titlepage/contents pg 1-16 - British Parking Association

176 AnnexesAnnex ABreaking the LogjamThe Government produced a “daughter document” to the 1998 White Paperentitled Breaking the Logjam which provided further information on how localauthorities could introduce road user charging or workplace parking levies. Thepurpose of such charges were stated as being to reduce congestion or trafficgrowth, or to achieve other objectives contained in a Local Transport Plan.Advice was provided for local authorities bringing forward such schemes:“The Government will expect a local traffic authority to consider the contributionthat new charges might make in delivering the objectives contained in a localtransport plan. These plans will enable authorities to take a broader, morestrategic view detailing how integrated transport is to be delivered at the locallevel. New charges may also have a part to play in achieving other objectives,such as air quality objectives established under the National Air QualityStrategy. Authorities will need to be clear about how the introduction of newcharges would fit alongside other policies, including planning and land usepolicies. They will also need to be consistent with local development plans. Thenew generation of Regional Planning Guidance in England will establish theregional framework within which local development and transport plans will beprepared.” (Paragraph 2.9)The other key aspect of the policy was the hypothecation of revenues from localcharging schemes for local transport purposes, for a period of at least 10 years,provided that the scheme is introduced within 10 years of the enablinglegislation coming into force. This marked a departure from traditional practice,and enables local authorities to look upon charging schemes as a source ofrevenue to support a shift of travel demand from car to other modes. Thisarrangement thus allows sticks and carrots to be used simultaneously,potentially overcoming objections to demand restraint.Regional Transport StrategiesLocal authorities are required to take account of regional guidance on planningand transport matters.Regional Transport Strategies (RTS) are part of Regional Planning Guidance(RPG). Responsibility for preparing RPG lies with the Regional Planning Body(RPB).In general RTS in the first round of RPGs did not follow the guidance offered inPPG11, as production was well advanced before its publication. Revisions toRTS were, therefore, required, and the aim was for this to be completed by2004, before the preparation of the next round of full Local Transport Plans(LTPs). To help in this process ‘A Guide to the Preparation of RegionalTransport Strategies’ was published in 2003.Strategic park-and-ride facilitiesThe Government is keen to encourage park-and-ride (P&R) schemes, whichare well conceived and well integrated with other measures to reduce thenumber and length of car journeys and to reduce congestion in urban areas. Insome cases, P&R schemes could be of regional or sub-regional significance,and occasionally even of inter-regional importance. This might particularly applyto rail-based parkway schemes targeted at long distance commuters, orschemes involving the motorway network. Where P&R schemes are of suchsignificance, the RTS will need to advise on the regional or sub-regional criteria,which should be taken into account in their planning to ensure the optimumbenefit from an integrated planning and transport point of view.Managing DemandThe RTS should provide guidance on the regional context for demandmanagement measures, which local authorities may include in their LocalTransport Plans and development plans. Such measures may includeworkplace parking levies and road user charging schemes. The guidanceshould also make clear that restraint measures such as on-street parkingcontrol are also matters for RTS.Many of the Planning Policy Guidance Notes (PPG) that follow are beingupdated to become Planning Policy Standards (PPS).