A BLITZ on parking by a new team of traffic wardens has been delayed for two months.

Councils across East Lancashire were due to take control of on-street parking enforcement from police on July 5 -- with dozens of new traffic wardens due to hit the streets.

But the councils involved -- Hyndburn, Ribble Valley, Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale -- have been told by the Department for Transport that it won't have the paperwork ready in time to officially give the authorities power to control parking on the roads.

The move has now been put back to Sunday, September 5 -- effectively giving motorists two months' grace. Blackburn with Darwen Council is due to introduce the new scheme in October.

Police have already deployed many of their traffic wardens to other duties.

The new scheme, which is being co-ordinated by Lancashire County Council, will see car parking company NCP administer the service.

NCP hit the headlines last year after it was revealed it paid attendants bonuses if they met ticketing targets.

The new system has been described by Lancashire County Council as a 'parking management and control system' and is called ParkWise.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "Plans for informing the public of the introduction of ParkWise were already well in hand by both the county council and the 12 district councils involved in the project.

"These will have to be stopped, amended and rescheduled to start again nearer September. Some materials have already been published, however - council magazines, for example -- and obviously these cannot now be withdrawn although both the county and district councils will do their best to minimise any possible confusion the change of date may cause."

A BLITZ on parking by a new team of traffic wardens has been delayed for two months.

Councils across East Lancashire were due to take control of on-street parking enforcement from police on July 5 -- with dozens of new traffic wardens due to hit the streets.

But the councils involved -- Hyndburn, Ribble Valley, Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale -- have been told by the Department for Transport that it won't have the paperwork ready in time to officially give the authorities power to control parking on the roads.

The move has now been put back to Sunday, September 5 -- effectively giving motorists two months grace. Blackburn with Darwen Council is due to introduce the new scheme in October.

Police have already deployed many of their traffic wardens to other duties.

The new scheme, which is being co-ordinated by Lancashire County Council, will see car parking company NCP administer the service.

NCP hit the headlines last year after it was revealed it paid attendants bonuses if they met ticketing targets.

The new system has been described by Lancashire County Council as a 'parking management and control system' and is called ParkWise.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "Plans for informing the public of the introduction of ParkWise were already well in hand by both the county council and the 12 district councils involved in the project.

"These will have to be stopped, amended and rescheduled to start again nearer September. Some materials have already been published, however - council magazines, for example -- and obviously these cannot now be withdrawn although both the county and district councils will do their best to minimise any possible confusion the change of date may cause."