future developments, both residential and commercial, and would form part of the Local Plan. He stated that the third document presented in the report outlined the Parking Enforcement Strategy, which would allow the Council to be clear and responsive to parking issues across Thurrock.

Councillor Maney stated that all three documents had been subject to public consultation and had broadly attracted support. He stated that residents had voiced a greater desire to see verge and pavement parking enforced more widely, and mentioned that officers were currently in the process of designing a number of pilot schemes which would prohibit anti-social parking in selected areas. He summarised and stated that the report and accompanying documents had been considered by the Planning, Transport and Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee twice, and a number of their recommendations had been included in the report. He thanked the Committee and the Chair for their hard work scrutinising the report, which would ensure the strategies and principles it contained worked for residents and businesses.

The Leader thanked officers and the Portfolio Holder for their hard work on the report and felt it good to see that HGV no parking areas were being proposed. He felt that this issue could cause problems for residents as HGVs could park in residential areas for numerous days, and hoped the pilot scheme preventing this issue was successful. The Leader highlighted page 101 of the agenda, and felt that as the level of car ownership increased across the borough, the level of parking provision in new homes and flats should also increase. He commented that parking provision should be realistic and managed through the documents in the report. He also felt that the number of cars per household allowed to park in controlled parking zones should be increased from three to four or five, as the majority of households across the country often had more than three cars. He also wished to see passive provision for electric vehicle (EV) charging in new homes built across Thurrock. He felt that the wording for this proposal be changed from ‘could’ to ‘should’ as this would ensure that new homes would be future-proof and would help to increase the number of EV’s in Thurrock. He highlighted page 126 of the agenda and felt it was good to see the documents also increased the number of on-street EV charging stations in town centres and residential areas, and felt pleased to see the Council were partnering with Connect Kerb on this scheme.

RESOLVED: That Cabinet:

1. Approved the Parking Policy and Strategy document for adoption by Thurrock Council.

2. Approved the Parking Design & Development Standards document adoption by Thurrock Council.

3. Approved the Parking Enforcement Strategy document for adoption by Thurrock Council.

Reason for decision: as outlined in the report
This decision is subject to call-in