Today (29 April) the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill has received Royal Assent from King Charles III, to become law.

Transport reform is a central pillar of the newly enacted ‘English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act’, which devolves greater powers to local authorities across England.

A key change introduces national standards for taxi and private hire drivers, allowing enforcement officers to suspend licences issued by other councils when drivers operate unsafely outside their licensed areas, closing a long-criticised regulatory gap.

Councils will also gain stronger powers to tackle dangerous pavement parking, including the wider use of fixed penalty notices, in a move aimed at improving safety for pedestrians, particularly disabled people and families.

More information on the announcement is available to read here.

CIHT welcomes the passage of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill into law as it brings new powers to local leaders to tackle pavement parking, introduce micromobility schemes, and increased autonomy on transport planning and investment.

CIHT has long highlighted the growing issue of pavement parking and its impact on accessibility across the UK.

CIHT Past President Neil Johnstone recently championed accessibility in a BBC feature on pavement parking. This is available to watch here – (11:36 to 20:21)

The Act also brings new regulation to the fast-growing rental e-bike sector. Local authorities will be able to license operators and set rules on parking, safety, and accessibility, addressing concerns about street clutter while supporting greener travel.

At a strategic level, the legislation creates new “Strategic Authorities” led by elected mayors, with enhanced powers over transport planning and investment. The government says this will enable more integrated, locally tailored transport networks.

Alongside this, Local Scrutiny Committees will be established to oversee decision-making and spending, including on transport, in an effort to strengthen accountability.

The reforms mark a significant shift towards locally led transport systems, with a focus on safety, coordination, and community needs.

Further measures in the Act include:

·        Mandating Mayoral Strategic Authorities to develop local growth plans, aligning regional economic strategies with national policy.

·        A new bespoke duty for Mayors and Strategic Authorities to ensure they formally consider local health improvement and health inequalities when making policy decisions.

·        New powers for Mayors to intervene in planning applications of potential strategic importance, make mayoral development orders and charge a mayoral community infrastructure levy on developers.

·        The establishment of the Local Audit Office to help manage council finances, ensuring auditing is carried out more efficiently and transparently.

CIHT believes that those best placed to make decisions about what their highways should be used for are local communities through their local authorities. National legislation should enable these authorities to be responsive to community concerns in a way that is affordable, quick and effective.

CIHT looks forward to continuing to work with local authorities across England, the Department for Transport, and the UK Government on the issue of pavement parking and working towards a transport network that works for all.