Councils could be forced to review the way it handles parking charges and fines. That’s according to Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, who wants to empower local residents and encourage more traffic into the UK’s town centres.

Following a government consultation on the issue, once a certain number or percentage of a community have signed a petition on the topic, town halls will be compelled to review parking arrangements.

Getting more traffic into town centres is seen by many as a way of revitalising the country’s high streets, which have been badly affected by years of recession. Giving people at least half an hour of free parking is seen as a key way to do this, suggests Pickles. Planning minister Nick Boles goes even further than this; he wants his local council in Grantham to give residents two hours of free parking.

The government claims it has reversed Labour’s approach to parking – which it says encouraged councils to increase fines and charges for those parking in town centres.

Local councils make an estimated £1.3bn a year from parking charges and fines.

The key notion of the government consultation – that if enough people sign a petition it should trigger a town hall review – is similar to one operating in the House of Commons already.  Once 100,000 people sign a petition on the government website, a full debate on the topic must take place.

The news has caused much debate online. Parking charges and fines have become a substantial part of the UK motorist’s outgoings, perhaps amounting to more than annual maintenance costs for some drivers, and certainly more than affordable annual breakdown cover from startrescue.co.uk!

Do you think free parking in Britain’s town centres will revitalise our shops and restaurants? Or are there deeper issues facing the high street that cannot be addressed by free parking?