Dramatic cut in parking spaces on new housing estates in Midlothian
Parking spaces on new housing estates and other developments in Midlothian are set to be dramatically cut in a bid to crackdown on private car use.
New parking standards for developers in the county reduce the number of visitor spaces required in new residential site from one for every two houses to no more than one for every 20 homes.
And they will reduce the number of spaces for users of new sports facilities with golf courses to be told they can have no more than two spaces per hole and any stadium built with over 1500 capacity allowed no more than one space for every 150 seats.
A report due to go before Midlothian Council's planning committee next week for agreement says the new standards have been influenced by the Scottish Government's goal of reducing private car use.
It says previous policy which advised developers the minimum number of spaces required for housing will be replaced with new rules setting out the maximum allowed.
It will reduce the number of visitor spaces at residential estates to just five per cent of the number of homes – one in 20 – in towns with rural developments allowed up to 10 per cent.
The report says: 'A consequence of the proposed new parking standards is that provision of car parking will be reduced across new developments,
including in new residential developments.
'The parking standard will apply across a whole development; it will therefore be incumbent on those developing proposals to accommodate the parking standards within the design of the whole development.'
As well as reducing the number of visitor parking spaces allowed, the new standards also require that 10 per cent of those provided have an electric charger in place, however to qualify for that in towns the development would have to have at least 200 new homes built.
The report says the new parking standards were put through a 'targeted consultation' which involved community councils, Homes for Scotland and internal sections of the council.
They cover new build larger stadiums which face a change of one parking space for every 15 seats to one for every 150 seats swimming pools being allowed a maximum of one space per 25 square metres when it used to be a minimum of one every 10 square metres and golf courses reduced from two and a half spaces per hole to two spaces.
Minimum cycle parking places and EV charger spaces will also be introduced across all new developments. Councillors will be asked to agree to the new standards next week.
By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter
Like this:
Like
Related
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
24 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Rangers shareholder meeting could get hairy because 49ers have misread the room already
Russell Martin looks poised to be the next Rangers manager and, as ever with the big issues in Scottish football, the Hotline has some thoughts. Let's start in the blue corner of Glasgow where Gordon Hendry, Ochiltree, said: "I would suggest that if Russell Martin gets the job, the people responsible for recruiting the new manager have been left with no other option given the timescale involved. I would suggest that the panel could not meet the expectations of some of the other frontrunners and or there were other implications that the fans are unaware of. "If Russell gets the job he is a very lucky man given his past record but good luck to him and I and other Rangers fans will just have to accept it. However, I think there will be few at board level will have some serious question to answer at our shareholders meeting on the 23rd June." Stephen Johnstone, Ardentinny, said: "Every ex manager, and ones in present managerial positions, have been linked to the vacant job at Ibrox but in my eyes they have missed a trick in not keeping Barry Ferguson as he has the credentials and leadership. With the right transfer kitty available he could overcome Celtic. As Aberdeen proved in the Scottish Cup, Brendan Rodgers ' team are past their sell-by date." Willie Mercer, Dumfries, said: "If the new owners of Rangers are about to name Russell Martin as the new manage then it appears that they have totally misread the room, and will have alienated a large number of Rangers supporters already, with what is viewed as a disappointing and underwhelming appointment. Time will tell whether he can end Celtic's dominance, but that is the one thing Russell Martin will not be afforded." Across the city, Arrin Geddes, Irvine, said: "Mourinho, Ancelotti, Modric all linked with a move to Ibrox but the big name they're going to end up with is Russell Martin. Out of work since December after a disastrous time at Southampton and one solitary playoff promotion, no wonder the bluenoses are brimming with confidence." Sean McGarvey, Cumbernauld, said: "Will someone tell these balloons like Alec Morrison that there is no panic whatsoever amongst the Celtic supporters? It's mild amusement at the moment as we sit and wait for the idiotic bravado that's spouted every pre season as standard. The wheel of Rangers is turning again and it's f****** hilarious." It wasn't all Rangers though. Steven Pressley is the new Dundee manager and Tony Gibbens said: "Only in Dundee could United's record signing take charge of their bitter rivals — a summer treat for Arabs after being robbed of a Europa League place by Aberdeen!" Scott Bain has left Celtic to join Falkirk and Stephen Mulhern, Dumbarton, said: "With the problem surrounding the goalkeeper position that Steve Clarke has, it's encouraging for Scott Bain to throw his hat into the ring with him now back playing first-team football with newly promoted Falkirk. I always thought he was a very underestimated keeper at Celtic and at 33 can resurrect his international career." And Neil Lennon has big plans for Dunfermline as John Scott, Grassmoor, said: "I wish Neil Lennon well with his ambitions for Dunfermline. "Guys of my vintage remember Jim Leishman's Pars team filling the Dunbar End at Easter Road so it's not just Jock Stein he needs to emulate. The Premiership needs those fans back, along with the likes of Airdrie (Clydebank), Ayr, Morton and Raith. I can't for the life of me understand why we make it so hard for those teams to get back into the top flight. Let's be brutally honest, there's not much now between our Championship clubs and the bottom five in the Premiership. As Livingston so ably proved."
