Parking

Under the Road Traffic Act 1984, as amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991, powers were transferred from the police to the council under decriminalising legislation, enabling it to employ Civil Enforcement Officers to carry out patrols and enforce the parking restrictions in and around Medway. Medway Council started this enforcement in January 2000.

However the Traffic Management Act 2004 has repealed and replaced the provisions of the Road Traffic Act 1991,with effect from 31 March 2008. Parking regulations have remained largely similar, with some additional powers for councils and rights for motorists.

The Civil Enforcement Officers patrol all of the Medway area and cover on and off-street parking, including;

• car parks,
• residential areas,
• disabled bays,
• permit-only areas,
• all single and double yellow lines,
• school markings,
• pay and display areas,
• bus lane and bus stop enforcement.

Civil Enforcement Officers do not deal with:

• parking appeals,
• issuing permits,
• abandoned or untaxed vehicles,
• vehicles parked on the footway,
• vehicles parked on grass verges,
• vehicles causing an obstruction,
• white zig-zag lines,
• vehicles stopping on a pedestrian crossing area marked by white zig-zag lines,
• courtesy disabled bays, i.e. where no post or disabled plate is on display.

They are, however, able to deal with ticket machine breakdowns and calls from members of the public where a specific enforcement problem has arisen.

The contact phone numbers below are staffed from 7am until 7pm, Monday to Friday and from 7am to 5pm on Saturday. All phones have a message-answering facility and any calls received outside these times will be answered as soon as possible.

The council's Parking Section also has staff to operate both multi-storey car parks in Chatham.

Due to the high demand on the service, it is not always possible to deal with individual requests on the day they arrive. Letters will be answered within 10 working days and telephone messages will be replied to as soon as possible.

There is no rapid response facility for parking enforcement but the council will enforce parking restrictions when requested as soon as possible.

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