A proposal from the town Constable to ensure every new home comes with a parking space has attracted strong criticism from the Enviromment Minister, who argues it could add up to £410 a month to a typical mortgage, making it harder for first-time buyers and low-income households to get on the property ladder.

Constable Simon Crowcroft seeking to have planning guidance updated so that new housing developments would include a minimum of one parking space per unit of accommodation “where practicable”.

Current parking policy “discriminatory”

Constable Crowcroft argued that planning’s current thinking that “people who live in town don’t need cars, and if they have them they will contribute to traffic congestion” is “flawed”.

“To deny town dwellers the same right of car ownership as is enjoyed by residents of rural parishes is discriminatory. It also unfairly penalises people whose choice of town living brings with it the exposure to the higher levels of air pollution caused by vehicle use than affects rural and coastal dwellers,” he added.

But Environment Minister Deputy Steve Luce urged States Members to reject the move when it comes up for debate later this month, describing it as both “environmentally regressive and economically inefficient”.

Deputy Steve Luce said the cost of providing a single car parking space is estimated at between £30,000 and £70,000, calling the financial implications of a blanket policy “significant”.

He went on to claim that “mandating car parking spaces for every home reinforces car dependency at a time when Jersey should be accelerating its efforts to reduce emissions and promote sustainable travel”.

Current parking spaces unsold, claims Minister

The Environment Minister added that a blanket requirement on parking spaces removes flexibility, and could force homeowners and developers to pay for infrastructure they may not need or use.

“Numerous examples of this already exist,” he said. “The Horizon development, on the St Helier Waterfront, provides 280 apartments with 194 car parking spaces: four of the parking spaces remain unsold.”

Deputy Luce said that the financial implications of this part of the proposition are “significant”, explaining that the cost of providing a car parking space is estimated at between £30,000 and £70,000 which can add around up to £410 per month to a typical mortgage.

This can reduce affordability for first-time buyers and low-income households, he added.

Calls for new off-street car parks

In the second part of his proposition, Mr Crowcroft called for the creation of new off-street car parks that would be “prioritised” for drivers with reduced mobility, shoppers and visitors, as long as this was in line with the Bridging Island Plan, an island-wide planning document.

But Deputy Luce said this part of the proposition “lacks purposeful substance and can be considered benign” because the Bridging Island Plan already sets the framework for car park development, most planning decisions are not made by the Minister, and the current policy does not support new standalone car parks beyond temporary, short-stay shopper parking.

The matter is due to be debated in the States Assembly on 21 October at the earliest.