Visitors' Parking Scheme - FAQs

About the scheme

1. What is the Visitors’ Parking Scheme?

The Visitors’ Parking Scheme is a pilot designed to increase the availability of parking spaces in residential areas of Westminster for use by residents’ visitors. The scheme converts approximately 500 resident parking bays to shared-use bays in the Queen’s Park, Abbey Road and Regent’s Park wards.

The new spaces are designed to assist visitors who need to park close to residents' homes, such as friends and family, carers and health professionals.

2. How does the scheme work?

Visitors can pay to park in the shared-use bays between the hours of 10am-4pm, for a maximum of 4 hours.

3. What is a shared-use bay?

Shared-use bays enable resident permit holders and other drivers to use the same parking bay. Resident permit holders displaying a valid permit for that zone can park in these bays at any time, whereas visitors must pay to park. Visitor’s parking is limited to 10am-4pm, and any visitors parked in the bays outside those times may receive a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).

4. How do you pay to park in the bays?

The bays work in the same way as other shared-use bays in Westminster.

You can pay to park in them with:

• Pay by Phone: Visitors can use their phones and credit/debit cards to pay for their parking. Residents can also register their visitor’s cars to the Pay by Phone system and pay on behalf of their visitor if they wish to. Find out more about Pay by Phone here.
  
  
• Parking Scratch Cards: These can be purchased from One Stops and Westminster libraries. The cards are easy to use and can be bought in £2 and £4 denominations. Parking cards are also available in books of 10 so residents can buy them and store them for when visitors arrive. Click here for more information on parking cards.

5. Can I pay for a parking space on behalf of my visitor?

Parking scratch cards can be purchased in advance and can be given to the driver to display in their vehicle once parked.

A resident can also register their visitor’s vehicle registration mark to the Pay by Phone parking system and pay for their visitor's parking as their visitor parks the vehicle. You can register for Pay by Phone in advance so it’s quick and easy to pay when your visitor arrives. Sign up for Pay by Phone here.

6. Where are the new bays located?

A survey of all streets in Abbey Road, Regent’s Park and Queen’s Park wards was undertaken to identify residents’ bays which were under-used during the hours of 10am-4pm.

View the locations of the bays here.

New parking signage has been created for the bays so they can be identified on street.

7. How will the bays be protected from commuters?

Visitors are only able to park in the bays between the hours of 10am-4pm, so the bays are protected for residents at the beginning and end of controlled hours.

Background

8. How did the idea for the scheme come about?

The scheme is in response to feedback from residents who told us that their visitors are discouraged from coming to Westminster due to the lack of available parking in residential areas. This is particularly important for vulnerable and isolated groups, including older residents and those requiring care and support. The Visitors’ Parking Scheme is designed to alleviate these difficulties by offering space for visitors to park during the day.

9. Why aren’t we offering a visitor’s parking scheme that is similar to those in boroughs such as Camden and Brent?

Some boroughs operate visitor permit schemes or scratch card schemes which enable visitors to park in resident bays or paid-for bays beyond the maximum permitted stay, sometimes at a discounted rate.

However, London boroughs experience very different traffic and parking patterns and other boroughs generally have significantly more parking space available than in Westminster. One of the main reasons Westminster has not adopted a visitors scheme similar to that of other boroughs is because the availability of parking spaces is already at a premium.

Offering discounted parking to visitors of all Westminster residents, with few restrictions around the times when visitors can park, could affect availability of parking space for residents themselves.

This trial is designed to assess the feasibility of increasing parking space for visitors by extending the number of paid-for and shared use spaces in residential areas of Westminster.

10. Why pilot the scheme in Queen’s Park, Regent’s Park and Abbey Road wards?

We are aware through consultation with groups in Queen’s Park that resident bays are under-used during the day. There is support for converting resident’s bays to shared use to make spaces available for visitors. In order to assess how feasible it will be to introduce this scheme in other parts of Westminster, Regent’s Park and Abbey Road have been selected to trial the scheme.

11. How many resident spaces are being converted to shared use?

Between 8-10% of resident spaces within the three trial wards are being converted to shared use. Please see the table below for more details.

* Figures are approximate.

12. Are there plans to extend the scheme to the rest of Westminster?

The scheme is a trial and will not be extended without thorough consultation. We will be monitoring the use of the bays through the Pay by Phone parking system, undertaking occupancy surveys and consulting throughout the trial with residents and other key groups.

We have also allowed a provision to return the controls back to resident bays, should the trial prove unsuccessful.

13. How long will the trial last for?

An Experimental Traffic Order (ETO) is being used to trial the scheme. ETO’s can last for a maximum 18 months, meaning the trial can continue until December 2010. See Question 14 (below) for more detail on ETO’s.

An interim review of the scheme took place after 6 months of the trial, utilising data from our Pay by Phone system, results of occupancy surveys and public feedback from our online survey and objections to the ETO.

14. What is an Experimental Traffic Order (ETO)?

An ETO is being used to trial the new Visitors’ Parking Scheme. An ETO is a legal document which imposes traffic and parking regulations, such as controlled parking restrictions. An ETO can stay in force for a maximum of 18 months. During the trial the effects of the order are monitored and assessed, allowing the Council to decide whether or not to make the scheme permanent.

For this ETO, notices were published in local newspapers and on lamp columns notifying the public of the ETO. Members of the public were able to lodge formal objections to the ETO up until 15 December 2009 (ref 5603/MG). Each objection will be considered and responded to before decisions are made on the future of the scheme.

For more background information, read the Cabinet Report here.

Consultation and feedback

15. What consultation has been undertaken on the proposed scheme?

Consultation has been conducted with the following:

• Queen's Park, Abbey Road and Regent's Park Ward Members
• Westminster residents who attended the St John's Wood Area Forum on 18 November 2008
• Westminster residents who attended the West End Area Forum on 3 March 2009
• Westminster residents who attended the Bayswater Area Forum on 5 March 2009
• Westminster residents who attended the Maida Vale Area Forum on 19 March 2009
• Open Age
• Westminster Older People Action
• Senior Citizen's Forum
  
  

16. How can I give feedback on the scheme?

If you have been unable to lodge an objection, but would like to share your views and experiences of the scheme, please complete our online survey here. All responses will be considered to help decide the future of the scheme.

17. I am a Westminster resident permit holder. How will the scheme affect me?

The need to protect parking spaces for Westminster permit holders is paramount.

Several measures have been taking to minimise the effect of the scheme on resident permit holders including restricting visitor parking from 10am-4pm and only converting resident bays which were shown to be under used during these hours.

All Civil Enforcement Officers have been informed of the scheme, the bay locations, the shared-use hours of control and the maximum stay time. Routine patrols of these areas will be undertaken and tickets will be issued to any vehicles in contravention.

In addition, any residents concerned about vehicles overstaying the 10am-4pm restriction, can call Parking Services on 020 7823 4567 (24hrs) to report the offending vehicle.

Our online survey here allows resident permit holders to tell us their views on the scheme and whether it meets their needs. All this information will be reviewed to help decide the suitability of your area for shared-use parking for visitors.