A leading member of Bracknell Forest Council has cleared the air on whether it will introduce emissions-based charges at its car parks.
A leading member of Bracknell Forest Council has cleared the air: the council has no plans to introduce emissions-based parking charges at its car parks.
The council owns several car parks across Bracknell, Crowthorne and Sandhurst. The biggest is The Avenue multi-storey in the town centre, which has 1,224 spaces and serves The Lexicon. That site has become more crucial since the 1,000-space High Street car park closed in October 2023.
Other large facilities include Braccan Walk, with 730 general spaces, and The Look Out car park in Crowthorne, with 300 spaces.
Councils elsewhere have introduced emissions-based charges so drivers of more polluting vehicles pay more to park. Examples include the London boroughs of Hounslow, Newham, Lambeth and Lewisham, and Bath and North East Somerset. Reading Borough Council approved emissions-based charges for off-street, on-street and residential parking last November, ready for roll-out next month.
Councillor Guy Gillbe (Labour, Easthampstead & Wildridings), cabinet member for planning, transport and countryside, said: “We have no plans to introduce emissions-based parking charges in Bracknell Forest Council’s car parks.
“Our focus is on practical steps supporting cleaner travel and managing parking demand, including the Parking Standards Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) consultation, which has just been launched.
The consultation sets out the updated expectations for parking and electric vehicle charging in new developments. I’d encourage residents and businesses to take part in the consultation and share their views.”
The Parking Standards SPD deals with rules for new developments. Draft standards suggest more flexibility for parking in Bracknell town centre. The draft strategy states: “The town centre has been significantly redeveloped in recent years and further phases of redevelopment are ongoing at the time of writing.
“One of the key ambitions of the council is to ensure that we have a town centre fit for the 21st century.
“This SPD includes greater flexibility in the standards and how they are applied.”
That could clear the way for 'car-free' developments in future.
Elsewhere, the council will generally require one parking space per person for one and two-bed homes, with two spaces to be provided for two and three-bed homes, and three parking spaces per home for homes which have four beds or more.
The changes are being considered because the council’s current parking SPD, adopted in 2016, is now out of date. The consultation can be filled out online. The deadline for responses is 5pm on Tuesday, February 10.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
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