New law means drivers could soon be fined £70 for parking on the pavement
The Department of Transport (DfT) opened a public consultation into whether "a change of existing pavement parking legislation should occur" in England and Wales.
Drivers across the country are being warned they could face a £70 fine in a matter of months for parking on the pavement.
In case you didn’t know, the Department of Transport (DfT) opened a public consultation last August – which is currently ongoing – into whether “a change of existing pavement parking legislation should occur” in England and Wales, and if this is passed into law, it could see the practice of pavement parking either banned nationwide, or see local councils awarded more power to tackle the issue.
According to the gov.uk website, the consultation is proposing three options:
Improving the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) process, under which local authorities can already prohibit pavement parking.
A legislative change to allow local authorities with civil parking enforcement powers to enforce against ‘unnecessary obstruction of the pavement’.
A legislative change to introduce a London-style pavement parking prohibition throughout England.
The news of the consultation nearing conclusion comes as recent research has revealed that a quarter of motorists said they were unsure of the rules around parking on pavements.
While many motorists may choose to park on a pavement just to avoid blocking a narrow road or simply for their convenience, this decision is what could see them risking a £70 charge as pavements are there to provide a safe footpath for pedestrians.
When the footpath is blocked by cars parking on the pavement, pedestrians often have to resort to using the road in order to get around vehicles.
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Other recent research by blind and visual impairment charity Guide Dogs indicated that 32% of people with visual impairments and 48% of wheelchair users are less keen to go out on their own because of antisocial pavement parking.
Drivers are being warned they could face a £70 fine for parking on the pavement / Credit: IPTC (Ronald Hudson)
Speaking on the proposed changes and how they will affect drivers in the coming months, Alex Kindred – Car Insurance Expert at Confused.com – said: “What may seem a small inconvenience to some, might be a huge hindrance to others, but it’s important to remember that pavements are there for the use and safety of pedestrians only, and therefore should be respected by all other road users.
“However, without a clearer understanding of the law around pavement parking, it’ll be hard to implement fines to drivers who break the rules.”
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He continued: “The current laws around pavement parking can be quite confusing, which is why it’s difficult at times to prosecute drivers, but with consultations ongoing for England and Wales, with Scotland already pioneering the way to make a big change, drivers should be wary that changes could come into force sooner rather than later.
“Councils will be given a bigger responsibility and penalty charges could be issued.
“The laws around parking on pavements is just one of many new driving laws coming into effect this year, with road user safety at the forefront of each.”
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Mancunian has been named one of the ‘most attractive’ accents in the UK
Emily Sergeant
Manchester is, once again, celebrating what we already know – our accent is one of the “most attractive” in the UK.
In case you missed it, earlier this year, Manchester welcomed in 2023 with the news that our city’s accent had been named the “sexiest” the country has to offer – with a survey of 2,500 people by casino comparison site Best Casinos discovering that over half of respondents ranked it the most pleasing regional accent to the ear.
And now it turns out that that survey wasn’t a fluke, because a new study has called the Manchester accent one of the “most attractive” in the UK.
On a top 10 list compiled from the findings of a new survey of 2,000 people aged 18 to 55+ by online language tutoring service Preply, the Mancunian accent has claimed a pretty respectable fifth place.
But while there’s no doubt we can hold our heads high and be proud of claiming a spot in the top 10, this title does become a bit less impressive when you realise which other regional varieties have placed higher than us.
Mancunian has been named one of the ‘most attractive’ accents in the UK / Credit: Preply | Pexels
Fellow Northern accents Scouse and Geordie have taken second and third place on the list respectably, and the Welsh capital’s Cardiff accent rounding out the top five.
For us northerners, the grim reading continues when you learn that the London accent has clinched the top spot.
The Most Attractive Accents in the UK
London
Liverpool
Newcastle
Cardiff
Manchester
Glasgow
Birmingham
Bristol
Leeds
According to Preply, 21% of women survey respondents voted for the London accent as the most attractive in the UK, compared with just 15% of men, while 10.4% of the population picked the unique sound of the Liverpool accent as second best.
Only 8.7% of survey respondents considered the Mancunian accent to be the most attractive.
The results from this survey do, at least, go some way to shattering the findings from two surveys published last year that found the Manchester accent is considered to be one of the ‘least respected’ nationwide, especially in the corporate world of work, and that Northerners with strong accents are considered ‘less intelligent’.
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The first bright yellow Bee Network bus has hit the streets of Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester residents will soon start to see bright yellow double decker buses travelling the region’s streets in the coming weeks.
With exactly six months to go before Greater Manchester “brings buses back under local control”, Mayor Andy Burnham has joined a number of other local leaders in unveiling the brand-new ‘Bee Network’ co-branded buses.
In what marks the biggest change to transport in Greater Manchester for almost 40 years, according to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), bus operator Diamond – which currently runs services in Bolton – has teamed up with Go North West to run the first franchised services in Wigan, Bolton, and parts of Salford and Bury from September this year.
Diamond has agreed to start transforming their buses into Bee Network ones from this week, with more set to appear on the roads every month.
The first bright yellow double decker bus has now hit the streets of Bolton, and is serving the number 8 route – which connects Bolton and Manchester city centre via Farnworth and Salford.
The Bee Network is coming in September.
But from April you might see some yellow buses out and about. 🚌
If one of your buses is now yellow, please contact your bus operator in the usual way if you need them. 👍 #GetOnBoard for more info 👇
— Transport for Greater Manchester 🚲🚶🏾♀️ (@OfficialTfGM) March 24, 2023
As already announced by TfGM and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), when franchising is officially introduced on 24 September 2023, 50 brand-new electric Bee Network buses will hit the streets on day one, alongside new ‘Euro VI’ vehicles, and dozens more co-branded buses from the existing fleet.
A further 50 electric buses will then be introduced onto the network in March 2024, which is when the second part of franchising starts.
All of the 270 new electric Bee Network buses will be fully accessible, with wheelchair bays, hearing induction loops, audio and visual announcement systems, and anti-slip flooring.
Mayor Andy Burnham said the first Bee Network bus entering service is “very much the start of our journey”, and added that the scheme will “ultimately deliver a greener, integrated and more inclusive transport system that will transform how people travel around our city-region.”
The first bright yellow Bee Network bus has hit the streets of Greater Manchester / Credit: TfGM
Transport Commissioner Vernon Everitt also called the first bus’s introduction onto the streets as “a further significant step” towards the integration of the Bee Network and the “transformation” of public transport and active travel in the region.
He continued: “From September we’ll also have dozens of new state-of-the-art buses serving passengers in Wigan, Bolton, and parts of Salford and Bury.
“These will be the first of many across Greater Manchester that will, alongside the new lower fares – which are already increasing ridership – and improvements to travel information, improve bus travel for everyone who lives and works here.”
Emily Sergeant -
4th February 2022 
