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40 Chapter 4monitored and enforced and itspreparation must involve thesedifferent enforcement agencies.Involvement of planningauthoritiesWhether or not the transport andland use planning functionsreside within the same authority,the officers and electedmembers in respect of bothfunctions should work together.The involvement of the planningauthority is necessary to:● Provide or coordinate thecommunity strategy andvision;● Ensure compatibilitybetween on-street and offstreetpolicies;●●●●Formulate appropriate streetand public realm designguidance that takes fullaccount of on-street parkingand loading;Establish maximum parkingstandards and a suitablemechanism for determininglevels of provision inindividual developments;Determine the policy forparking provision in relationto the conversion ofresidential properties toprovide more (or less)dwellings; andDetermine policy for thelicensing of cross-overs andthe conversion of frontgardens to hard stands forvehicles.Joint Parking StrategiesA parking strategy mightencompass the administrativeareas of several local planningauthorities. This will beappropriate particularly where:●Local authority boundariescut across work and retailcatchment areas; and● Where there is a danger ofdamaging competitionbetween neighbouringauthorities.Consultation and joint workingwill be required to produce acommon approach to the parkingaspects of planning andtransport policy, particularly thedetermination of maximumparking standards and parkingtariffs. For example, the unitaryauthorities of Thurrock andSouthend-on-Sea cooperate withEssex County Council for thepurpose of determiningmaximum parking standards.Differences of view betweenneighbouring authorities as toappropriate maximum parkingstandards are a commondifficulty, and joint working is theminimum needed to resolve suchdifferences.The need for joint working or jointstrategies between localauthorities may also arise fromthe work of the RegionalPlanning Bodies in preparingand implementing RegionalTransport Strategies. Theregional bodies and GovernmentOffices may need to be proactivein ensuring that allauthorities adhere to regionalmaximum parking standards.The effect that parking chargescan have on competitionbetween towns and cities bothwithin and beyond the strategyarea will need consideration andproposals may require widerconsultation. This may not bepossible if the competing areasare not within one localauthority’s jurisdiction, yet can bea real hindrance to one authoritytaking “bold decisions”.Increasingly, parking charges arebeing seen and adopted as ademand management tool, but insituations where towns and citesare in competition with oneanother, for trade or foreconomic development, this canbe effective only if a suitableframework is provided atregional level. This is recognisedin guidance on RegionalTransport Strategies (2).Consistency and coordinationbetweenparking providersWhere there is public off-streetparking controlled by privateoperators, consultation will benecessary in order thatconsistency may be achievedbetween the transport authority’s