North Yorkshire Council are developing changes to car parking arrangements across North Yorkshire, which they say will:
- Replace a patchwork of inherited policies from the county’s former district and borough councils.
- Among the key themes are ensuring that parking provides a customer-focused and value for money service that reflects local need, such as electric vehicle infrastructure, and allows communities to be connected to transport links.
- The aim is to make sure that the parking service is self-sustaining and contributes to the council’s financial resilience and there is fairness and consistency across its 170 car parks.
The have developed a number of principles, however these principles leave opportunity for price increases and removal of disc parking, along with the extension of controlled parking zones.
- Principle 1 – Parking facilities will aim to provide a good quality, value-for-money service to users across North Yorkshire.
- Principle 2 – Given the scale and diversity of the county, the council’s approach will reflect local needs and circumstances, within an overall policy framework that is consistent across the council.
- Principle 3 – Traffic congestion, air quality and the availability of other modes of travel will be a key consideration in setting the quantities of parking available, the location, the tariff and the
restrictions applied. - Principle 4 – Tariffs will be varied between locations, and between on-street and off-street car parks, ensuring issues such as congestion can be managed effectively.
- Principle 5 – The council will support adoption of EVs by providing charging facilities where appropriate, and will pass on the full costs incurred in providing the facility and any energy consumed.
- Principle 6 – Existing controlled parking zones will be reviewed and new zones introduced in more areas where appropriate, with the myriad of permits currently available streamlined.
- Principle 7 – Parking will be managed so as to support the vitality and attractiveness of town centres, recognising parking arrangements are key to trade.
- Principle 8 – Parking incentives to encourage people to visit town centres will be reviewed to ensure a fair approach across the county, and to ensure that they are most effective in supporting town centre businesses.
- Principle 9 – The parking estate will be put to its best use across all the council’s needs and goals, aiming to protect capacity where there is demand, while also recognising strategic opportunities to support the council’s wider aims.
- Principle 10 – In addition to reflecting local needs, the council will look to serve differing user needs; the parking offered will be deliberately varied, in terms of tariff, location and service level, to serve different customer requirements and needs.
- Principle 11 – Given the major variances in off-street charges inherited by the new council, there needs to be a – one-off review of charges to consider their appropriateness.
- Principle 12 – Following the one-off exercise, the council will keep rules, tariffs and investment priorities under review on an annual basis to ensure that they continue to meet users’ needs and support the council’s objectives.
- Principle 13 – Consistent payment methods (card, cash and app) will be adopted across all car parks to improve customer service, provide data and encourage revenue generation.
- Principle 14 – Blue Badge parking is aimed at providing access and proximity. It will be provided and managed in line with observed need. Off-street charges will apply in all cases.
- Principle 15 – Enforcement will be bolstered to keep contraventions down to an acceptable level.
- Principle 16 – The council will, where appropriate and permitted, seek to work with other parking operators to improve outcomes for users.
- Principle 17 – The council may offer to undertake parking management and/or enforcement on behalf of third party car park owners, where this presents an opportunity to improve consistency or other outcomes for users to support the achievement of the council’s wider goals.
- Principle 18 – Parking for non-car modes (such as motorcycles, cycles, heavy goods vehicles, motorhomes or
coaches) will be managed in line with these principles and recognising their particular issues, needs and opportunities. - Principle 19 – Parking will be managed so as to be financially sustainable, covering at least the full cost of providing the parking service and capital investment in car parks.
- Principle 20 – Where appropriate and permitted, tariffs may also include pricing that reflects the value or quality of the service offered, particularly when lower-price or free alternatives are also available.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for highways and transport, Cllr Malcolm Taylor, said:
This is a major step forward in creating a modern, responsive parking system that works for everyone in North Yorkshire. This unified approach allows us to be strategic and sensitive to local needs.
These principles are not just about where people park, they are about how we support our town centres, reduce congestion, improve air quality, and make our communities more accessible and attractive.
It’s about fairness, sustainability, and delivering a service that reflects the diversity of our county, from busy urban centres to rural villages.
We are committed to working with residents, businesses, and stakeholders as we move into the next phases of implementation.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive members will be asked to agree the adoption of the proposed parking principles at a meeting on Tuesday, 19 August 2025.
If approved, the parking principles will be implemented in three stages. A review of parking tariffs would follow later this year, and localised town parking strategies would be developed throughout next year, with full consultation.
To read the entire council report:
