Development Control Policy

Guidance Note No. 5

Car Parking Standards for New Developments

Introduction

This report sets down the current recommended car parking standards for new developments within the Borough. Parking standards are an important element of the Council's land use/transportation policy. Many of the numerous development applications made to the Borough Council include proposals for parking space adjacent to the development and it is therefore essential for the Council to have a parking policy.

The Council's parking standards have evolved from those of the former Cheshire County Council as highway authority for part of the Borough, prior to the formation of Tameside Borough Council. These standards have from time to time been modified to suit more closely the needs of the Borough. The most recent amendment concerning car parking standards for houses in multiple occupation being approved by the Planning and Development Committee at its meeting of 15th January 1986.

Subject to the availability of funding it is proposed to undertake a series of car parking studies in the major town centres of the Borough. The studies would provide information required to enable the development of longer term strategies for the future provision and management of parking facilities in the town centres which may have implications for the Council's development control policies and parking standards.

Objective

The objective is to ensure that sufficient space is provided for the accommodation of parked vehicles having regard to the location, layout, size, shape, access needs and design quality of the space. The parking standards are intended to ensure that parked vehicles do not become either a safety hazard or environmental nuisance.

In order to achieve the objective, it is essential that a car parking policy exists in order for the negotiations to be carried out with the developer in a consistent, constructive and clearly understood manner.

The developer will normally have to provide fully for the parking demand generated on or near the site of the development, particularly when new buildings are proposed. This requirement may not however be possible or desirable where redevelopment, refurbishment or conversation are proposed or within town centres, when consideration of town centre planning and transportation policies needs to be taken and the availability of public parking facilities assessed. In these circumstances the standards should be used in a positive and, in appropriate circumstances, flexible manner as an aid to development.

Where such development proposals do not make provision to the relevant parking standard then negotiations can be entered into to see if these could be achieved or even a suitable compromise reached where public safety will not be prejudiced.

It is recognised, however, that the parking requirements are but part of the overall assessment of the planning merits of the proposal and the outcome can be a balance between all these considerations.

The practical parking requirements for any particular development are likely to reflect a combination of the criteria listed below and need to be negotiated accordingly:

1. the nature of the use/type of use (largely reflected in the car parking standards themselves)
2. location (town centre, built-up area, green field site)
3. development type (new development, redevelopment, refurbishment, conversion)
4. nearness to public parking areas/availability of on-street parking
5. accessibility (the balance between public and private transportation)
6. number of employees
7. assessment of use of development by local populace/work force
8. special operational requirements
9. levels of car ownership
10. multiplicity of uses proposed and degree of combined usage

It is accepted practice that car parking provision is normally broken down into operational and non-operational requirements. The definition of each term is as follows:-

Operational Requirements : The space required for cars regularly and necessarily involved in the operation of the business of particular buildings. It includes space for delivering or collecting of goods at premises and space for picking up or setting down passengers, together with staff parking. It does not include space for storing or servicing vehicles except where this is necessary as part of the business being carried on in the building.

Non-Operational Requirement: Space required for vehicles which do not necessarily have to be parked on the site and covers the needs of shoppers, business callers, sightseers etc. For convenience, resident car parking has been included in this category, although in most cases this will need to be provided within individual curtilages or within the development site. The characteristic of non-operational parking demand is that the parking space need not necessarily be provided within the site boundary of particular buildings or premises. This is especially relevant to town and shopping centres, but in most other cases it is a requirement to provide non-operational parking spaces within the site, or adjoining the development being proposed, so that users are not encourage to park on the highways.

The servicing aspects of the 'operational requirements' should be implicit in the consideration of any new development. However, space requirements can vary to such an extent from case to case, even where a similar use is proposed, that the definition of an overall standard is not only impracticable but potentially also an impediment to satisfactory negotiation.

As a general principle, servicing provision should be based on the maximum number of vehicles likely to serve the development at any one time being able to manoeuvre with ease and to stand for loading and unloading without inconvenience to other users of the site, so as to ensure that:

1. all service vehicles are accommodated off the public highway
2. all service vehicles enter and leave the site in forward gear
3. sufficient access is provided for emergency vehicles

The recommended standards are contained in the following schedule.