PLANS for a trial parking permit system in Cwmbran and Pontypool could be put on hold until the new pavement parking enforcement legislation comes in next year.

A report has outlined plans for a new permit parking scheme at Northville in Pontnewydd, Southville in Llantarnam and St James Field in Pontypool.

The trial hopes to tackle parking issues in residential areas, particularly “with on-street parking often oversubscribed”.

The report says: “Many people believe that residents permit parking is the answer to addressing parking issues, the majority of which in Torfaen, relate to a lack of residential on-street or nearby off-street parking facilities in streets throughout the borough.”

MORE NEWS:

However, from July 2022 councils will have enforcement responsibilities for pavement parking, and the council’s scrutiny committee agreed that any decision to run a permit parking trial should be put on hold until the effects of the new legislation can be felt.

Cllr Elizabeth Haynes said: “We should not be pursing this at the moment or take it further when the impact of pavement parking is still unknown.

“Now is the wrong time.”

Cllr Norma Parish said it would be best to wait for the Welsh Government to come out with their proposals.

Cllr Stuart Ashley said it was “rather sensible” to delay a decision.

He said: “I think we have a problem we need to deal with.

“We all have a problem I feel very much at the top end of the borough as much as the bottom end.

“We need to be able to deal with that separate from the permit scheme.”

No decision on when the permit parking trial could start has been made and the finer details have yet to be agreed.

However, the report says: “If a permit scheme is adopted it is recommended that financing the scheme is based on an initial charge of £50 which is applied to all residents’ permits and consideration is given to increasing this charge for second and subsequent permits to £100.”

The proposed cost of the permits caused concern among the councillors.

Cllr Haynes described it as “quite an obscenely high level”.

She said: “Year on year council tax rises, it really sits uncomfortable that we are potentially looking to set such a high charge.”

Cllr Parish said that some people would be prepared to pay the £50.

If the council did agree to pursue a trial then it would be open to consultation. It is not expected, however, that a trial would result in a roll-out of the scheme across the whole county borough.