Telegraph
29 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Britain is now too poor for even virtue-signalling socialism
We have told the private equity barons to get lost, and might take Thames Water back into public ownership. We have renationalised the railways, slashing fares and buying some new rolling stock at the same time. And we have pumped plenty of fresh 'investment' into the steel industry as we save it from the ravages of free market capitalism. In some alternative universe, Britain's Labour Government would be indulging in some high-profile virtue signalling this week. In this one, unfortunately, a very different narrative is unfolding. It turns out that we are now too poor for even socialism – we have already run out of 'other people's money'. This should have been the week for a Labour Government with a huge majority to indulge its Big State instincts. It is surely clear to everyone that Thames Water is now broken, and it will inevitably require some form of bail-out from the Government if the taps and the sewers in the capital are to keep operating. Whichever bright spark at Ofwat who decided to impose a massive fine on Thames Water only last week, and whichever civil servant who approved it, must be feeling a little sheepish now that the private equity giant KKR has pulled out of rescue talks. The Government might be expected to step in with a plan to take it into state ownership. The problem is the Treasury doesn't have the money, either to service its debts or to repair the pipes. Instead, it is scrabbling around for some other form of refinancing. Likewise, last week the Government should have been celebrating the return of South West Railways to public ownership. We should have expected some razzmatazz, with red flags fluttering on the platforms of Poole and Dorchester, free tea handed out in a Marx mug, and some flashy Tik Toks about the 'People's Railway'. It didn't happen. Instead, the very first 'public train' you could catch was a rail replacement bus running from Waterloo to Woking. True, there was a quickly repainted 'Great British Railways' logo, but that was where the budget ran out. As relaunches go, it was about as flat as a glass of warm prosecco on the delayed train to Cornwall. Meanwhile, the Government may soon be forced to take what remains of British Steel into public ownership as its Chinese owners grow tired of its mounting losses. But the Government doesn't have the cash to spend. Add it all up, and one point is clear: the UK is now too poor for virtue-signalling socialism. That national debt is close to hitting 100 per cent of GDP, and will almost certainly punch through that crucial barrier over the summer. Taxes are running at a 70-year high, but the budget deficit keeps getting wider and wider, with the Chancellor racking up an extra £20 billion of debt in April alone. Receipts are falling with entrepreneurs and nom-doms fleeing the country, and the growth the Starmer administration promised has failed to materialise. Mrs Thatcher once famously observed that: 'the problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money'. Unfortunately for Sir Keir Starmer's Government, the money had already mostly run out before it took office, and what little was left in the kitty was immediately frittered away on higher public sector wages. We can all argue about whether it is better for the water industry, the railways, or steel manufacturing to be in the public or the private sector. And yet we could probably all agree on this point: Britain's crumbling infrastructure, and its shrinking manufacturing base, need more money spent on them. This should have been the perfect month to demonstrate what the public sector can do. Unfortunately, Britain is too poor to afford it any more – and until that changes, the virtue-signalling will have to remain on hold.
Western Telegraph
31 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Head of Nato suggests alliance should look to ‘equalise' US defence contribution
Secretary-general Mark Rutte said allies will find themselves 'in great difficulty' in the coming years if they stick with the current 2% GDP alliance spending target. The former Dutch prime minister is thought to be pushing for members to commit to spending 3.5% on the military, with a further 1.5% on defence-related measures. America currently spends around 3.4% of its GDP on defence, and Nato members are expected to spend 2%. Sir Keir Starmer aims to increase defence spending to 3% over the next parliament (PA) Sir Keir Starmer has committed to spend 2.5% of gross domestic product on defence from April 2027, with a goal of increasing that to 3% over the next parliament, a timetable which could stretch to 2034. However, he and the Defence Secretary have already come under pressure to explain how the 3% target could be met. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Mr Rutte said: 'The expectation is that on the European side of Nato and the Canadian side of Nato, if we think that we can keep ourselves safe sticking with the 2%, forget it. 'Yes, the next three to five years, but then we are in great difficulty. And the US rightly expects us to spend much more to defend ourselves with their help, but also to equalise, which is only fair with what the US is spending on defence.' Defence Secretary John Healey said the Government's defence review 'has Nato at its heart' (PA) Leaders from Nato will meet in The Hague later this month, and Mr Rutte said a new 'investment plan' will be 'at the heart' of the summit. Defence Secretary John Healey said on Tuesday the UK already 'makes a huge contribution to Nato' amid speculation about what the body will call for. 'Britain already makes a huge contribution to Nato,' he told reporters. 'We've published a defence review that has Nato at its heart and I'm announcing today the new spending in this Parliament, £4 billion, doubling the amount that we'll put into drones. 'We'll make a bigger contribution to Nato through that, and £1 billion over this Parliament to develop laser weapons, the first European nation in Nato to have laser weapons on our destroyers and then with our land forces. 'This is Britain leading in Nato, contributing more to Nato, just as we do, for instance, with our nuclear deterrent, the only country with a nuclear deterrent that commits it in full to other Nato nations.'
