Parking enforcement to kick in as lockdown eases

Parking enforcement is being cranked up across the county having been relaxed since March during the coronavirus lockdown.

Over this time the county council has allowed free on-street parking for key workers and concentrated enforcement on obstructive and dangerous parking.

However as more and more vehicles start to return to the roads the authority is looking to slowly re-introduce routine traffic enforcement with live penalty charge notices being issued from Monday 29 June.

This Monday (22 June) the council will also reduce the range of key workers entitled to free on-street parking, restricting this to NHS staff and social care staff who qualify for the government issued parking permit for use during their working hours only.

Anyone who wishes to take advantage of this scheme should contact their employer to obtain the permit. No other forms of identification will be accepted.

The authority says such action will encourage turnover of parking spaces which, in turn, helps town centre businesses with their trade and ensures that vehicles are parked safely.

On-street charging for parking continues to apply and anyone wishing to park on-street should ensure that any applicable parking charge is paid, using either cash and displaying the ticket or via their smartphone using the RingGo cashless payment app.

The 15p RingGo convenience fee has been removed so that using the app to park costs the same as using cash.

Many District and Borough Council off-street car parks are continuing to offer free parking at this time.