Street Parking on Estates: Bracknell Forest

Peter Swallow Excerpts

Wednesday 4th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

I am delighted to have secured this Adjournment debate on an issue that might not be right at the top of the political agenda, but affects the lives of hundreds of people in my constituency every day: street parking on residential estates in Bracknell. It is a topic that comes up on the doorstep perhaps more than any other, particularly in parts of Bracknell where we have older estates. It is a real challenge for people; it affects not only their ability to get around our fantastic community, but in some cases their safety.

One of the core challenges we face is the mismatch between older estate design and modern car ownership. Bracknell is an older new town. It celebrated its 75th birthday last year, and while it was designed with an excellent active travel network, which is built into its DNA, it was also designed around the car. It is an easy place to get around by car. We are lucky that we do not see massive issues with traffic jams and the like, but people still rely on their cars, as is the case in many towns across the country. The challenge is that many estates across Bracknell, particularly in Wildridings, Great Hollands and Easthampstead, were built when households typically had one small vehicle, if that. Now, many households have more than one car, and the cars are larger to boot. Also, because of the nature of the housing market, we increasingly see more generations living in the same family home, which only further compounds the issue.

The garages built alongside the estates that I am talking about in Bracknell Forest were built for a different kind of car. They are narrow, and many no longer fit cars of the size that people drive today. The obvious conclusion to all this is exactly what we see: vehicles spilling out on to roads, verges and pavements. Where households do not have a driveway, it causes a huge challenge around space.

[Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech, and I think he is about to describe the incredible pressure that many residents feel because of parking problems, whether that is difficulty parking near their home, difficulty walking along a pavement because of pavement parking, or one of many other problems. It drives people absolutely crazy. There is real pressure on communities up and down the country, in my experience. Does he agree that, to help ease some of this, the Government should have a new look at existing regulations, at further refining residents’ parking schemes, and at the more tricky issues, such as cases where one person or a group of people parking again and again on an unrestricted road? In my constituency, I have had issues when people commuting to work have parked on the same road time and again, which can be frustrating for residents. As my hon. Friend says, the basic problem is that there are many more vehicles nowadays, and it is difficult to accommodate parking needs, but we must try.

--- Later in debate ---

[Peter Swallow]

I thank my hon. Friend for that insightful intervention. In Bracknell Forest, we have few permit parking zones, because they simply would not work for our community. The point that he makes is absolutely correct, and I will come back time and again in this debate to the need for local areas to come up with local solutions to these local problems. Ultimately, communities like his in Reading and mine in Bracknell Forest know best what the solutions are to some of these endemic issues.

[Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank my hon. Friend for the speech he is making. This issue plagues residents in my area, too. Two particular problems are: parking around school pick-up and drop-off—I wonder whether he has found the same—and, in unadopted estates, real difficulties with enforcement when there is dangerous parking. Does this issue need to be addressed by local authorities, as well as the Government?

[Peter Swallow]

Absolutely. My hon. Friend’s point about the challenge around schools is well made. We all want to see more young people and families walking and cycling to school, but in some communities, that just is not possible. Also, we have to be realistic: in some communities, it just does not happen. The end result is what we often see in streets such as Staplehurst in Great Hollands, where there is a lot of conflict between those going to pick up their kids from school and the families who live there, who just need to get out without having their movements dictated by the timings of the school day. It is a real challenge. In those situations, local solutions need to be the vehicle that takes us forward, if the House will pardon the pun.

Enforcement is a really important part of the puzzle. On some streets in Bracknell Forest, at any hour of any day, a traffic warden could litter all the cars with tickets. Frankly, if there is not the parking infrastructure to allow cars to park, enforcement can only go so far, so although it is absolutely part of the solution, it is not the only part.

[Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)]

I thank my constituency neighbour for giving way, and congratulate him on securing this Adjournment debate. As he knows, Binfield in my constituency is part of Bracknell Forest. An issue in Binfield is commercial businesses being run from residential properties, which often creates increased demand for parking. I really support the hon. Gentleman’s call for localised support and action to target this issue. Would he like to work together with Bracknell Forest and me to come up with a solution?

