Agenda item

To consider the attached report of the Director of Environment and Corporate Assets.

The Head of Community Safety, CCTV and Parking (HCSCP) introduced the report which outlined proposals to introduce parking restrictions for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).  Fly-parking was a serious issue for Dover as it was the entry and exit point for every HGV.  Informal agreement had been reached some while ago between Dover, Ashford and Shepway Councils to introduce clamping.  This approach had been trialled in Ashford and had proved successful.  However, clamping was not financially viable and there were legislative issues.  Shepway had since introduced an HGV ban across its district.  The measures taken in Ashford and Shepway had transferred the problem to Dover.  A survey had been undertaken by the Council’s Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) and the information passed to Kent County Council (KCC).

In 2014/15, 614 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) for Poulton Close, Coombe Valley Road and Channel View Road had been issued.  Whilst it was not possible to differentiate between types of vehicles, it was known that of the 614 PCNs issued, 70 had been issued to lorries parked wholly or partly on footways (Code 61).  In 2015/16, 738 PCNs had been issued, of which 136 were Code 61.  From 1 April 2016 to date, 236 PCNs had been issued, of which 63 were Code 61.    Officers wished to address the increase by prohibiting lorry parking in Poulton Close and Channel View Road.

Mr Walkden welcomed the proposal but regretted that it had not come sooner.  He would have liked to see the prohibition extended as soon as possible.   The Chairman advised that the Council had not taken action before now as it had been waiting for the results of the Ashford pilot.  Shepway had gone its own way, and DDC was now breaking away from the informal agreement as it did not want to see HGVs moving into residential areas.  Councillor Cowan commented that Coombe Valley Road was particularly bad, with an illegal lorry park there creating noise and pollution for local residents.  He welcomed the proposal and queried whether drivers paid an on-the-spot fine when clamped. 

The HCSCP advised that drivers were expected to pay immediately when issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice by the police.  If clamped, HGV drivers would also need to pay a fee to be released.  The recommendation was to introduce a ban rather than clamping at this stage.  Bans had proved effective in other areas, but there were presently no plans to introduce a district-wide ban as that could potentially lead to other problems.  The East Kent Highway Manager (EKHM) advised that a lot of work was being done with Kent Police and local authorities to look at the bigger picture as they did not want to push problems into other districts.  150 local police officers across county had been trained to issue PCNs.  If drivers were unable to pay, the vehicle would be impounded.  A count of illegally and inappropriately parked lorries would take place this week.   The HCSCP advised that a PCN was a non-criminal punishment issued by CEOs.  A Fixed Penalty Notice was a criminal punishment issued by the police.  A debt agency was used to recover fines which were pursued where possible.

RESOLVED:   That Parking Services be permitted to draw up plans to prohibit lorry parking along appropriate sections of Channel View Road and Poulton Close, Dover, and to formally advertise the proposals. (The results of the consultation will be presented to a future meeting of the Board to make its recommendation.)