Policy DM31 Car parking and servicing
To ensure appropriate levels of parking and service, developments should incorporate parking, servicing and other facilities in accordance with the advice and standards set out within appendix 3. Development will be acceptable where the following criteria are addressed where relevant:
a) car parking is provided within the limits prescribed (at least the minimum, and not more than the maximum);
b) cycle parking is provided to at least the levels prescribed;
c) the required level of parking is provided for disabled drivers;
d) provision is made for electric car charging points;
e) it is demonstrated that adequate provision has been made for access to, and servicing of the proposed development, and in particular, that adequate and appropriately designed provision has been made for the storage and collection of refuse taking account of the current requirements for waste segregation for recycling;
f) provision of or alteration to on-street parking controls is made to ensure the safe and effective operation of the development; and
g) space is provided for the operation of a car club vehicle within the site.
Where it is demonstrated that the provision of essential facilities (for example, the required levels of cycle parking) on-site is not feasible they may be secured nearby where an appropriate solution is identified, at the developers expense.
Supplementary text
31.1 The NPPF states that if setting parking standards for residential and non-residential development, local planning authorities should take into account:
- the accessibility of the development;
- the type, mix and use of development;
- local car ownership;
- the availability of and opportunities for public transport; and
- an overall need to reduce the use of high-emission vehicles.
31.2 In order to ensure that development is sustainable, local parking policies, alongside other planning and transport measures, should act to promote sustainable transport choices and reduce reliance on the private car for work and other journeys.
31.3 An explicit requirement to set maximum parking standards is no longer part of national policy. However, this does not imply that such standards should be abandoned altogether, particularly in an urban area. Local planning authorities are free to apply parking standards which can be justified by evidence and are appropriate and necessary to address local circumstances. There is, similarly, no explicit directive that parking standards should promote sustainable transport choices, but the overall emphasis of the NPPF on promoting patterns of development which facilitate the use of sustainable transport modes would not be well served by a policy of parking deregulation.
31.4 The Transport topic paper gives further justification for the parking standards proposed within this plan in the context of these criteria and the JCS. The aim of this policy is to ensure that parking levels are restrained to a practical minimum, whilst the opportunities for more sustainable transport choices are made available. This includes provision for cycle storage, and access to car club spaces and charging points for plug in and ultra low emission vehicles as recommended in paragraph 35 of the NPPF.
31.5 Policy 9 of the JCS requires parking restraint in areas of high accessibility, and this applies, with appropriate variation, across Norwich. The overall strategy is to restrain parking for both commercial and residential development to an increasing extent the closer the development is to the city centre.
31.6 Maximum car parking standards have been in operation in Norwich for some time, and largely these have worked well. However, there have been issues with parking in some residential developments which have caused difficulties for some residents. These have occurred principally outside the controlled parking zones, where the estate roads cannot accommodate a significant level of on-street parking, but parking control is not appropriate.
31.7 Advice produced in 2006 by English Partnerships Car parking – what works where is a useful reference document when considering car parking provision and arrangement. This advice has been used to refine the residential car parking standards contained in appendix 3.
31.8 The provision of cycle parking for all developments is essential to facilitate a modal shift towards cycling. To this end, proposals which do not cater adequately for the needs of cyclists or where provision for cycle parking and storage is poorly designed and located, not properly integrated with or dominated by car parking will not be accepted. This is fully in accordance with advice in the NPPF to create safe and secure layouts which minimise conflicts between traffic and cyclists or pedestrians, avoiding street clutter and where appropriate establishing home zones (paragraph 35).
31.9 To this end, developers will be expected to ensure that the facilities provided for cyclists are considered as part of an overall scheme design approach which will ensure that they are attractive and accessible to intended users. General considerations of design, layout, access and circulation should take account of the principles set out in policies DM3, DM12 (for residential development) and DM30.
References
- NPPF, CLG 2012: Section 4: Promoting sustainable transport; ensure safe and secure layouts that minimise traffic conflict and minimise clutter, Support reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and congestion, accommodate the efficient delivery of goods and supplies; exploit opportunities for the use of sustainable transport modes.
- JCS policy 9: Strategy for growth in the Norwich Policy Area.
- Norwich area transportation strategy (NATS).
- Car parking – what works where, English Partnerships, 2006.
- Transport topic paper, Norwich City Council, April 2013.