[Peter Swallow]

That sounds like an excellent campaign. I have to say that I have not necessarily identified that issue in my part of Bracknell Forest, but perhaps the hon. Gentleman and I could have a further discussion in the Tea Room on that very important issue.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I spoke to the hon. Gentleman before the debate, and I congratulate him on bringing forward this issue. In my constituency of Strangford, which is very similar to his, there are estates where the houses were built in the ’60s and ’70s. The roads are narrow and were never built for households with two or more cars, and the situation is aggravated when young people learn to drive. The Department back home came up with the idea of enabling those who have driveways to have a white line put across them, so that cars cannot park in front. That is okay in theory, but it does not work, because cars have to go in and out, and there is a problem when cars park beyond the line. As the hon. Gentleman knows, that leads to frustration, anger and fisticuffs, and to neighbours falling out. If there is to be an initiative from this House—we look to the Minister for that—it has to start with legislation or direction from this place. Then councils can have responsibility for taking it to the next stage. Again, well done to the hon. Gentleman for bringing forward this issue. There is not one of us in this House who does not agree with him.

[Peter Swallow]

May I say what an honour it is to be intervened on by the hon. Member? I will take his suggestion and flip it on its head. I feel that local solutions are the best way to tackle what are often local issues, and part of the reason for that is exactly what we have heard today from Members across the House: in every community and on almost every street, different issues cause the parking woes to which the hon. Member so powerfully refers. Parking is perhaps the greatest example of an issue that must be tackled from the bottom up, and this place can empower local leaders to come forward with common-sense answers and strategies to address these very real issues in our communities.

In Bracknell Forest, there are estates where a large number of homes without driveways were once council houses. They are now in private ownership, but the estates themselves have been transferred to the social housing association Abri. That makes the issue even trickier to address. Bracknell Forest council is working hard to tackle this issue in exactly the proactive and practical way to which I have referred, and it has been undertaking a scheme to convert grass verges into additional parking spaces, almost road by road. The council is identifying underused grass verges and converting them into usable and safe parking bays, and that is being done in partnership with Abri. It is an excellent example of what can be achieved when councils and housing associations work collaboratively to address shared challenges. That has not always been easy, and it has involved complex legal issues around transferring ownership from social housing providers to the council, but I thank both the council and Abri for working proactively together to address the concerns. I also make it clear that this is not a silver bullet. Such schemes are making a real difference in parts of Bracknell Forest, but I am fully aware that this is not enough and challenges remain.

It would be fantastic to see Government take more action to support local authorities to work with social housing providers in delivering such small-scale, locally targeted infrastructure improvements. It is not about massive investment or a complex solution but an obvious, common-sense one: unlocking existing local potential by simplifying the process. Of course, I recognise that converting grass verges may be anathema to some. Let me be clear: I support access to green space, and I do not want to see every corner of Bracknell Forest tarmacked over.

[Matt Rodda]

Again, my hon. Friend is making an excellent point. May I remind him that there is a great deal of underused brownfield land that can sometimes be made available for parking? In my constituency, I worked previously as a councillor on a scheme to tarmac an unadopted road, which my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Alice Macdonald) mentioned, and unadopted roads and other areas of hardstanding that are not formally used for parking can be converted without any loss of green space.

[Peter Swallow]

That is a fantastic point, and it again reinforces the local need for finding solutions. As in Bracknell Forest where cars are already parked on grass verges because of the lack of parking spaces—tearing up the grass and in some cases causing safety concerns such as blocking blind corners—it is also common sense to convert some of the verges in a safer way into proper parking spaces. Rather than taking away valuable green space, it ensures that we better protect the grass verges that we do need.

Another growing pressure on our estates, which is very much on the Government’s radar, is the need to transition to electric vehicles. As things stand, EV charging on housing estates with roadside-only parking is almost impossible for many residents. Without driveways or off-street bays, there is nowhere to install a home charger. Charging cables trailing across pavements are a serious safety concern for pedestrians, wheelchair users and families alike. Bracknell Forest council has been leading the way in installing charging infrastructure in council car parks, and there is good coverage for those who need to charge.

