Local authorities in Wales will be handed new powers to crack down on footway parking within two years under measures confirmed by the Welsh Government this week. But the country will stop short of introducing a blanket ban such as that planned in Scotland and currently being weighed up in England.

A pavement parking taskforce set up by Deputy Transport Minister Lee Waters rejected an outright ban which it said would take too long to implement.

Instead it said a more efficient and quicker approach is to allow councils – as opposed to just the Police – to enforce the existing offence of ‘unnecessary obstruction of any part of the highway’ through a change to regulations.

It also emphasised that there will be places – such as narrow residential streets with no off road parking – where some parking on footways will need to be tolerated. A national campaign to promote behaviour change is also urged.

The Welsh Government has accepted all of the taskforce’s recommendations. “We want more people to walk for short journeys and yet we tolerate an environment that is often not pedestrian friendly; too many routes are cluttered or blocked,” said Lee Waters.

“We recognise that in some streets there are too many cars for the space available and we don’t want to penalise people who have no alternative. This approach lets councils target hot spots and vary its approach depending on local circumstances,” he added.

Civil enforcement of pavement parking in Wales could begin from summer 2022. But campaign group Living Streets Cymru is still pushing for an outright ban which it says would be simpler to enforce and easier to understand.

The group’s manager Rhiannon Hardiman said: “Pavement parking is a problem for everyone, especially for our more vulnerable members of society. People with mobility issues and sight loss, parents with pushchairs and older adults often feel unsafe and worry about walking into traffic. “We want to see a default ban in Wales. We need safe and accessible pavements to encourage people of all ages to walk more. Making parking on pavements illegal is the only solution.”

Scotland set out its intention to ban pavement parking as part of the Transport (Scotland) Act which was enacted last year. The Department for Transport is currently consulting on options to tackle the practice in England, including potentially extending the existing London wide ban across the country.

(Photograph: Living Streets)