Huntingdonshire District Council has rejected to introduce civil parking enforcement throughout the region.

Huntingdonshire District Council has rejected a proposal to introduce civil parking enforcement throughout the district.

At a meeting of full council on Wednesday (September 30) councillors were informed that the authority had decided not to become Cambridgeshire County Council’s agent in a civil parking scheme.

Executive leader for commercial activities, Councillor Robin Howe said: “We rejected this on cost grounds and we feel that current policing levels are strong enough to cope with parking enforcement.

“If we would have accepted it then we would have had to change in instructions and signage around Huntingdonshire.”

If councillors had decided to take on parking enforcement, powers to enforce and monitor parking offences would have been passed from the police to the county council, with the district council acting as agents in Huntingdonshire.

Cllr Howe said at the meeting that, if it is felt that the police cannot cope in the future, then the recommendation could be put back on the table.

“We are also looking at parking in the local community and we may review this next year,” added Cllr Howe.

The decision to not engage as an agent for civil parking enforcement was originally made by the district council’s cabinet at a meeting on Thursday, September 17.

A report delivered by Cllr Howe to cabinet said: “The outcome is the recommendation not to proceed with civil parking enforcement until a clearer case is made for such powers and the funding of the necessary highways infrastructure by the county council is confirmed, as part of the development of a robust traffic management plan for Huntingdonshire.”

It was reported that the set up costs for civil parking enforcement was estimated to be £75,000 with on-going operating costs of £50,000 to £250,000 per year, increasing with inflation.

The report stated that the service is: “operationally desirable but will not be financially viable”.