However, there is a challenge. It cannot be right that households with a driveway, who are more likely to be affluent already, can access cheaper and easier EV charging at home without paying VAT, while households without a driveway struggle to access charging at home and have to pay above the odds at rapid charging stations. It is not just a Bracknell issue; it is a national challenge. It is a critical barrier to equitable access to EVs, particularly for those living in older estates.

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising these very important issues, and his constituents will be delighted that he is doing so on their behalf. In Ealing, electric vehicle charging points have been a major concern for the council to ensure they meet the need. There are currently 900 electric vehicle charging points throughout the borough, but we need 1,800 by 2030. The council has been consulting on an electric vehicle roll-out strategy to take a strategic approach to the issue. Does he agree that other areas would benefit from taking a similar strategic approach to the roll-out of electric vehicle charging points?

[Peter Swallow]

Absolutely. That again goes to the point about local solutions being important. I thank the Government for their work on reforms set out by the National Energy System Operator to improve the speed at which EV charging infrastructure can be added to the grid. I will press on because I am conscious that we are fast approaching the witching hour.

Another technical but very real issue that makes it harder for local authorities up and down the country to introduce parking restrictions is that even simple localised restrictions can cost up to £1,000 in advertising fees because of the requirement, under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, to publicise them in a local newspaper. That is money not going towards tarmac or signage, but simply to advertising costs. As a result, residents can wait for months for a minor change that could immediately improve safety and accessibility.

Finally, I shall touch on pavement parking, which I know is a divisive subject. Many Members have argued that it should be illegal to park on pavements, and I understand why they hold such a view. I recognise how difficult it is for people with pushchairs as well as disabled people, especially blind people, to navigate pavements when cars are parked. I have also met and heard from a fantastic charity, Sustrans, on this issue. But the reality is that if we enforce a total ban on pavement parking in Bracknell Forest, there will simply be nowhere left to park. On many narrow estates, pavement parking is the only way the road can remain passable. That is why I support giving local authorities the powers to decide where to ban pavement parking based on local needs and knowledge. Again, this is about local flexibility. Councils know their communities best and communities know what is best for them. Let us trust them to make the right calls and empower them to tackle this really significant issue facing so many families in Bracknell Forest and across the country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Swallow Excerpts

Monday 7th April 2025 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

1. What steps she is taking to build new towns.

[Ben Goldsborough (South Norfolk) (Lab)]

6. What recent progress she has made on the new towns programme.

[The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Angela Rayner)]

Our vision for the next generation of new towns is setting the stage for a house building revolution in the years to come. These will be well-connected, attractive places with all the infrastructure and services needed to sustain thriving communities, including public transport, GP surgeries and schools.

[Peter Swallow]

Bracknell was designated a new town 76 years ago in the aftermath of world war two, and it has been a huge success, in part because of the way it was designed, with leisure facilities, access to nature and transport links built into the town’s DNA. As the Government look to build the next generation of new towns, will my right hon. Friend commit to learning from the new towns that went before?

[Angela Rayner]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. There is a lot to admire from the past, including in new towns such as Bracknell. We are learning the lessons from the past for our next generation of new towns, to ensure that they are well connected, well designed, sustainable and attractive places, where people want to live, and it is important that they have the infrastructure, amenities and services that they need to thrive.

--- Later in debate ---

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

T4. I alluded earlier to Bracknell being 76 years old. One of the challenges we face, especially in our older estates, is insufficient parking. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how the Government, the council and social housing providers can work together to address this issue?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Alex Norris)]

We are determined to drive up standards across the private parking sector, and my colleagues in the Department for Transport are across the other elements of the parking sector. We will announce our plans regarding the private parking code of practice in due course, and I would be very happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss this issue further.

