Pavement parking allowed by half of councils in England

The National Federation of the Blind has called for a full pavement parking ban, arguing any parking on pavements “damages them in the longer term, leaving them in a worse state for pedestrians”.

Rob Moulds, 57, from Birmingham, is visually impaired and uses a cane when walking. He compared trying to find a path between bins and cars as being “like a pinball machine”.

“You’re going from left to right, constantly hitting obstacles. It’s disgraceful.”

He said he understood the problem of a lack of parking, but argued the solution should not “be then to impact pedestrians because that’s unfair on the pedestrians”.

“Why are we being hindered? Why are we being penalised?”

Another Fordhouse Lane resident, Clive Hawkins, said the road would be “manic” if cars were not parked on the pavement, as it is used regularly by ambulances and buses.

“There are plots round the back where you’ve got garages but there’s not enough to put all the cars, so obviously they have to stay where they are,” he said.

Councillor Harris Khaliq, Birmingham City Council’s cabinet member for city operations and digital, acknowledged the difficulties pavement parking could cause for walkers, cyclists and the disabled, but confirmed it was allowed in some locations in the city.

“The council has been pushing for new powers to keep pavements clear and has welcomed the government’s decision to grant councils new powers,” he said.

“We are awaiting guidance from government to help local authorities use these powers in a proportionate and locally appropriate way.”

Birmingham is not the only council putting parking spaces on pavements. Of the 164 local authorities who responded to a BBC Freedom of Information request, just over half confirmed they do it too.

Only five of the 84 councils that have placed parking spaces on pavements said they had plans to remove those spaces.

The number of licensed vehicles in the UK hit a record high last year, with 42.3 million as of December 2025.

Cars have also been getting wider, with critics dubbing the trend ‘carspreading’.

But pre-existing roads cannot simply expand, leaving less room for more cars.

A few parts of the UK have a general pavement-parking ban: London, Exeter and the whole of Scotland. Elsewhere, only the police can take enforcement action against vehicles blocking the pavement.

But the government has said it would give councils new enforcement powers against unnecessary pavement obstructions. From September, it will allow councils to take action outside of areas where a Traffic Regulation Order is in place.

In London, 27 of the capital’s 33 local authorities said in their FOI responses that they allowed exceptions to the pavement parking ban through bays or signage in some locations.