Background

• PPG 3 sets a 1.5 spaces / dwelling benchmark (but doesn’t justify it)
• adverse reaction to PPG 3
• Ministerial statement: 1.5 is an average for an area over time / is not site specific
• ODPM initiates research in 2003 to report early 2004
• research findings delayed, work extended
• now to report in 2005, possibly with more guidance

Car ownership

• no explicit policy to restrict ownership
• GB car ownership: 1.0 car / household (2001)
• GB forecast: 1.3 cars / household (2031)
• pre-PPG 3 typical standards for 3 bed house:
• 1.5 spaces for residents
• 1.0 space for visitors
• 1 visitor space / dwelling is very luxurious

Presumed ODPM stance

• standard of 1.5 spaces will cope with foreseeable growth in ownership on average

Purpose of paper

• examine background in more detail
• consider findings of Harrison Webb commissions
• suggest ways forward

Harrison Webb experience

• parking standards research: (SEERA)
• parking standards SPG: (E Herts, Stevenage, Herts County Council)
• garage dimensions: (E Herts)

Research on parking standards for SEERA

• assist development of RTS
• collate existing standards
• check compliance with PPG 13 (non-residential)
• check compliance with PPG 3
• check compliance with RTS (more rigorous than PPG and reflect local accessibility)

Findings: PPG 13

• compliance good at County level
• satisfactory elsewhere
• not all Counties set standards
• not all LPAs agree with Counties
• most authorities now promote variation with accessibility (on some basis)

Findings: PPG 3

• average of 1.5 spaces causing major difficulties
• compliance is poor

Our reaction to findings

• compliance depends on location, but…
• little or no evidence of analyses of housing allocations
• (unprofessional) reliance on policies that “seek to comply….”

Issues for SEERA

• Surrey average: 1.3 cars / household now
• many wards exceed 1.5 cars / household now
• do we know who buys new houses?
• differentiate car ownership and use
• consider urban form
• infrastructure investment in alternatives to car use

SPG on parking standards in Hertfordshire

• Harrison Webb commissions for:
  - Stevenage
  - E Herts
  - County Council
• introduce spatial variation based on accessibility

Garage dimensions

• research project for E Herts
• garages have multiple uses:
  - storage, including cycles, gardening equipment
  - hobbies
  - playroom
  - utility room
  - gym

Issues

• most will be used for some storage
• if too small, car will be parked outside
• standards need to recognise this
• do they…?

Research findings

• many authorities have no minimum standard for internal dimensions
• of those that do:
  - smallest 4.5 x 2.4m (less than a parking space)
  - largest 6.0 x 3.0m
  - storage and cycle parking issue recognised by some

Implications

• include garage dimensions in parking standards and/or design guides
• higher densities increase pressure for multiple use
• to ensure garages are used appropriately:
  - provide separate space for cycle parking
  - provide adequate storage space in house
  - allow alternative garage shapes, but…
  - minimum internal area: 15m 2
  - minimum length: 5.0m, minimum width 2.75m
  - consider layout of development

Overall conclusions

• PPG 13 standards increasingly adopted
• spatial variation becoming the norm
• PPG 3 guidance resisted:
  - Member concerns about on-street parking
  - market impacts unknown
  - back door route to restricting car ownership

A way forward for authorities

• add spatial variation to residential standards based on size / type
• seek communal parking for visitors
• analyse housing allocations
• lobby for more flexibility via RTS

A way forward for ODPM

• recognise that adopted housing allocations vary
• demand major new public transport infrastructure / pedestrian orientation in large developments and maintain 1.5 benchmark
• raise benchmark to 1.75 – 1.95 in less sustainable locations for smaller developments