Lib Dem Call to Prevent Increasing Parking Chaos

10.43.16am GMT Thu 26th Jan 2006

The campaign for planning powers to prevent increasing parking chaos in Guildford's town centre has suffered a set-back, following the Conservatives' rejection of a Liberal Democrat proposal. At last night's meeting of the Borough Council's Environment Scrutiny Committee, Lib Dem councillors proposed that the draft Parking Standards planning guidance should apply to all new residential developments. The standards would require developers to provide one parking space on-site for every small flat or house, with more for larger homes, unless they could show there was no problem with on-street parking in that area. This proposal was rejected by the Conservative majority on the committee.

Cllr Merilyn Spier, Lib Dem Spokesperson on Planning Policy, said "We have increasing parking chaos on Guildford's streets, both within and outside the town centre. We should not allow developers to cram in so many flats that there is no room for parking to be provided on the site, especially in areas where there is already a serious shortage of on-street parking spaces for existing residents. Developers should not be allowed to pass the buck and assume the council will provide on-street parking permits for the new residents."

The Scrutiny Committee agreed to a Conservative proposal that the draft Parking Standards should only apply to developments of 15 dwellings or more. This would mean that the Standards would only apply to 2% of planning applications - for the other 98% the standards would be merely advisory, and carry less weight at planning appeals.

Cllr Caroline Reeves, the newly elected Lib Dem councillor for Friary and St. Nicolas, said "This is just ludicrous. Many town centre residents already have huge problems finding somewhere to park their car, and with so many planning applications for blocks of flats with insufficient parking, the chaos is growing. When this issue was discussed last December, the Tories promised us parking standards giving one parking space for every flat. The Tory Executive should keep their promises, and overturn this decision."

The draft Parking Standards guidance is due to discussed by the Conservative Executive on 2 February, before going out to public consultation.