What's been going in the world of parking recently? We take a look below.

Bristol seeks residents' views on parking zones

Thousands of questionnaires have been delivered to the residents of Bristol in an attempt to capture their views on the city's new resident parking zones.

Mark Moran, a local businessman, came up with the initiative as he has questioned the way the scheme is being implemented. He told the BBC that it is "divisive" and "complicated", adding that he feels it has been thrust upon people.

The scheme has been met with much public indignation, with a disgruntled person driving a tank through one of the parking zones back in April in protest over the "lack of consultation".

To date, four zones have been created across Bristol, with the council expecting a total of 12 to be in operation by the spring of 2015.

Mayor George Ferguson, who has backed the scheme, has said he would welcome the feedback from the residents. He said that he has received positive reactions from residents living in the recently established zones.  

Cumbria scraps on-street parking charges

Plans to introduce on-street parking charges have been scrapped by Cumbria County Council, after facing public outrage, according to the News & Star.

The controversial proposals would have seen people being made to pay to park in places such as Workington, Whitehaven, Cockermouth, Carlisle and Penrith. Those from the business community argue that the charges would have hit them hard, as potential customers may have been discouraged from shopping.

Furthermore, proposals to charge residents £20 for parking permits have also been dropped. Originally, Cumbria County Council argued that the fees would have helped save almost £1 million a year to counteract the effect of government spending cuts.

However, after a consultation period, the council reportedly had legal concerns about introducing the charges.

Jim Savege, the council’s corporate director for environment and community services, told the News & Star: "It is clear that there are strong concerns about enforcement in both on-street parking and residents' permits. We agree. That's why we're bringing this back in-house."

'Parking nightmare' continues in West Bromwich

Community leaders in West Bromwich are struggling to find a solution for a parking issue residents are facing.

People living in a particular street have been struggling to find spaces near their homes as commuters and shoppers park there to avoid paying charges in the town centre.

To remedy this issue, Sandwell Council offered to provide residents with a permit to stop others using their space. However, following a consultation with residents, less than half were in favour, leading councillors to abandon the idea.

Patricia Davies, ward councillor, admitted that the council is struggling to find a solution that works. She added: "The residents' parking scheme we all felt was going to be the cure. But the questionnaires had a mixed response. We are desperate to sort this, so it was disappointing."

No further action will now be taken unless this issue is raised again.

Over 3,000 fines handed out in one Scunthorpe car park

An overwhelming number of motorists have been handed fines in one Scunthorpe car park as they are failing to observe the rule that allows them two hours of free parking.

In May, the local authority introduced the revision to boost shopping footfall in the town, but the change has caused cases of illegal parking to increase every month since.

New figures have revealed that between June and September, 3,092 motorists were handed on the spot fines of up to £70.

Trevor Laming, the council's assistant director for technical and environmental services, told the Scunthorpe Telegraph that the increase relates to off-street parking in car parks. He added:"This would suggest that despite our best efforts to publicise the changes and the requirement to still obtain a car parking permit, some drivers have not got the message."

However, it appears that the new rules are sinking in, as the number of fines issued in October dropped to 1,081 compared to the 1,148 handed out in September.

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