Guide to parking reviews
We are continually reviewing our parking schemes to make sure they meet the changing needs of local communities.
A parking review is carried out in each of our civil parking areas every 16 to 18 months. In each review we consider requests for new controls and requests for changes to existing controls.
To make sure our schemes remain lawful there is a formal, legal process that must be followed when making changes or introducing new restrictions. The review process usually includes two rounds of consultation and normally takes 16 to 18 months to complete.
All requests are considered and assessed against our priority ranking system. The scoring system considers a number of factors, these include:
- safety
- access
- congestion and traffic flow
- crash history
- the class of road
- local conditions such as nearby shops, schools, or hospitals
- demand from local residents and businesses
- the nature of the issue and when it occurs
For new permit schemes to be viable they would need to be looked at across a wider area and not a road in isolation. We would also expect there to be demand for a permit scheme from at least 40% of the residents in the area.
Support for this type of request can be shown by asking other residents to complete the online form or a letter with multiple signatures can be collated and either sent to us or given to your local councillor. This letter would need to include the name and full address of each resident signing it.
Once all of the locations on our log have been assessed and prioritised the list of requests being taken forward is complete. You can see the results of the prioritisation in our current reviews, this information is usually available three months after the start date of the review.
Each location is looked at in detail and proposals to address the issues raised are drawn up. Informal consultation documents, including detailed maps of the proposed restrictions are then prepared.
For permit schemes, we will carry out an initial high-level consultation to see if there is support for a scheme from the wider community. To make sure everyone is aware of the consultation and has the opportunity to contribute their views, copies are sent to all residential and business addresses in the affected area.
All our consultations are also available on the consultation hub on our website. We encourage and welcome all feedback and will accept responses through the website, by email, letter or via telephone.
Once the informal consultation has closed all the responses have to be reviewed. Sometimes the responses show an overall support or objection to the proposals and the outcome is easily known. Most often there are conflicting responses and we need to find a balance to differing needs. The original proposals may be adjusted following consideration of the responses, or new proposals may be made.
When the final proposals and a draft traffic regulation order are ready, they must go through another round of consultation, called formal consultation. For this the proposals are advertised:
- on street lampposts
- in a local newspaper
- by delivering letters to local residents and businesses, and,
- on our consultation hub
Any objections to the proposals must be made in writing, either by letter, email or through the consultation hub.
All responses and objections have to be considered. We contact the objectors to explain why the changes are being proposed and to see if the reason for their objection can be satisfied.
Any objections not withdrawn are presented to the Planning Committee. Objectors will be written to and have the opportunity to attend the committee meeting to give their views before any decision is made.
The committee will consider each objection and decide whether to uphold it or not. We contact all of the objectors after the meeting to let them know of the committee’s decision.
Find out more about the Planning Committee.
Before approved changes or new restrictions can be installed, detailed signs and lines works orders need to be prepared. This tells our contractors exactly what needs to be installed on street and where. It is important to get this done accurately so that the restrictions installed are legal and enforceable. This stage is weather dependent as lining work can only be carried out in dry weather. Once all the work has been completed the new traffic regulation order can be sealed and enforcement of the new restrictions can begin.
The review process includes two rounds of consultation and normally takes 16 to 18 months to complete. You can make a request for consideration in the next reviews by using the online form to request parking restrictions.
The dates shown below for the next reviews are when we aim to start them.
Eastbourne
Our next review in Eastbourne will start in June 2024.
Hastings
Our next review in Hastings will start in October 2025.
Lewes
Our next review in Lewes district will start in October 2024
Rother
Our next review in Rother district will start in March 2025.
Current reviews
Find out more about our current reviews.
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