titlepage/contents pg 1-16 - British Parking Association

84 Chapter 6●trees or other softlandscaping; andPrevent the conversion offront gardens intohardstanding for vehicles.SecurityVehicle security is a crucialconcern for residents in someareas. Car owners, therefore,prefer to be able to park their careither in a space or garageattached to the dwelling, or in agated or controlled car park. Ifonly on-street parking isavailable, a space visible fromthe dwelling is preferred.For mainly aesthetic reasons,parking is sometimes provided inparking or garage “courts” to therear of dwellings. This design,however, can have majordisadvantages including:● Parking areas notoverlooked are vulnerable tovandalism and other abuses;● Parking underused becauseof fears about personal orvehicle security;● Parking areas make it moredifficult to secure reargardens;● Excessive space required inview of access requirementsfor both front and rear ofdwellings, and connectingalleyways; and● In car dependent areasstreet frontage is rarely used(the back door becomes themain entrance becausepeople mostly arrive anddepart by car).However, Better places to live (8)and Places, Streets andMovement (9) set out howcourtyard parking can work.Well-designed courts incorporatea limit to the number of spaces;they are well overlooked andthere are parking places ratherthan car parks. The ODPM isworking with the Home Office toproduce guidance on “planningout” crime, which may includereferences to the appropriatesecurity of vehicles.Conversion of frontgardens for parkingLocal authorities should decideon a policy for the installation offootway crossovers, and for theconversion of garden areas tohard standing for vehicles. Somelocal authorities allow or evenencourage such conversion fortraffic reasons as a means ofkeeping cars off the carriageway,or as a means of increasing carparking capacity to meetexpected demand, such as whena house is converted to flats.Residents are able in manyinstances to convert their frontgardens into parking spaceswithout requiring planningpermission. This is possibleunder Part 1F of the Town andCountry Planning (PermittedDevelopment Rights) Order1995. However, under Article 4 ofthe 1995 Order local planningauthorities may issue a Directionthat requires that planningpermission is needed. TheSecretary of State approval ofthe Direction is required, exceptwhere the Direction relates todevelopment within aconservation area.The provision or otherwise ofcrossovers and off-street parkingwill have implications for thetownscape and ecology,pedestrian safety andconvenience, parking capacity,parking control, and the layout ofbays within a residents’ parkingscheme. The Parking Strategywill therefore need to bringtogether these differentconsiderations, if necessary byspecifying the measures thatshould be applied in differentstreets or areas.It is also important to recognisethat, when on-street parkingcontrols are introduced, this canlead to increased pressure fromhouseholders to convert theirgardens to hard stands forparking. This may have seriousconsequences not only for thecharacter and appearance of thestreet, but also for the efficiencyof parking in the area. If parkingsupply is shifted from generalpublic use (on-street) to