Council car parks to give 10-minute leeway before issuing parking tickets

Motorists will be given a 10 minute leeway before being fined in council-owned car parks in England, the Government has announced.

Expected to take affect later this month, the new ruling is one of a raft of changes to parking policies to be issued to councils across England. It will apply to free and paid-for parking space both on- and off-road. 

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Another of the key changes is a ban to CCTV camera cars. These will only be allowed to be used in high-risk areas such as bus lanes and outside of schools. 

Other rule changes include a right for residents and businesses to demand - by petition - that a council "reviews parking in the area" as well as protection to stop drivers being fined after parking at out-of-order meters.

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There will also be guidance for councils reminding them that they are banned from "using parking to generate profit".

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, said: "We are ending the war on drivers who simply want to go about their daily business.

"For too long parking rules have made law-abiding motorists feel like criminals, and caused enormous damage to shops and businesses. Over-zealous parking enforcement undermines our town centres and costs councils more in the long term."

What do you think of the new 10 minute parking leeway? Let us know in the comments below...