A local council has halted its policy to implement resident parking permit charges.
Middlesbrough Council have taken the decision to “pause” planned charges for parking permits that were set to come into effect from April this year. The relevant executive member has also stated his intention to recommend that the charges be “fully removed” at an upcoming meeting of the council’s Executive.
The planned charges would have seen affected residents pay £25 for an initial permit and £40 for any additional permits per household as a way of helping to cover the £360,000 annual cost of operating resident parking schemes, according to the council. There are currently 12 resident parking zones in operation across the town.
Executive member for the environment, Cllr Peter Gavigan, confirmed the change of policy at a meeting of full council on Wednesday 26 March, where he said the council were in a position to change tact as a result of the authority’s “impressive” financial turnaround.
The u-turn came following questions from members of the public, highlighting their dismay at the proposals, which were originally passed as part of the 2024/25 budget setting process. Susan Peat asked one of the questions of Cllr Gavigan, saying: “What Zone K residents’ views were used, obtained and represented when resident parking permit charges were first drawn up?” She also asked how residents should go about asking the council to remove the proposed charges.
Meanwhile, resident Rachel Forster said: “Some years ago a parking permit scheme was introduced in Beechwood to stop inappropriate parking by hospital staff/visitors evading hospital parking costs.” She said that the charges would “severely” affect the wellbeing and financial position of residents, before asking how could residents appeal and “what is the cost of implementing this scheme and has it been justified?”
Cllr Gavigan told fellow cllrs that as a result of the council’s financial turnaround, “we’re now in a stronger position to look again at some of the difficult decisions that we had to take this time last year. One of those is the introduction of charges for resident parking permits.”
Resident parking permit charges was one of the policies voted through a year ago as part of the budget setting process for 2024/25. The charges were due to be introduced from April 2024. Unfortunately for the council, the necessary infrastructure was not in place in time. Specifically, a “digital permit system” was not procured. It was previously reported that the council was instead aiming to introduce charges from the beginning of the 2025/26 financial year.
Cllr Gavigan continued at full council, saying: “We’ve listened to the concerns raised by residents, particularly in areas like my own in Beechwood, and therefore the implementation of these charges is being paused.
“Furthermore, I will bring a report forward to the Executive in the near future, with the recommendation that they are fully removed. While there are still steps to go through before that can be formally signed off, my intention is to deliver a fairer, more proportionate approach – and it is our improved financial stability that makes that approach possible.”
The council outlined that 12 resident parking zones are currently in operation across Middlesbrough, largely focussed on areas close to the town centre, Teesside University and James Cook Hospital. A digital permit system, Easipermit, is also in development and will go ahead as planned to modernise the service and reduce costs through a more efficient application and enforcement process, the council explained.
