UK government to make driveway parking easier

Eric Pickles, the UK Communities and Local Government Secretary, announced that the UK government will be publishing new guidance on households that wish to rent out single parking spaces in their driveways via Internet matching sites.

The move by the Secretary is seen as a challenge to some local councils, who feel as though they are missing out on parking revenue and have reportedly begun to crackdown on those households who had not sought parking permission prior to advertising their space. Councils have been threatening fines of up to £20,000 if householders do not make a planning application for “change of use”, which costs £385.

“Councils should be welcoming common sense ways that help people park easier and cheaply and for families to make some spare cash,” Pickles said. “Councils shouldn’t be interfering in an honest activity that causes no harm to others, unless there are serious concerns. Parking charges and fines are not a cash cow for town halls.”

Across many cities, using Internet ‘matching’ services, households are able to rent out their spare or unused dedicated off-street parking space in or near city centres, train stations and sports grounds. The Secretary says that this provides a small income for households, provides more cheap parking spaces for people to park their car, and takes pressure away from on-street parking.

Anthony Eskinazi, founder of ParkatmyHouse.com, the largest Internet site that lists available driveways, supported the Secretary. “We believe that property owners have the right to earn money from their own driveway in a similar way to having the well-recognised right to rent out a bedroom,” he said. “We expect further positive developments in this area as, along with substantial investment in public transport infrastructure, the smartest and greenest solution to the problem of parking is to leverage smartphones and the Internet to efficiently use the space that we already have.”

A spokesman from the UK’s Local Government Association says that it is not a widespread problem that requires guidance from national government. “Councils are best placed to decide what will work in their areas and what will suit their residents best, not Whitehall [UK Government],” he said. “Councils up and down the country are focusing on finding ways to unlock growth, support businesses and boost their local high street.”