The government has confirmed that it is working on new guidelines to help tackle the issue of pavement parking.
Responding in a recent written parliamentary Q&A, Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood said that the government fully understands the serious problems that vehicles parked on the pavement and other obstacles on the pavement can cause for pedestrians, especially for people with mobility or sight impairments and those with wheelchairs, prams, or pushchairs.
“The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to the 2020 pavement parking consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them,” she said.
“We will announce the next steps and publish our formal response as soon as possible. In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to manage pavement parking, and it is up to them to decide where to restrict pavement parking and what enforcement is appropriate.”
Eight-in-10 drivers (83%) want the Government to take action to tackle pavement parking in England, but they’re split on how best to approach the problem, new RAC research shows.
42% are supportive of an outright ban on parking on pavements in England, while a virtually identical proportion (41%) instead want to see councils given powers to ban the practice on specific roads more easily than they can today.
Most drivers (66%) say they see vehicles either partially or fully parked on pavements close to where they live. Of these, a third (33%) report seeing vehicles blocking pavements every day, with a further 30% witnessing it happening on most days. Just 5% of motorists said they never see vehicles blocking pavements.
Of all those motorists who witness vehicles blocking pavements, 44% say they often see pedestrians having to walk into the road as a result, with the same proportion (44%) seeing this happen occasionally. Just 12% of this group say they never see pedestrians having to do this.
When asked what they’d consider to be the most appropriate penalty if any form of ban was introduced in England, 44% of drivers said first-time offenders should be sent a written warning letter, followed by a fine for any future contraventions.
Almost one-in-five (17%) think an immediate fine is appropriate, while a similar 16% believe a written warning followed by a fine and three penalty points for future violations is appropriate. A further 5% favour an immediate fine and three penalty points, while a fifth (18%) don’t think it should be deemed an offence in the first place.
A pavement parking ban has existed in London since 1974, with offenders fined between £140 and £160 depending on where in the city they park. In Scotland, a ban was introduced in 2025, with drivers facing a £100 penalty, reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days.
Outside Scotland and London, no such general ban exists. Currently, councils in England must consult on and implement separate Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) to ban pavement parking on specific roads – a process that can be costly and time-consuming.
Leave a Reply