Parking and the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019

Part 6 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 introduced the statutory framework for a national ban on pavement parking, double parking and parking at dropped kerbs to make it easier for local authorities to ensure our pavements and roads are safer and more accessible to all.

We are currently working on the secondary legislation and parking standards guidance that will underpin the enforcement of these parking prohibitions for introduction in 2023.

Key provisions include:

  • Providing local authorities with powers to enforce the national ban
  • The ability for local authorities to promote exemptions from the national ban, but they will be required to meet strict criteria
  • The Bill provides exceptions to certain vehicles if they are involved in emergencies or delivering goods
  • Detailed standards and guidance will be produced for local authorities to deliver a consistent approach in how they enforce the new parking restrictions
  • Providing local authorities with powers to share services with other councils to enforce the new restrictions
  • Requiring local authorities to keep accounts in relation to the money they receive from the enforcement of the new restrictions

Want to learn more?

We ran a series of consultations to help develop the Transport Bill. You can look back at the Improving Parking in Scotland consultation as well as read the responses and our analysis.

A further consultation on Pre-Implementation Directions and Regulations for Local Authorities was concluded in March 2022. Analysis from this consultation will be published in due course.

In addition to this, a suite of secondary legislation is required for this prohibition to give local authorities the power to implement and enforce the prohibitions. The majority of the secondary legislation is likely to be in place later in 2022. Some aspects however, such as the appeals process for those who wish to appeal a ticket issued for pavement parking, may not be in place until 2023.

You might also like to read more about Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) and where it operates in Scotland. If you’re a local authority, guidance on DPE is also available.

For more information see the Policy Memorandum on the Scottish Parliament website.