Group promises to suspend fines on pavement parking

A political group in Oldham has promised to suspend fines on illegal pavement parking in some parts of the borough – sparking online backlash.

Last week, the Oldham Group posted flyers to homes in the town centre that pledged ‘NOT to FINE motorists in inner wards for parking on pavements’. 

An image of the flyer posted on Facebook received more than 100 comments. Residents slammed the pledge as ‘public endangerment’, with wheelchair users and parents with prams describing how they are often forced into the road when footpaths are parked up. 

One local mum, Karuna Mohandas, said: “The amount of times I’ve struggled with a pram, it’s a nightmare. Having to go on the road to get past is not safe at all!” 

Town hall boss and Labour councillor Arooj Shah also criticised the election promise, calling it ‘a postcode lottery on basic safety’. Other political groups hit out at the plans as a ‘two-tier approach’ that would further divide the town, or stated it offered ‘no real solution’. 

The Oldham Group leader Cllr Kamran Ghafoor has defended the pledge. He acknowledged pavement parking could be a problem for disabled residents and families with prams. But, he argued, residents are already ‘left with no choice’ but to park on pavements to allow emergency vehicles, bin lorries, and other traffic to pass on the borough’s narrow roads.

“[Labour] are attempting to introduce stricter enforcement without putting proper parking solutions in place,” Cllr Ghafoor said. “It’s a revenue-generating exercise that will hit ordinary residents the hardest, particularly at a time when many families are already under financial pressure.
“Our position is clear and unapologetic: we will not support fining residents where no reasonable parking provision exists.

“Enforcement should only come after the council has delivered realistic, accessible parking solutions for the communities affected. Until then, penalising people for simply trying to park near their homes is unjust.”
The group has not yet explained how it intends to deliver more parking. 

Parking scarcity is an issue across the borough of Oldham – and many neighbouring Greater Manchester districts. Narrow terraced streets built in the Victorian era were not built for the level of car ownership that is widespread today. 

But Oldham is also afflicted in a number of non-residential hotspots such as on Union Street, where cars are regularly filmed mounting the pavement at speed, blocking tramlines, or parking with all four wheels on the walkway. 

Last summer, the council revealed it was looking at options to turn the road into a ‘red route’ – effectively banning all cars from stopping except emergency vehicles, blue badge holders, and hackney carriage taxis. 

In January this year, the government announced plans to give local authorities the power to crackdown on pavement parking where it caused ‘unnecessary obstruction’ to pedestrians. 

Explaining the importance of enforcement, Erik Matthies, a Policy Lead for the Royal National Institute of Blind People said: “New RNIB research has found vehicles parked on the pavement are still the biggest barrier that blind and partially sighted people face when trying to walk alone, with 82 per cent saying it’s an issue and 92 per cent saying they have had to walk into the road due to street obstacles. 

“Reckless pavement parking forces blind and partially sighted people into the road and potentially into the path of moving vehicles they can’t see. This is stressful and highly dangerous for both pedestrians and others.”

All the main political groups standing in the election on May 7 were asked how they would address the dual-issue of parking scarcity and pavement parking in Oldham town centre. 

Greens
Stephanie Beverley, Green Party candidate for Chadderton South said: “While we have compassion for residents’ parking challenges, a blanket pledge not to fine pavement parking would put vulnerable pedestrians at risk and offers no real solution to the underlying parking problems residents face. Safety must come before convenience.

“Our approach addresses both sides of the issue: enforcement and infrastructure. We support clear and consistent enforcement against unsafe and obstructive pavement parking. We also believe the root cause – insufficient and poorly planned parking – must be tackled. Green candidates would push for a comprehensive review of parking provision across Oldham, working with residents to identify pressure points and explore solutions such as better-designed on-street parking, better use of underutilised spaces, and, where appropriate, the creation of additional parking that does not come at the expense of green space or community needs.

“At the same time, we want to reduce long-term reliance on cars by improving public transport, walking, and cycling infrastructure.” 
Labour

Speaking on behalf of Oldham Labour, Cllr Shah said: “Choosing not to enforce [pavement parking] in inner wards sends the message that some communities deserve less protection than others. If it’s dangerous in one part of Oldham, it’s dangerous everywhere. This isn’t a serious solution — it’s avoiding the problem instead of fixing it.
“Oldham Labour believes all of our residents deserve safe, accessible streets in every ward, not selective enforcement. We know there needs to be a balanced approach because some of our streets weren’t designed for as many cars as there are these days, but we need to tackle this by having honest, grown up conversations and encouraging residents to be considerate when they park.”

Reform UK
A Reform UK Oldham spokesman said: “If you live in the right area, you get leniency, if you don’t, you carry on being fined and being made to follow the rules. That is not fairness nor anyway to run a Council, we even doubt that it is legal. 
“This is a two tier approach to parking fines and part of a growing sectarian approach to politics in this town which both Labour and Oldham Group have been peddling. Reform UK will work to fix this town, not divide it and we will make sure the rules apply equally to everyone – not just some.”

Lib Dems
The Liberal Democrats did not wish to provide a comment, but have previously urged the council to make use of the new enforcement rules to crackdown on pavement parking. 

Conservatives
The Conservative Group did not respond to a request for comment.