Council given new powers to keep city moving

Released: 20 March 2008

Wolverhampton City Council is to get greater powers to ensure that disruption on the city’s roads is kept to a minimum when the Traffic Management Act becomes law on March 31.

The act gives local authorities a range of new tools aimed at reducing congestion and pollution.

One of the major elements of the act enables councils to direct which days utility companies are permitted to carry out highways work. Other powers include directing utility companies not only to resurface parts of the road that they have dug up, but to resurface the entire lane or width of the road. This will reduce the problem of scarring of the carriageway and weakened structures caused by trenches.

There will also be an extension to the embargo preventing recently resurfaced roads being dug up from one year to five years. There will be a more effective regime for inspecting works carried out by the utilities to reduce the amount of works, repairs and disruption. Fines that can be issued to the utilities will increase from £1,000 to between £2,500 and £5,000.

Another key part of the act is to transfer parking enforcement from the police to local authorities. Wolverhampton did this in February 2007, but there will still be some changes to the way enforcement is carried out from March 31.

These are:

• Different penalties will apply depending on the seriousness of the contravention.  The existing single rate of £60 will change to £70 for the upper penalty charge, dropping to £50 for the lower band.  For example, parking on yellow lines will attract a higher penalty than overstaying in a limited waiting bay or in a pay and display car park.
• Civil enforcement officers (previously called parking attendants) will have the power to serve a penalty charge notice (PCN) by post if a driver leaves with the vehicle before the PCN can be served.
• Civil enforcement officers will be able to issue PCNs to drivers who park over kerbs that have been lowered to assist pedestrians, cyclists and access for vehicles.
• Civil enforcement officers will be able to issue PCNs if double parking prevents the passage of other vehicles.
• The council will publish its parking policy each year.
• The policy will be reviewed in consultation with key stakeholders on a regular basis.

The Department for Transport is finalising arrangements for enforcement of footway parking and also at dropped kerbs.  Councils will be advised later in the year on how these optional enforcement provisions should be applied.

Issued by the press office.