In response to the latest Covid-19 restrictions, Dartford Borough Council has suspended parking charges in all of its pay and display car parks. The step is designed to assist shoppers making journeys for essential supplies, and also provides options for residents in streets where additional day time car parking pressures arises from more neighbours working from home.
The conditions applying to Resident Parking Schemes have also been relaxed to reflect the likelihood of more family members working from home. Whilst parking not linked to households within the scheme will continue to be prohibited, visitor permits issued to local residents who are part of the scheme will not be subject to daily renewal or expiry. A single visitor permit may be deployed on a vehicle until further notice.
Our adoption of these common-sense operational arrangements does not mean that traffic regulations and orders have been suspended. The council will enforce regulations if parking behaviours impact upon the safety or convenience of other road users or pedestrians. By working together and parking sensibly, we can keep each other safe.
The steps we have taken mean that frontline NHS and healthcare staff, along with community volunteers and responders engaged in Covid-19 support activity, should find parking easier. In the unlikely event of a penalty being issued to anyone in this cohort, they should contact Parking Services via the information on the ticket for us to review and resolve.