Salford Royal Hospital area

The parking surveys were undertaken by Salford City Council’s Traffic and Transportation Team between Tuesday 3 October 2023 and Wednesday 18 October 2023. Officers visited the area to observe the parking levels and then used that information to propose any changes to the existing permit scheme. The proposed scheme was sent to residents of the existing and proposed expansion area in the informal consultation letter (dated 17 October, reference TRO 2555 / L/PSH/SCC006/01248). Following that a scheme will be formally advertised and the residents will have another opportunity to make representations. 

The parking survey area was selected using a ‘15 minutes’ walk’ approach where it’s anticipated that this is the walking distance that most commuters would do on a daily basis. Then the survey area was extended with a view to checking the existing parking situation and potential effects for residents if a new permit scheme was developed in the ‘15 minutes walk’ zone.

Each of the areas has been visited a minimum four times during the survey period. Two of the visits were during the time of operation of the existing Resident’s Permit Parking Scheme, to capture areas affected by the Hospital commuters as well as usage of the limited waiting parking places available for all drivers. Two visits were outside the time of operation of the existing parking scheme. This is to capture number of vehicles belonging primarily to the residents and to see the overall on-street parking availability.

The conclusion was that the existing permit parking area should not be reduced. 

Salford City Council received complaints about the evening and night Hospital staff parking in the areas, where the scheme does not operate 24 hours, seven days a week. For consistency and more effective enforcement it was therefore proposed to introduce area wide 24 hours, seven days a week Residents’ Permit Parking Scheme. This would also help areas currently without evening/night parking issue, as the parking problem could move to these areas.

This proposed expansion was sent to residents as informal consultation, seeking their views before official advertisement.

The expansion would cover areas where the residents are currently experiencing the highest levels of parking. The parking problem in the area is also a mixture of other trip generators such as Monton commuters, Eccles Town Centre, medical centres or schools.

It should be noted that there will be a degree of commuters parking, however it is considered that if the parking is moved further, it should not cause major daily issues. If implemented, the new scheme will be surveyed to check its performance and the areas outside the permit expansion zone will be also monitored. If the feedback from this is that Hospital parking has been displaced further out then we could look to expand the permit scheme further.

The implementation of the digital platform addresses key areas of service improvement, detailed as follows (each individual scheme benefiting from some if not all of the following enhancements):

• Enhanced accessibility and responsiveness: Residents and the council have 24-hour access to the digital permitting system, resulting in quicker application processing and more responsive handling of requests, such as vehicle registration mark (VRM) changes.
• Elimination of postal delays: Applications no longer rely on postal delivery, reducing waiting times and improving the overall efficiency of the service.
• Secure payment methods (if applicable): Online payments offer a safe, secure, and user-friendly experience.
• Reduced risk of lost permits: Digital permits eliminate the common problem of misplaced or unreturned paper permits, especially from visitors or contractors.
• Prevention of unnecessary Penalty Charge Notices: Vehicles are no longer at risk of being penalised for failing to display a physical permit, resolving issues such as permits falling out of view or becoming obscured.
• Time savings for residents: Residents benefit from avoiding the need to appeal penalties caused by physical permit issues.
• Optimised permit management: The system ensures only eligible permit holders occupy residential spaces, maximising on-street parking availability for residents.
• Environmental sustainability: The move significantly reduces the carbon footprint by cutting down on paper, ink, and postal resources, also the human resources to sort and envelop paper permits.
• Health and safety: The reduction in paper-based processes also aligns with measures to minimise the spread of infections and diseases, a consideration that emerged during the pandemic.

We are having discussions whether paper permits will be provided for those residents who opt-out of the digital set-up. However, please be advised, that the online permit arrangement is easier to manage and more responsive and can be managed online by the resident, relative or carer. The MiPermit system allows vehicle details to be changed as and when needed and the registrations stay on the system until removed or changed.

The comments made by the residents will be collated and reviewed before the formal advertising takes place. The Traffic Team will look at the areas where the residents are objecting to the proposals outlined in the informal consultation letter to see if these objections can be addressed.

The Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) has to be formally advertised for 21 days. The Traffic Team will look at the representations already made to see if they are feasible to include in the amended scheme. This scheme will be advertised in a local newspaper, on the Salford City Council website (this page will be updated with details), on site (in form of notices posted on site) and in Swinton Gateway. If further objections are received, the scheme then has to be discussed at the Lead Member for Planning, Transport and Sustainable Development meeting where a decision will be made. The meetings are currently held online and an audio broadcast will be streamed live so that anybody with access to the Internet can listen to it. Any objectors to the proposal will be invited to the meeting and will be able to address the Lead Member directly.

The scheme will be advertised in a local newspaper, on the Salford City Council website (this page will be updated with details), on site (in form of notices posted on site) and in Swinton Gateway. We will send a notification e-mail as well to those residents who replied to the informal consultation.