ESSEX county council wants to reverse Government rules on garage sizes so that vehicles can be removed from cluttered residential streets.The authority said the policy move to end the restriction on garage sizes would be linked with making new housing developments more accessible to cyclists and buses.

Graham Dines

ESSEX county council wants to reverse Government rules on garage sizes so that vehicles can be removed from cluttered residential streets.

The authority said the policy move to end the restriction on garage sizes would be linked with making new housing developments more accessible to cyclists and buses.

The proposals challenge previous Government attempts to reduce car ownership by limiting the amount of off-street parking spaces in residential developments and reducing the size of garages.

Norman Hume, cabinet member for highways and transportation at the council, said: “This new parking guidance is a radical break from the past failed approach, which has seen local communities blighted by parked cars which should and can be better accommodated into neighbourhoods.

"This consultation shows how we are challenging the failures of national policies affecting local communities here in Essex. I hope our new approach to parking provokes debate across the country about the kind of communities we want to live in.”