Residents’ Parking Schemes

Oral Answers to Questions — Infrastructure – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 2:30 pm on 4 October 2016.

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Photo of Steven Agnew Steven Agnew Green 2:30, 4 October 2016

T7. Mr Agnew asked the Minister for Infrastructure for an update on the ongoing pilot schemes that he referred to in answer to a recent question for written answer on residents’ parking schemes for Bangor and Holywood. (AQT 282/16-21)

Photo of Christopher Hazzard Christopher Hazzard Sinn Féin

I do not have the information at hand about the specific residential schemes that you have mentioned. We are progressing with a couple of residential schemes, and I discussed those with officials last week.

The current policy, which came into force in 2007, has been an issue to date, and I have tasked officials to look at it. There is demand in many areas for these parking schemes, and we need to meet that demand in a number of areas. We will need a policy that equips us with the legal arguments to take cognisance of objections but move ahead in a fair-handed way.

Photo of Steven Agnew Steven Agnew Green

I thank the Minister for his answer. One of the first questions that I asked in the Assembly, in 2011, was about residents' parking schemes. The issue then was the hold-up in Belfast: now, five years on, what reassurance can he give my constituents that the hold-up in Belfast will not mean that we never get to North Down?

Photo of Christopher Hazzard Christopher Hazzard Sinn Féin

Let me reassure the Member that that will no longer be an excuse. When I came into post, residents in Derry made exactly the same complaint: that their scheme was being held up because we could not get agreement in Belfast. We decoupled the schemes straight away and were able to launch a pilot in Derry. I want to judge each case on its merits. It should not be a case of one town being held up because of another town when there is absolutely no resemblance to the case in hand.