County Hall is to set aside �300,000 towards the cost of parking enforcement to fill the void left after police cut backs on the traffic wardens.With Norfolk Constabulary focussing funds on employing more PCSOs the number of traffic wardens has halved with only 14 covering the county, while Norwich has its own separate council run scheme.

County Hall is to set aside �300,000 towards the cost of parking enforcement to fill the void left after police cut backs on the traffic wardens.

With Norfolk Constabulary focussing funds on employing more PCSOs the number of traffic wardens has halved with only 14 covering the county, while Norwich has its own separate council run scheme.

But moves for councils to set up a successor scheme have stalled after the local government review made them wary of setting up a scheme only to see it scrapped if a new unitary system is created.

Now the council is putting in the cash partly to help police maintain the status quo and also to look at alternative council-run schemes.

Adrian Gunson, cabinet member for planning and transportation said the council was well aware of the need to act in the meantime and some of the funds would go to the police to pay for enforcement beyond April.

“We can't do more than we are doing which is to maintain the status quo,” he said. “It would be a waste of public money to set up a scheme which might only last a year.

“Some of the �300,000 is for the police for enforcement and some for the further development of a possible scheme which we can have on the shelf when we know for sure what is happening with the local government review.”