Overview
- The new law gives English councils power to ban pavement parking and fine drivers for unnecessary obstruction.
- Ministers chose a local approach over a blanket ban, with secondary legislation and an enforcement timetable still pending.
- Birmingham plans a targeted rollout on problem streets, with penalties expected to match council parking fines of up to about £70.
- Campaigners including RNIB and Guide Dogs call for a nationwide ban and warn that council-by-council rules could create a postcode lottery.
- Motoring groups such as the RAC and AA support curbing obstructive parking but urge street-by-street assessments to avoid shifting problems to nearby roads.