Community Engagement Principles and Extremism Definition

Peter Swallow Excerpts

Tuesday 21st January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alex Norris]

I do not know what in particular the right hon. Gentleman is referring to—[Interruption.] Well, he did not have to use coded language if he meant a specific incident. There is rightly a distinction between what the Government of the day do and what the police do. We are not here to direct the police. In line with what I have said, however, all public bodies need to be careful about the language they use because it has real-world consequences.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

Members across the House will know how important community engagement is to building strong communities, and that working together with those whose views we may not share but can respect is really important. I want to pay tribute to the fantastic work of the Bracknell Forest Interfaith Forum for doing exactly that in my community. The Conservatives, when in government, cut funding to the Inter Faith Network, which was working at national level. What can we do to support organisations such as the Bracknell Forest Interfaith Forum to bring religious groups together and to help us understand that we do indeed have more in common than that which divides us?

[Alex Norris]

There was real sadness when the previous Government moved away from interfaith as a model. My hon. Friend the Faith Minister has been clear about how important he thinks it is, and that is why promoting interfaith work has been a core part of the work he has done so far.

English Devolution

Peter Swallow Excerpts

Monday 16th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jim McMahon]

I do not want to get myself into neighbourhood disputes—there are not enough hours in the day. I hope that it will be clear from reading the White Paper that this is not a forcing together, but a genuine distribution of power from a centralising state to communities where it really matters. My hope is that local disputes, some of which I am sure are well rehearsed and go back a long time, are put to one side. In the end, the prize is the greater good, which is for the benefit of all.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

I welcome the Minister’s recognition that unitary authorities deliver for residents. Bracknell Forest council is an example of a unitary authority promoting a strong sense of place and delivering economic growth. Although it is small, it is mighty. Will my hon. Friend agree to work with Bracknell Forest council to develop a plan that works for Bracknell?

[Jim McMahon]

We are absolutely committed to working in partnership, giving capacity and time to ensure that those local nuances are reflected in whatever follows.

Planning Committees: Reform

Peter Swallow Excerpts

Monday 9th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

Two weekends ago, while knocking on doors, I met a mother who lives with her two adult children. Both those children have professional jobs and earn decent salaries, yet cannot afford their own home, so they are stuck living back in the family home while they save up the money that they need. The housing crisis that the Government inherited has ended the dream of home ownership for too many young people. Will the Minister set out what more we can do to ensure that the dream of home ownership is open to everyone in my constituency?

[Matthew Pennycook]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As I say, we inherited an acute and entrenched housing crisis, with 1.3 million people languishing on social housing waiting lists and a generation locked out of home ownership. To their shame, the Conservative Government passed on a situation where 150,000 homeless children are in temporary accommodation as we speak. We have to build the homes that our people need, and we are determined to do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Swallow Excerpts

Monday 2nd December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Alex Norris]

I completely understand the challenge. Drawing a line between qualifying and non-qualifying leaseholders—between people who own a property and therefore suffer from things that have been beyond their control, and landlords that are businesses and therefore have multiple assets—will always be a difficult job. At the edge, where the boundary between qualifying and non-qualifying becomes blurred, there are some difficult cases. As a new Government, we are committed to working with people to understand better how we can go forward on that. As for the substantive point on where the liability should lie, it is about finding the right balance between those who built the building and those who live in it.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

Will the Minister commit to working with local authorities to use new powers to run high street rental auctions, so that we can end the affront of empty shops this Christmas?

[Alex Norris]

Yes. High street rental auctions, which were launched at the weekend, are a brilliant way—[Interruption.] Indeed; they were part of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, which I am sad to say the previous Government did not commence—as part of the war on woke, I believe. Nevertheless, we have commenced those auctions. They are a tool in the hands of local communities; if there are vacant properties, let us get them brought back into use.

Employment Rights Bill

Peter Swallow Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 21st October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

Let me start by proudly declaring that, like 1.3 million working Brits, I am a member of Unison. Bracknell is a fantastic place to do business, and since my election I have spoken to plenty of businesses in my community, from SMEs to international businesses. In speaking with them, two things have come out time and again. First, there is relief that they finally have a Government who will put economic stability at the heart of everything they do, instead of chaos. Secondly, there is recognition that the Bill will be good not only for their workers but for businesses, because well supported staff who have more control over their lives and more reliable hours will work harder and for longer.

