No price increases on horizon for parking in borough
Council officers are ‘not recommending any changes to current parking operations, tariffs, or charging structures' a new report has revealed.
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council’s Operations Committee is being briefed on new regulations for car parks - but there are no plans for price increases.
Following the Review of Public Administration, the ownership, operation, and enforcement of off-street car parks transferred from central government to local councils under the Off-street Parking (Functions of District Councils) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015. The 2015 Act amended the Road Traffic Regulation (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 to designate councils as "parking authorities". This allowed councils to introduce "administrative orders" to govern their own car parks. However, the 2015 Act lacked transitional provisions. As a result, councils have temporarily relied on the legacy Off-Street Parking Order (Northern Ireland) 2000 to maintain operational arrangements.
A report due before the Operations Committee of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council said: "This has created some issues."
The Department no longer holds the legislative power to amend the 2000 Order for transferred car parks, and councils cannot amend the 2000 Order because they are not statutory rule-making authorities. Legal advice has confirmed that any local administrative order currently introduced by a council would be superseded by the legacy 2000 Order in the event of a conflict. To resolve this issue, DfI intends to revoke the legacy 2000 Order.
To ensure 'seamless operational continuity', all councils must have their own localised Administrative Orders enacted and ready to activate prior to the 2000 Order being revoked. DfI has provided a standardised template to ensure consistency across local government. The report said that 'Borough Lawyer' Paul Casey has reviewed this template and agrees with the Department's advice to mirror the core elements of the legacy 2000 Order, adapted specifically for this Borough.
Once enacted, the Order gives council full autonomy to amend its parking regulations at any time in the future. The draft Order will incorporate the transferred carparks and all other council owned car parks. However the report said that officers are 'not recommending any changes to current parking operations, tariffs, or charging structures at this time'. There will now be an eight-week consultation, including the DfI Transport Legislation Branch, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), and local ratepayers, a mandatory 21-day period for public objections or feedback and a report will be brought to the committee detailing any responses or objections received during the consultation period for consideration.