Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Local authority definition

What does Local authority mean? In legal practice, a local authority is the elected council that provides local government for a defined area, exercising statutory functions including planning, housing, social care, education, highways, environmental health, licensing, and the collection of council tax or rates. The expression appears widely in legislation and case law; its precise scope is set by the relevant statute. England: county councils and district councils (including metropolitan boroughs), unitary authorities, London Boroughs and the Common Council of the City of London; parish and town councils are local authorities at the most local tier. Wales: unitary county and county borough councils. Scotland: the...

On-Street Parking under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984: Local Authority Powers to Designate, Control and Charge (including meters, devices and accounts)

Published by a LexisNexis Local Government expert

Practice notes

Local authorities

This Practice Note identifies which local authorities may authorise and regulate on-street parking, stressing that the competence is confined to roads and requires the consent of the highway authority or any other person charged with maintaining the road. It also sets out how councils can impose charges for designated on-street parking places, including through parking meters and other parking devices.

At common law, leaving a vehicle on a highway constitutes an obstruction of the public right of passage, yet stopping has always been permitted for loading and unloading, and (for reasonable periods) during meal breaks or where there is mechanical breakdown. In any case, it is arguably not a genuine obstruction (ie not a nuisance at common law) if there is ample space for traffic to pass the parked vehicle. The Road Traffic Regulation Acts addressed this by authorising certain local authorities to allow on-street parking. With permission came regulation and, in turn, parking charges. Outside Greater London, the bodies empowered to permit and control on-street parking are the county councils and the unitary (metropolitan district) councils...

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Brendon Lee

HCR Law

Brendon is a Partner in the Planning and Highways Environmental Team at HCR Law. He deals with a range of contentious and non-contentious planning and environmental matters encompassing planning control and heritage assets, highways and related public access issues, and compulsory acquisition orders. Brendon is a member of the Compulsory Purchase Association, UK Environmental Law Association, and the Institute of Public Rights of Way....

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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