Parking restrictions to start at charging bays

Parking restrictions and enforcement are being introduced at the new on-street electric vehicle charging bays in Northampton, to ensure they are available for people to use them.

In January 2022, on-street electric vehicle charging points were installed at seven locations across Northampton as part of West Northamptonshire Council’s partnership with the Virgin Park and Charge (VPACH2) project.

Each location has four parking bays. To minimise the impact on parking availability in the short term, two bays are for electric vehicles only while two bays can accommodate either electric or non-electric vehicles.

The enforcement will be for the electric only bays – marked ‘Electric Vehicles Only’ - and will start on April 11 at:

• St James' Park Road NN5 5EL
• Upper Thrift Street NN1 5HR
• Ardington Road NN1 5NE
• Barry Road NN1 5HU
• Oakwood Rd NN1 4SX
• Semilong Road NN2 6BU
• Vicarage Road NN5 7AX

To give residents time to adjust to the new parking arrangements, drivers who flout the parking restrictions during the first two weeks following enforcement will be issued with warnings, rather than penalty charge notices.

Full Penalty Charge Notices will be issued from Monday 25 April.

Having the right infrastructure in place is a crucial part of making electric vehicles more accessible to our residents.

The aim of this initiative was to improve electric vehicle charging facilities in residential areas, but that only works if people with electric vehicles can get access to the charge points, so this is an important next step in the project.Cllr Phil Larratt, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Transport, Highways, and Waste Services