North Yorkshire Council

Environment Executive Members

24 April 2025

Digitisation of the Councils On and Off-Street Parking

Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs)

Report of the Assistant Director – Highways and Infrastructure

1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT

1.1 To seek authority from the Corporate Director - Environment in consultation with the Executive Member for Highways and Transportation to procure a new Digital Traffic Regulation Order system (DTRO) in order to comply with statutory obligations.

2.0 BACKGROUND

2.1 The Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) in North Yorkshire, both On and Off – Street are largely paper based. They are authored, amended and kept largely by the seven area highways offices whilst the Off – Street orders were formerly managed by the borough and district council’s legal teams. The paper-based system, whilst well kept, have become increasingly more difficult to administer as the process of varying, amending, consulting and authoring is both time and resource consuming and inefficient. The Department for Transport (DfT) has now decreed that all highway authorities in England are to present any ‘new’ traffic orders in a DfT approved digital format to a national storage facility by the end of July 2025.

3.0 DETAILED PRESENTATION OF THE SUBSTANTIVE ISSUE

3.1 Digitising Traffic Regulation Orders (D-TROs) is a transformative initiative aimed at modernizing how traffic rules are managed in the UK. Traditional Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs), which are legal documents used to regulate traffic flow, parking, and road safety, are being replaced with digital versions. Here are the key features and benefits:

· Map-Based Records: D-TROs provide visual, map-based representations of traffic regulations, making them easier to understand.

· Real-Time Updates: Changes to traffic rules can be disseminated instantly, ensuring accuracy and accessibility.

· Integration with Technology: D-TROs are designed to work seamlessly with navigation apps, autonomous vehicle systems, and other smart city technologies.

· Enhanced Accessibility: The digital format improves transparency and public access to traffic information.

· Efficiency and Cost Savings: Digitization reduces administrative burdens, speeds up processes, and lowers costs.

3.2 This is expected to support better traffic management, facilitate the rollout of electric vehicle infrastructure, and prepare for future transportation needs.

4.0 CONSULTATION UNDERTAKEN AND RESPONSES

4.1 This project has been made under the auspices of the HAT27 Parking Transformation project group and all relevant directorates and services of the council are represented in this project.

5.0 ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED

5.1 The decision to move towards digital TROs has been made by central government and therefore the council needs to be complicit in order to comply with the statute that governs them so there are no alternative options available.

6.0 IMPACT ON OTHER SERVICES/ORGANISATIONS

6.1 This project impacts on the highways teams as they look after new and existing schemes that require TROs and Parking Services who operate Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) on behalf of the Council in its role as Highway Authority.

7.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

7.1 There are two parts to the financial implications, the first is revenue of which parking budget for 24-25 is £22.4m increasing to £25.2m in 25-26. TROs are the means by which revenues due are collected from parking activity, in both On and Off – Street parking places and DFT have decreed that all new traffic orders must be in a digital format. The new digital system will ensure NYC is complicit with the requirement and allow NYC to continue collect revenues.

7.2 The second implication is to procure a digital service provision and an indicative year on year cost for that is £40,000 a year based on 10 licences. It will also require a one – Off payment to have the highway network surveyed so that the existing TROs can also be incorporated into the new digital system and this funding was allocated from the last CPE report at £800,000.

8.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

8.1 Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) in England are primarily governed by the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. This legislation provides the legal framework for creating, implementing, and enforcing TROs, which regulate traffic flow, parking, and road safety measures. Additionally, the Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996 outline the procedural requirements for making these orders

9.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS

9.1 There are no equalities issues within this report and the screening document is contained in Appendix A.

10.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS

10.1 There is a positive impact upon the environment in that the current system is largely paper based and this proposal is for a digital system that does not require paper or printing. The Climate Change Assessment is at Appendix B.

11.0 PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

11.1 The current TRO system is largely paper based and as such is staff resource and storage intensive, it makes amendments and variations difficult to track particularly, as is the case with CPE they have to be lodged at Court, in this case the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) in Northampton. Digitisation will speed up the process, make it more interactive with other council systems and make consultations more efficient.

