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Civil Parking Enforcement and Bus Lane Enforcement

Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) and Bus Lane Enforcement, transfers the responsibilities for on-street parking from the police to the local highway authority, which in this case is Cambridgeshire County Council. This allows on-street offences to be treated as civil matters enforced by local authority civil enforcement officers rather than by the police.

To take up these powers, Cambridgeshire County Council as the Highway Authority is required to make an application to the Secretary of State via Department for Transport (DfT) to decriminalise parking enforcement.

There are three districts that want to pursue applications for CPE and Bus Lane Enforcement at this time, South Cambridgeshire District Council, Fenland District Council and Huntingdonshire District Council, and the County Council are supporting these authorities with the required assessments and application.

Work is underway across the three districts to ensure that all signs and lines are accurate, enforceable and comply with current traffic regulations.

South Cambridgeshire Update

The scheme is now live across South Cambridgeshire, following confirmation from Government. To give people notice and a chance to find a more suitable parking place, information has now begun to be placed on vehicles that are parked in some areas where parking is in the greatest demand, such as commuting and shopping areas.

A Warning Notice will be issued to people who continue to park where there are restrictions throughout January – this looks like a parking ticket but there is no fine attached.

Penalty Charge Notices will be issued from 1 February which will mean a fine of between £50 and £70, depending on the severity of the offence.

Civil Parking Enforcement and Bus Lane Enforcement - Frequently Asked Questions

CPE and Bus Lane Enforcement enables the County and District Councils to better promote safe and sensible parking and allows the police to focus on more serious crimes.

The flexibility and benefits CPE and Bus Lane Enforcement brings will:

  • Increase targeted enforcement of problematic parking
  • Improve traffic flow
  • Encourage correct, sensible and safe parking
  • Improve road safety for all road users
  • Improve access for pedestrians and service and emergency vehicles
  • Encourage active travel
  • Promote the economic growth of market towns
  • Support environmental objectives to reduce congestion and improve air quality through proactively managing parking restrictions

Our aim is to implement CPE across the District of South Cambridgeshire by the end of 2023, Bus Lane Enforcement in spring 2024 and CPE and Bus Lane Enforcement across the Districts of Fenland and Huntingdonshire from 2024.

The police will retain powers to enforce:

  • dangerous or obstructive parking
  • vehicles parked on pedestrian crossings and zig zag lines
  • moving vehicle violations, such as speeding and going through ‘no entry’ signs

Most parking violations, however, will become civil offences dealt with by the relevant County and District Council.

CPE and Bus Lane Enforcement will lead to a significant improvement in parking practices across the CPE and Bus Lane Enforcement districts, promoting the benefits of good parking and enforcing where necessary.

It will reduce unsafe parking, make sure emergency vehicles can get through, reduce impact on local businesses by improving turnover of parking spaces and reduce environmental impact by tackling congestion and idling engines.

Teams will be focused on areas where illegal parking has the most impact on road safety and congestion, allocating resources, as available to ensure traffic management and respect for the existing restrictions.

CPE applies to parking rules, including stopping and waiting. Some traffic regulations will continue to be enforced by the police (see above).

There are two levels of Penalty Charge:

  • £70 for the more serious offences, such as parking on yellow lines
  • £50 for less serious offences, such as overstaying in a limited waiting bay

Both charges are reduced by 50% if paid within 14 days.

Read our Parking tickets and appeals page for more information.