The government plans to implement a pavement ban across the country as part of its decentralization initiative. The English Devolution White Paper, which was released yesterday and granted mayors significant new authority, cited pavement parking as an example of "an action to address at a national level."The government 'will expect Strategic Authorities to play a leading role in adopting a consistent approach to enforcement across their area, using available authorities as necessary' as part of the 'largest transfer of authority out of Westminster to England's regions this century.The White Paper also promises to publish a formal response to the 2020 pavement parking consultation.

Although the response to that consultation – which closed in November 2020 - remains unknown at present, a survey published this month found just 18 per cent of motorists would be against the move.The research from Venson Automotive Solutions revealed 46 per cent of motorists agreed pavement parking, already banned in London and Edinburgh, should also be banned in other towns and cities.Reasons for being in favour of a pavement parking ban include concerns around the accessibility of pavements for vulnerable pedestrians, as well as limitations on pedestrians being able to cross the road safely.The proposed nationwide enforcement change comes after the Local Government Association (LGA) called on the Government to ban pavement parking earlier this year.

The LGA -which represents councils in England and Wales - said councils should be given powers to fine drivers who block footpaths, describing motorists who park on the pavement as a 'scourge' on wheelchair users, the blind and parents with pushchairs.England is currently behind Scotland and Wales when it comes to pavement parking bans.

The Scottish Government brought in nationwide legislation last year which outlawed pavement parking in a bid to make pavements more accessible and safer.

Local authorities can dish out fines of £100 if they identify drivers parking on pavements and blocking the footway for pedestrians. The fine amount is reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days. 

In September Glasgow was the latest city in Scotland to implement the ban, with Aberdeen and Edinburgh already having bans in place.

Wales is currently under a period of consultation, but as of April 2023, the Welsh government decided to delay the consultation until 2024. However, there are some pavement parking ban trials underway in Cardiff on certain roads.

In England pavement parking is already banned across London.A Department for Transport spokesperson told This is Money in September: 'Accessibility is a priority, and we recognise the problems pavement parking can cause for people, especially those with mobility or sight impairments.

'We will be reviewing the options available to us'.

The ex-Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh, previously voiced her support for such measures, in order to protect vulnerable road users.

Haigh previously told MPs on the Transport Committee: 'I completely recognise how important it is for accessibility.

'We're considering what options we have available, because we want to make sure that any measures are not burdensome on local authorities and are done in the most effective way. But I am really committed to responding to the consultation as quickly as possible.

'How pavement parking is dangerous for pedestrians:

The LGA says older and disabled people, as well as parents with pushchairs and younger children, are regularly forced to navigate around vehicles which are mounted on the kerb or across the footway.

By doing so, it puts these pedestrians at greater risk when stepping into the road and oncoming traffic - a hazard to blind and partially sighted people.

In 2023 a Guide Dogs' campaign called for national restrictions on pavement parking, saying a 'clear law is needed where pavement parking is the exception, not the norm, to ensure that everyone can walk.

Drivers are aware pavement parking impacts safety: 

Research conducted on its behalf of the charity by YouGov in September 2023 found 85 per cent of people know that pavement parking impacts the safety of pedestrians with a vision impairment. 

And 72 per cent said pavement parking is common where they live.

It also polled local councillors and found 95 per cent believe it creates a safety risk for pedestrians with a vision impairment, with 70 per cent admitting pavement parking is a problem in their areas.

This is Money has contacted the Department for Transport for comment. 

'I've been verbally abused by drivers when I've asked if they can move their cars to let me pass...' 

Julie Pilsworth, 45, from Grimsby is registered blind after she was diagnosed with glaucoma, and, due to a catalogue of health problems also uses a mobility chair. 

In addition to this, she is the main carer for her 25-year-old son, Ash, who is also disabled.

Maeve, Julie's guide dog for four years, helps Julie navigate while she's out and about, allowing her to independently visit places like the doctors, shops or the chemist to collect Ash's medication.

But she says pavement parking has created a 'daily battle' for her. 

When drivers park across the pavement, she often cannot fit her mobility chair though the gap left between the parked car and the wall. 

Maeve is also specially trained to stop if she does not believe the chair can fit through the space. 

One occasion, when Julie tried to squeeze past using her white cane, prior to working with Maeve, she knocked her head on an outstanding wing mirror, leaving her with a huge lump.

An added layer of difficulty is when cars park across dropped kerbs, where the pavement dips to meet the road. These are the only way Julie, as a mobility chair user, can safely leave the pavement, or risk tipping herself out of the chair by falling off the raised lip.

She said: 'I am not able to step into the road like other guide dog owners. It would be too dangerous because the chair would tip. I have to turn back and find a drop kerb to get into the road, but then there's the additional challenge of finding a drop kerb to get back up on the pavement once I have got around the pavement parking.

'Sometimes I have to turn back and go twenty minutes the other way before I find somewhere suitable to exit the pavement. Due to my health problems, it is a really big issue if I'm struggling for time as I have conditions like bladder incontinence.'The difficulties pavement parking poses to Julie takes her back to a time before Maeve and the difficulties she faced without Maeve assistance.

'I felt like my life was nearly over because getting out and about was so difficult,' she says. 

'I used to drive and then my sight deteriorated so I had to stop, which was really upsetting. I got really down, and because getting out and about was becoming increasingly difficult, I felt like my life was nearly over. One day I just found it in me to think': 'I've got to find a way round this'.'

But since Julie was partnered with Maeve, life has totally changed. 

Julie says: 'The independence and confidence I've gained since having Maeve is huge. But pavement parking takes me right back - I just feel like giving up.'

She even recounts occasions where she has been taunted by drivers who are blocking her right of way. 

'I've experienced verbal abuse a number of times for simply telling a driver I cannot get past and asking them to move off the pavement,' Julie says. 

'I've been brought to tears by some of the abuse I have experienced. 

'I was so scared because obviously I couldn't see enough to know what was going on. And when you can't see what's going on around you, it is really frightening. You don't know if they're going to attack you.

'One person I spoke to ended up driving off at such speed in such an aggressive way that he almost hit an elderly man and a woman with a pram a few metres down the road…I was so scared.'

For Julie, experiencing pavement parking is dehumanising and is exacerbated by the lack of community awareness. 

She says: 'sometimes you think what's the point in even bothering to ask for help, you feel like a nuisance. You don't expect to be shouted at by people just because you've politely asked them if they can move their vehicles so you can get past. I should have the right to use the pavement like anyone else.'Julie wants more to be done and works hard to raise awareness of the issue, including launching her own Facebook page to educate others on the barriers pavement parking causes for partially sighted people and mobility chair users such as herself.

She says: 'The problem doesn't just stop with pavement parking. When you are in the road it doesn't seem like people slow down when going past - they are too busy with their own journeys. 

'It's terrifying being in the road with oncoming traffic, and I always say it's only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured.'

She adds: 'Every day is a struggle as it is, just getting by, but then when you're faced with pavement parkers that are extremely abusive and are shouting at you… I would say it's existing, really, rather than living.'

Julie is pushing for the government to change the laws around pavement parking and is also pushing for wider community awareness of the issue. 

She says: 'Pavement parking is so selfish, inconsiderate and dangerous. The government can do more, but it's just not happening. It should not have to take so many incidents for people to realise how bad an issue this is.'