12.0 POLICY IMPLICATIONS

12.1 A new digital traffic order system will make policies more transparent and easier for public consumption and supports the Local Transport Plan

13.0 ICT IMPLICATIONS

13.1 It is intended, subject to procurement that this system will be a hosted service and therefore require minimum IT resource. IT have been consulted during the project process.

14.0 CONCLUSIONS

14.1 As part of the CPE process, PCNs must be administered in accordance with statute. To achieve this, it makes both professional and economic sense to have one system for processing PCNs and one permit system. It is also a good time to move away from paper-based permits to a self-service digital system while providing safeguards for vulnerable groups without internet access.

15.0 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION

15.1 A Penalty Charge processing system is necessary to comply with the statutory obligations of Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE).

16.0

RECOMMENDATION

16.1

To seek authority from the Corporate Director - Environment in consultation with the Executive Member for Highways and Transportation to procure a new Digital Traffic Order System.

APPENDICES:

Appendix A – EIA Assessment

Appendix B – Climate Change Assessment

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS: NONE

Barrie Mason

Assistant Director – Highways and Infrastructure

County Hall

Northallerton

Report Author – Steve Brown Head of Parking Services

Presenter of Report – Steve Brown Head of Parking Services

Initial equality impact assessment screening form This form records an equality screening process to determine the relevance of equality to a proposal, and a decision whether or not a full EIA would be appropriate or proportionate.
Directorate	Environment
Service area	Parking Services
Proposal being screened	Digital Traffic Regulation Order System
Officer(s) carrying out screening	Steve Brown Head of Parking Services
What are you proposing to do?	Procure a new Digital Traffic Regulation Order System
Why are you proposing this? What are the desired outcomes?	The DFT have issued a notice that Highway Authorities are to issue new Traffic Regulation Orders in a new DFT approved digital format from the end of July 2025.
Does the proposal involve a significant commitment or removal of resources? Please give details.	No
Impact on people with any of the following protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010, or NYC’s additional agreed characteristics As part of this assessment, please consider the following questions: · To what extent is this service used by particular groups of people with protected characteristics? No · Does the proposal relate to functions that previous consultation has identified as important? No · Do different groups have different needs or experiences in the area the proposal relates to? No. If for any characteristic it is considered that there is likely to be an adverse impact or you have ticked ‘Don’t know/no info available’, then a full EIA should be carried out where this is proportionate. You are advised to speak to your directorate representative for advice if you are in any doubt.
Protected characteristic		Potential for adverse impact				Don’t know/No info available
		Yes		No
Age				X
Disability				X
Sex				X
Race				X
Sexual orientation				X
Gender reassignment				X
Religion or belief				X
Pregnancy or maternity				X
Marriage or civil partnership				X

People in rural areas				X
People on a low income				X
Carer (unpaid family or friend)				X
Are from the Armed Forces Community				X
Does the proposal relate to an area where there are known inequalities/probable impacts (for example, disabled people’s access to public transport)? Please give details.		No.
Will the proposal have a significant effect on how other organisations operate? (for example, partners, funding criteria, etc.). Do any of these organisations support people with protected characteristics? Please explain why you have reached this conclusion.		No
Decision (Please tick one option)		EIA not relevant or proportionate:	X		Continue to full EIA:
Reason for decision		There are no equalities issues within this report
Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent)		Barrie Mason
Date		10/04/2025

Climate change impact assessment

The purpose of this assessment is to help us understand the likely impacts of our decisions on the environment of North Yorkshire and on our aspiration to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2030, or as close to that date as possible. The intention is to mitigate negative effects and identify projects which will have positive effects.

This document should be completed in consultation with the supporting guidance. The final document will be published as part of the decision making process and should be written in Plain English.

