Parking and Accessibility Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) consultation (stage two)

What's the latest?

Background

We previously consulted in 2021. During the Examination in Public hearings for the County Durham Plan, the planning inspector recommended that this guidance be reviewed and set out more formally as an SPD to support Policy 21 (Delivering Sustainable Transport) of the Plan.

What the document covers

The SPD sets out what types and amounts of parking a developer should provide at new residential and non-residential (including retail, employment, and leisure) developments which includes:

• general parking
• electric vehicles
• cycle parking
• disabled parking
• motorcycle parking

Making sure there is enough parking for a broad range of transport types will improve access for all and encourage the use of sustainable modes of transport.

Key proposed changes to the document

We have:

• changed the minimum number of parking spaces for residential houses, based on the number of bedrooms it has
• stated that visitor or non-allocated parking will be provided at one space for every four houses
• added more information around cycle parking, and split long stay from short stay cycle parking
• added text to encourage parking spaces on driveways to be in parallel
• changed the cycle parking requirements to be based on floor space where possible and for consistency with guidance
• increased electric vehicles (EV) passive ChargePoint requirements at destination have been from 10% to 20% of spaces
• added a requirement that all new houses should have a EV ChargePoint (minimum 7KW)
• added a buffer zone to the Durham City Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) in relation to the parking requirements for Purpose Built Student Accommodation

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