Carlisle Council quashes drive's car park fine after public outcry.

Carlisle council quashes driver's car park fine after public outcry

By Thom Kennedy - 14th December 2010

News & Star

A motorist whose parking ticket caused an outpouring of public support has had his penalty
notice cancelled.

Donald Austin parked his Jaguar in the space at the edge of the civic centre car park in Lowther Street, most of demand pay display tickets, and paid for his ticket

However, he was in a disc space, where he would have received limited free parking time had he placed the disc in the window. He received a parking ticket but refused to pay his fine, saying the ticket he bought contained all the relevant information. Now Ray Bloxham, the Carlisle City Council portfolio holder for local enviroment, has stepped in to cancel his fine.

Mr Austin said he had been stopped in the street by people supporting his cause after reading The proof of the pudding is that the ticket has been revoked," Mr Austin said. "There has been an awful lot of interest in this, i had several calls at home and i have been stopped in the street.
about it in the news. ""I was due to go on the radio to tell the story again, but i said i would like somebody to come from the city council to argue their case, and i would prove them wrong.

The next thing i heard was when i got a call back saying the ticket had been revoked."

The story had produced a great deal of interest when it appeared in the News & Star, and more than 50 web comments appeared underneath the story, the majority of which supported Mr Austins fight. It could lead to retraining for wardens to prevent tickets been issued to cars with pay and display tickets, which show the time it arrives in the space.

Mr Bloxham said: "I spoke to Mr Austin and apologised most profusley for the difficulties he has had, and i asked the director to see if the charge could be cancelled.
"In all fairness he was within the limit."

When asked about whether other motorists could expect tickets in similar situations, Mr Bloxham added: " I'm sure we will be having some retraining , possibly in people's attitude to that.

"If you come to one of these spaces and put a note in the window and by the time an attendant comes its over that time you would expect a fine, but if its within the time i wouldnt expect that."

BBC Politics Show ...

The BBC Politics Show discloses the advice from leading traffic law expert Stephen Sauvain QC which highlighted the failings of Scarborough and other North Yorkshire CPZs. This 'advice' also indicates that monies taken from motorists in areas where the signage is non-compliant must be refunded.

To date, the Department for Transport refused to make this advice available to the High Court in the case of Herron v The Parking Adjudicator but now that this information has been made public and the decision in the Moss case explicitly reaffirms the requirement for signs to strictly comply with the law then hopefully this will put an end to the nonsense spouted by some councils and adjudicators the a sign is okay if 'no reasonable person could be misled.'

Our sources say that a great deal of panic has ensued in many town halls from officers fearing that their continued enforcement of known non-compliant signage may well result in a visit and an investigation. The first court case for misconduct in public office is listed in Exeter for February. May I be so bold as to suggest that this will not be the last?

Huddersfield Police Station parking bay is 'illegal'

In light of the decision of Justice Ouseley in the High Court Moss v KPMG it seems as though Kirklees Council now have themselves in a bit of a pickle. Accounts not signed off and more admissions of illegal bays ... a highways and parking department not fit for purpose. Now let's see how quickly they refund their unlawfully derived income ... Adur Council were exemplary in their actions.

Kirklees Council has been 'breaking the law' - right under the nose of the Old Bill.

Huddersfield Examiner
December 8th

Parking chiefs have been left red-faced yet again after it was revealed that the 'police vehicles only' parking bay outside Huddersfield's town centre police station is not lawful.

Drawings taken from the Department for Transport website show the Albion Street bay should be marked in yellow paint but it is painted white. The blunder comes only a few years after the Examiner revealed that Huddersfield Town Halls permit parking bay was illegal. The Ramsden Street parking space, only a few yards away from the police bay is used by the mayor and other dignitaries. It was painted yellow when it should have been painted white. Following the Examiner's story they bay was repainted within 48 hours.

Parking law expert Neil Herron, director of http://www.parkingappeals.co.uk/, said Kirklees was one of the worst local authorities for playing by the rules. Mr Herron, who has appeared on TV and radio programmes, said "its not a police parking bay, its simple as that. there are councils accross the country that have made similar errors painting white lines that should be yellow. There not traffic signs and its not lawful. It shows a sloppy attitude to their legal responsibilities, its not difficult to get the lines and signs corrected."

In 2008 the Examiner revealed almost 100 parking zones in the district failed to comply with the law. The expose showed illegal bays in Batley, Holmfirth, Cleckeaton, Heckmondwike and almost every neighbourhood in huddersfield. At the time Mr Herron accused Kirklees Council of catching motorists with unlawful parking fines and called for parking enforcements to be suspended.

Virtual bays unveiled by Herron ...

Neil Showed how freight deliveries can be simplified
TransportXtra

A new system for actively managing kerbspace to enable freight deliveries to be made without incurring parking penalties was unveild at parking management 2010 by Neil Herron of Activ8 (Virtual Parking Solutions).

Herron, best known for running www.parkingappeals.co.uk , revealed a real-time vehicle tracking and space ACTIV8 Virtual Parking Solutions at the conference.

