Parking Spaces for New Developments

Dacorum Borough Council is in the process of producing a new draft Parking Standards Supplementary Planning Document (Parking Standards SPD) and is inviting feedback upon it over a six week period.

The Parking Standards SPD is a document that sets out the council’s standards to govern parking requirements for new developments within the whole of the borough. The council currently uses the parking standards in Appendix 5 of the 2004 Dacorum Borough Local Plan, along with the 2002 Accessibility Standards. The Parking Standards SPD would replace both these documents if adopted.

The Parking Standards SPD proposes ‘parking standards’ (rather than maximum or minimum standards), but with the possibility to reduce these in appropriate locations and conditions to sustain lower car ownership, subject to council approval. The existing non-residential parking standards are essentially retained, but applied as broad requirements rather than maximum standards.

Most of the standards in the draft Parking Standards SPD are the same as the existing standards.

There are some differences including a move away from maximum standards which will, in many cases, result in provision of more spaces than with the existing standards. For many housing schemes, the new standards are lower than the existing standards, particularly for 3 and 4 bedroom homes. Also, fewer spaces are required if spaces are shared than if they are allocated to individual properties.

The draft Parking Standards SPD document is available to view online at www.dacorum.gov.uk/consultation, hard copies are available at council offices in Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and Tring and at libraries within the borough.

All responses must be received by 5pm on Friday 30 August 2019.

Further details of the revisions and how to submit comments are available on the council’s website at www.dacorum.gov.uk/consultaton.