Deliveroo riders agree to stop parking on Brentwood High Street

The leader of Brentwood Borough Council said High Streets across the UK had "turned into big drive-thrus".

Deliveroo drivers have agreed to stop parking on a High Street in a council scheme that could be rolled out in other areas.

Brentwood Borough Council in Essex said the town had a problem with vehicles parking illegally on pavements and takeaway food couriers were "one of the biggest culprits".

Riders would be allowed 15 minutes of free parking in bays on other streets.

Deliveroo said it had worked with the council on the new parking scheme.

Council leader Chris Hossack told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "There is no denying that most High Streets across the UK have kind of turned into big drive-thrus - whether they be for pizzas or Chinese takeaways.

"But in order to help them we have allocated off-street parking bays in Chatham Way and William Hunter Way where they can pull up and get 15 minutes grace."

Deliveroo riders would have a parking badge which would stop them getting on-the-spot parking fines in the allocated bays.

The council said it had met with a team from Deliveroo's head office and engaged with their riders

The council's discussions with Deliveroo came as Brentwood's High Street saw more parking fines than any other in Essex, with 3,333 penalty charge notices issued between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022, resulting in £80,571 raised from fines.

A Deliveroo spokeswoman said it had worked with the council and did not regard it as a "ban".

"The safety of Deliveroo riders and pedestrians is a priority, and we are pleased to be working with the local authority to launch a pilot parking scheme for Deliveroo riders," she said.

"This will provide riders with parking guidance and grant them permission to park for free in permitted zones so they can safely collect customer's orders."

Mr Hossack said: "We are pioneering a system with Deliveroo - they haven't done it with any other council yet - they are even sharing what we are doing in Brentwood with city councils like Cardiff and Edinburgh."