Workers who can adjust their terms, who are free from the threat of dismissal right after starting a family, who are entitled to leave after a loved one’s death, who are given the time to recover when they are sick, who no longer face exploitative zero-hours contracts or fire and rehire, and who are free from harassment are obviously happier and more committed. Indeed, many Bracknell businesses already offer many of the rights in this Bill, because they recognise that doing so makes them more attractive to good, skilled workers.

This Government are pro-business, pro-growth and pro-worker, and this Bill demonstrates that commitment. I note that the chief executive officer of the CBI, Rain Newton-Smith, has said:

“The government deserves credit for its willingness to engage with businesses and unions”.

There is a body of economic research that substantiates what we all feel to be true: workers’ rights are the foundations of a resilient, growing economy.

[Nick Timothy]

The hon. Gentleman just quoted the CBI approvingly. Can he name the chief executive of a real business who approves of this Bill?

[Peter Swallow]

I have spoken to many chief executives in my constituency who approve of this Bill. I will not go into private conversations, because I have not warned them that I was about to quote them in the House, but I am sure that we will hear many such examples in contributions from other Members.

This Bill will bring in historic new rights for working people. It will make work pay, and it will be good for boosting our national productivity and supporting businesses and growth in this country, because we all know that when workers feel that the jobs that they do are valued, they contribute more to the economy. That is why this Bill is good not only for workers but for businesses.

Renters’ Rights Bill

Peter Swallow Excerpts

Wednesday 9th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

The rental sector is not working. Nearly one fifth of households in England are in the private rented sector, and today these 4.6 million renters might be turfed out of house and home with little notice and minimal justification. They are subject to steep rent increases, bidding wars and discrimination for starting a family or being on benefits, and too often they have to choose between giving up a beloved family pet and being turfed out on to the street. Too many live in substandard or even dangerous accommodation, with limited recourse to hold landlords to account.

As rents tick up above inflation like clockwork, saving in any respect for renters has become a Sisyphean task, meaning that home ownership, parenthood and a basic sense of stability become impossible dreams. In the past year, rents in Bracknell Forest have shot up by almost 12% —a figure far higher than for the rest of the south-east and the UK. That is yet another damaging consequence of the Conservative party’s shocking mishandling of the economy, and the inevitable result of 14 years of failure to address the housing crisis. That is why my constituents, including a young couple who reached out to me recently, are keen to see the Bill passed. They have just had their first child, a daughter, and even after years of working, they cannot afford a deposit while paying rising rents and meeting increasing food, energy and fuel bills.

There cannot be a growing future for a country that denies too many of its families the basic right to security and a decent home. The Bill brings forward long-overdue common-sense changes to increase safety and fairness. It asserts the right of tenants to make more decisions about their home, and introduces a fairer arbitration process for disputes and the right to request a pet—a welcome new right for the many animal lovers in my constituency.

The Conservatives said for years that they would end no-fault evictions. That claim was in both the 2019 and 2024 Conservative party manifestos, though the shadow Secretary of State has today disowned those commitments. The Labour party will not just talk about ending no-fault evictions; we will deliver on that. The Bill will also end rental bidding. This desperately needed measure will stop private renters, who already have the shortest notice period in which to find accommodation of any household type, from being undercut at the last minute and left scrambling around for a replacement property, with the risk of having to pay more for something worse. The Bill introduces a mechanism through which renters can challenge unfair rent increases, while ensuring that landlords can increase rents in line with market increases. It prevents tenants from being hit by multiple rent increases in a year.

The Bill will also extend Awaab’s law to the private sector for the first time, requiring private landlords to address issues such as damp and mould swiftly. The Government are bringing in a new decent homes standard, so that no one is forced to live in unsafe accommodation. These measures will save lives and end the discrepancy between the social and private rented sectors. Importantly, they will also level the playing field for the many decent landlords across the country who already do right by their tenants, and who are too often undercut by far less decent landlords.

These issues are found in my constituency and across the country, so it is a shame to see so few Conservative Members standing up for the renters in their constituency. The Bill will make renting easier, more affordable and more secure for tenants, while providing clarity and assurance to landlords. It will reset the balance between tenants and landlords, so that the system is fairer for everyone. After five years of Tory talk about rental reform, Labour is getting on and delivering real change for working people and renters in Bracknell Forest, and real change across England.