If you have any additional queries which are not covered by the guidance please email 5

Version 2: amended 11 August 2021

Title of proposal	Digital Traffic Regulation Order System (DTRO)
Brief description of proposal	To procure a new Digital Traffic Regulation Order System (DTRO)
Directorate	Environment
Service area	Parking Services
Lead officer	Steve Brown
Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the impact assessment	Jane Wilson Parking Policy and Technical Operations Manager
Date impact assessment started	24/03/2025

Options appraisal

Were any other options considered in trying to achieve the aim of this project? If so, please give brief details and explain why alternative options were not progressed.

This procurement emulates from a notice issued to councils by the DFT. That notice decrees that councils should only submit new Traffic Regulation Orders in a DFT approved digital format from July 2025. The current method adopted is largely paper based so there is no alternative option available.

What impact will this proposal have on council budgets? Will it be cost neutral, have increased cost or reduce costs?

Please explain briefly why this will be the result, detailing estimated savings or costs where this is possible.

The current Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO’s) are largely paper based, as an example the Harrogate On-Street waiting and stopping restriction orders are some 640 pages long so wholly inefficient this new system will have a ‘One Off’ cost for having the network surveyed and a new consolidation order provided as a result of the survey, the cost of this is to be met from the CPE surplice budget £850k has been put aside for this purpose. The new digital system will have annual costs that have yet to be determined at the procurement stage, but it is intended to meet this cost, again from the CPE budget.

How will this proposal impact on the environment? N.B. There may be short term negative impact and longer term positive impact. Please include all potential impacts over the lifetime of a project and provide an explanation.		Positive impact (Place a X in the box below where relevant)	No impact (Place a X in the box below where relevant)	Negative impact (Place a X in the box below where relevant)	Explain why will it have this effect and over what timescale? Where possible/relevant please include: · Changes over and above business as usual · Evidence or measurement of effect · Figures for CO₂e · Links to relevant documents	Explain how you plan to mitigate any negative impacts.	Explain how you plan to improve any positive outcomes as far as possible.
Minimise greenhouse gas emissions e.g. reducing emissions from travel, increasing energy efficiencies etc.	Emissions from travel		X
	Emissions from construction		X
	Emissions from running of buildings		X
	Emissions from data storage		X
	Other		X
Minimise waste: Reduce, reuse, recycle and compost e.g. reducing use of single use plastic		X			It is intended that the new DTRO system will be entirely paperless and will virtually eliminate the need for printing and storing of paper, so a positive impact on the environment and the climate objectives.	There are no negative impacts to this process, if somebody requires a copy the it can be provided either printed or electronically.	As the years progress more and more people will use online facilities further reducing the reliance upon paper.
Reduce water consumption			X
Minimise pollution (including air, land, water, light and noise)			X
Ensure resilience to the effects of climate change e.g. reducing flood risk, mitigating effects of drier, hotter summers			X
Enhance conservation and wildlife			X
Safeguard the distinctive characteristics, features and special qualities of North Yorkshire’s landscape			X
Other (please state below)			X

Are there any recognised good practice environmental standards in relation to this proposal? If so, please detail how this proposal meets those standards.

The Local Transport Plan which the Parking Principles supports has fundamental aims around the climate effects of traffic and the traffic order process supports this. The move to digital TRO’s significantly reduces paper, printing and postal arrangements thus aiding environmental and climate standards.

Summary Summarise the findings of your impact assessment, including impacts, the recommendation in relation to addressing impacts, including any legal advice, and next steps. This summary should be used as part of the report to the decision maker.

These DTRO system is necessary to comply with statute but equally provides the opportunity for the council to further enhance its climate and environmental standards by introducing digitised TRO’s. Equally, the DTRO’s will enhance the overall customer experience which is at the heart of everything that we do.

Sign off section

This climate change impact assessment was completed by:

Name	Steve Brown
Job title	Head of Parking Services
Service area	Parking
Directorate	Environment
Signature	Steve Brown
Completion date	24/03/2025

Authorised by relevant Assistant Director (signature): Barrie Mason

Date: 10/04/2025