Kingsdown and Clifton – first Bristol areas to have new residents' parking zones

Residents' parking zones could come into force in two areas of Bristol by the end of next year.

The city council plans to introduce the controversial pilot schemes to Kingsdown and Brandon Hill in Clifton.

More than 3,000 households would be affected by the permanent measures which, if approved, would be in place by December 2009.

The two zones were chosen after a consultation carried out earlier this year showed more than half the residents living in the areas were in favour of some kind of parking permit scheme.

A further consultation process with residents in the affected areas will take place in new year if the council's ruling Labour cabinet decides to press ahead with the scheme when it meets on November 27.

If it does, the city council will spend around £810,000 putting the schemes in place and a further £235,000 a year to keep it up and running.

Permits will cost £30 for one car, a further £80 for a second car and an extra £200 for households whose owners want to park three cars.

In homes which are divided into flats, each council tax payer will be able to apply for their own pass, costing £30 each for the first car.

And permits for visitors will be issued, with the first 50 being free and the second 50 costing £1 each.

Extra pay-and-display zones will be set up around streets in the areas where businesses depend on passing trade – such as shops and hairdressers.

Parking there is likely to be free for the first 15 minutes of a stay.

Other issues, such as the number of permits allowed for multi-occupancy homes and the maximum number of permits allowed per household, are yet to be decided and will be subject to further consultation.

Permits will be attached to the household and likely to be allocated according to vehicle registration.

In all, 53,000 homes around the fringes of the city centre were consulted over the prospect of having residents parking zones in force 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

By the end of the six-week consultation on August 1 this year, more than 13,000 responses were received, along with another 200 letters and 400 emails.

Kingsdown and Brandon Hill were two of the areas with the most positive feedback – more than 50 per cent in both cases.

These areas are now set to have further public consultation as to the exact proposals: which roads the zone would extend to, hours of operation and so on.

The zones would then need to be further publicised before coming into effect by December 2009.

Mark Bradshaw, Bristol City Council's executive member in charge of transport, said: "This is an opportunity for us to really get to grips with the traffic issues that affect these areas. When they are in operation I think the majority of people will actually welcome them, although I am aware that there may be a knock-on effect to streets on the boundaries of these areas.

"The revenue raised from these schemes will be separate from the rest of the council budget and will not be allowed to be used for anything else.

"It will be an open book, so people will be able to see what goes in and what goes out in terms of expenditure.

"The idea that this is a cash cow for the city council is complete and utter rubbish – if we wanted to raise money then trust me, this would not be the way to do it."

The plan will go before the city council's scrutiny commission on November 24 and before the city council cabinet on November 27.