1. 9 updates

Bid over double yellow parking

Drivers will be able to park on double yellow lines for 15 minutes under proposals to boost trade in neighbourhood high streets, but face stiffer fines for dangerous parking, it has emerged.

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Cable wants 'flexibility' over double yellow lines

Business Secretary Vince Cable has backed a proposal to allow drivers to park on double yellow lines for 15 minutes, saying it could benefit small businesses.

Vince Cable believes enforcement of parking rules is "over-zealous" Credit: PA Wire

"I've got a lot of sympathy with what (Communities and Local Government Secretary) Eric Pickles is trying to do," Cable told Channel 5 News.

"I think a lot of small businesses are driven to distraction by over-zealous enforcement of parking rules, so I think a little bit of common sense and flexibility is very much to be welcomed."

Read: Drivers unconvinced by Pickles' parking proposal

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AA: Double yellows 'should be reviewed'

The AA said some double yellow lines are in place for "historical reasons" and could be removed.

AA president Edmund King said:

Rather than just allow drivers to park on double yellow lines, a thorough review of the lines would be more effective. Many double lines are there for historical reasons and could be lifted.

There is plenty of opportunity to ease back on the signs and lines in many places, giving drivers short-term waiting bays instead, so they can stop briefly to buy a paper or loaf of bread.

Lifting restrictions on yellow lines should not be an excuse for hiking parking penalties outside London.

– Edmund King

Drivers unconvinced by Pickles' parking proposal

A proposal from Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to allow drivers to park on double yellow lines for 15 minutes has received as lukewarm reaction on the ITV News Facebook page.

While a handful of readers backed the idea, the vast majority appeared to be against it.

Ben Harvey said:

It's a ridiculous idea. Double yellows are there to stop people parking due to reduced visibility on hills/round corners/in narrow streets. So in order to add a few quid in the tills of high street stores, the government are willing to compromise on people's safety?

Cheryl Reed said she thought the idea was potentially "dangerous":

They can't monitor waiting time and pay & display time properly, so how will they monitor this as well? People will just be parked where they like and it'll be dangerous.

Mandy Clarke also pointed out that the plan would be difficult to police:

Double yellow lines are there for a reason. If drivers are allow to park on them, it's going to need extra bodies to police it and more than likely there's going to be those who will abuse the 15 minutes.

'Common sense approach' over parking needed

Councils should adopt a common sense approach over parking enforcement, a local Conservative government said today, after the Communities Secretary Eric Pickles suggested that drivers could park on double yellow line for 15 minutes.

Brandon Lewis told The Daily Telegraph:

This Government has scrapped Whitehall rules that previously told councils to hike up parking charges, adopt draconian enforcement and impose arbitrary limits on off-street parking spaces.

Councils now need to play their part in reining back in the overzealous culture of municipal parking enforcement.

They should adopt a common sense approach. Ministers are considering what further steps can be taken to ensure that town hall parking policies and practices support local high streets.

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Double yellow line parking 'must work for businesses'

The high street must work for businesses, the Liberal Democrat transport minister said today, after the Communities Secretary Eric Pickles proposed that drivers could park on double yellow line for 15 minutes.

ransport Minister Norman Baker at Vauxhall Bus Station, London. Credit: Fiona Hanson/PA Wire

Norman Baker told The Daily Telegraph: "We are keen to ensure that the high street works for businesses by stopping people parking illegally for hours on end.

"I have been in discussions with other colleagues from government about how we can best take decisions on this forward.

"This is about tackling motorists who are parking illegally, not about raising charges for those who park legally."

High street in danger of 'dying off' due to parking

A source close to the Eric Pickles has said that over-aggressive parking enforcement is endangering the high street, according to The Daily Telegraph, after the Communities Secretary proposed that drivers could park on double yellow line for 15 minutes.

The source told the newspaper:

The high street is in danger of shrinking or dying off, and over-aggressive parking enforcement is part of the reason why.

If people are worried about paying a fortune in parking fines, it will make them more likely to do their shop online or go to out of town shopping centres. For too long parking has been a revenue raiser. It's time to end that.

There is room for a deal (with the Liberal Democrats). Dangerous parking is a menace to people, whereas if you're in the parking bay or just on the side of the road you're not presenting any risk.

Drivers to be able to park on double yellow lines

Drivers will be able to park on double yellow lines for 15 minutes under proposals to boost trade in neighbourhood high streets, but face stiffer fines for dangerous parking, it has emerged.

Drivers will be able to park on double yellow lines. Credit: /Eamonn and James Clarke/EMPICS Entertainment

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles wants to introduce a "grace period" within months that would allow motorists to pop into local shops without being hit by hefty penalties, according to The Daily Telegraph.

As part of the coalition horse-trading needed to secure support for the move, higher fines could be introduced outside London for motorists who park dangerously.

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