Council wants powers to enforce parking rules

Huntingdonshire District Council could soon be responsible for parking enforcement

A district council could be given powers to deal with problem parking that is currently enforced by police.

Huntingdonshire District Council officers hope the authority will be responsible for enforcing parking regulations and issuing penalty charge notices from August.

Some on-street parking offences would be decriminalised, meaning the council could enforce them.

Some councillors have asked for clarification on where the powers would be enforced and what would be enforceable.

In 2021 the council agreed to pursue civil parking enforcement in Huntingdonshire.

It asked Cambridgeshire County Council, the highways authority, to apply to the government for the powers, with an agreement that the district council would carry out the enforcement and pay towards its implementation.

An application was made to the Department of Transport in January.

On Thursday, council executive member Simone Taylor told a scrutiny meeting the authority was "nearing the finish line" to getting the powers.

Councillor Tim Alban told the meeting it would be useful to know what was enforceable, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"We are keen as district councillors to play our part in selling this to parish councils, but we need a clear idea of what is going to happen," he said.

Martin Hassall asked if the required improvements to road markings had been carried out.

To enable civic parking enforcement, markings and signs had to be "absolutely up to snuff", he said.

Officers said contracts for work on signs and road markings across the district had been awarded.