"Parking is not always about parking, its often about loading and unloading vehicles," he said "There are differing kerbside needs for different kerbusers, blue badge holders and the ordinary motorists. We need to promote active management rather than blanket enforcement." A traffic management perspective emphasises the need to keep kerbside spaces turning over. Herron said the problem is that restricted kerbspace is being used at a time which is convenient to commercial vehicle drivers and not when it is conducive to smoothing traffic flows.

Herron said: "The penalty charge notice (PCN) commercial drivers receive is not managing the kerbside, it is effectively a £60 dispensation to park where and when they like, on zigzags, in disabled bays or double yellow lines." Delivery companies and their clients absorb the cost of enforcement. "Commercial operators, freight transport industry, coach operators and the utility companies are paying 500m a year in PCNs for servicing customers and there is a further 100m admin charge for dealing with all those tickets," he said.

Herron said that he developed the Activ8 Virtual Parking Solutions while handling parking penalty appeals for commercial operators. "The first thing we do is train drivers on where they can and cannot park. However, once you start knocking off the hotpots and start working alternative delivery areas you quickly get to a point where drivers have to park in contravention. The question then is what's the least worst time you can choose for a delivery."

Simply creating more loading bays will not work as the public will park in them, he said. " We need an innovative approach to differentiating users." The 'Virtual Parking Bay' system was devised by Herron utilising innovative patented GPS technology developed by Dr Phillip Tann, a lecturer at Sunderland University, who made headlines when accused of doing 42mph in a 30mph zone. Dr Tann was testing out prototype GPS/GPRS telemetry so presented data iat the court which proved he was doing 29mph. Herron saw how this system could be adapted to create real-time vehicle tracking and destination managment system.

"The answer is to create journey certainty." he said. "If you are on a journey from A-to-B the best thing is to know there is a guaranteed space when you arrive. With a virtual parking space you are saving CO2 emisions, fuel use and man hours. And it smoothes traffic flow." The Fleetm8 system has undergone initial trials at Westminster City Council and DHL Tradeteam, and the virtual loading bay solution emerged from those trials. "with the virtual parking bay we have created a system where you book your kerbside loading space in real-time dispensation to park on the higway. local authorities will 'risk-assess' the bays some of which may only be available for two or three hours a day when it least impinges on traffic flow."

Delivery companies using Fleetm8 (or other telemetry incorporating the bespoke software) are able to pre-book a slot in the virtual parking bay. The virtual parking bays are only visible to a vehicle's onboard telemetry and are effectively real-time, site specific exemptions. The delivery driver's in-cab GPS device or PDA receives details of the delivery window. The local authority's civil enforcement officers' GPS-enabled handhelds also receive real-time details of vehicle with a booked arrival so that they know not to issue a PCN.

"It is possible to create virtual 'geofences' which when breached by the delivery vehicle, send an automated alert to the person expecting delivery so they can be ready for the arrival so as to further reduce loading time. When the lorry leaved, it breaches the virtual polygon forming the bay so that it becomes available for someone else to book. This is managing retricted kerbspace rather than just enforcing it."

Herron said the concept can be used off-street too, with a geo fence created at the entrance and exit. Virtual bays offer local authorities a revenue stream because operators are prepared to pay for guaranteed loading slots. Herron said: "ACTIV8 would be a positive revenue model for the authorities based on the provision of a service with a traffic managment benefit and something which commercial operators from delivery companies, couriers, coach operators and utility companies have expressed and desire to see implemented."

Is this the end for the Penalty Charge Notice for commercial operators?

Virtual bays unveiled by Herron
Neil Herron showed how freight deliveries can be simplified
Parking Review
November 2010

A new system for actively managing kerbspace to enable freight deliveries to be made without incurring parking penalties was unveiled at Parking Management 2010 by Neil Herron of Activ8 (Virtual Parking Solutions).

Herron, best known for running www.parkingappeals.co.uk, revealed a real-time vehicle tracking and space ACTIV8 Virtual Parking Solution at the conference. “Parking is not always about parking, it is often about loading and unloading vehicles,” he said. “There are differing kerbside needs for different kerbside users. The challenge is recognising and differentiating between commercial users, blue badge holders and the ordinary motorist. We need to promote active management rather than blanket enforcement.”

A traffic management perspective emphasises the need to keep kerbside spaces turning over. Herron said the problem is that restricted kerbspace is being used at a time which is convenient to commercial vehicle drivers and not when it is conducive to smoothing traffic flows. Herron said: “The penalty charge notice (PCN) commercial drivers receive is not managing the kerbside, it is effectively a £60 dispensation to park where and when they like, on zigzags, in disabled bays or double yellow lines.”

Delivery companies and their clients absorb the cost of enforcement. “Commercial operators, freight transport industry, coach operators and the utility companies are paying £500m a year in PCNs for servicing customers, and there is a further £100m admin charge for dealing with all those parking tickets,” he said.

Herron said that he developed the Activ8 Virtual Parking Solution while handling parking penalty appeals for commercial operators. “The first thing we do is train drivers on where they can and cannot park. However, once you start knocking off the hotspots and working out alternative delivery areas you quickly get to a point where drivers have to park in contravention. The question then is what’s the least worst time you can choose for a delivery.”

Simply creating more loading bays will not work as the public will park in them, he said. “We need an innovative approach to differentiating user.”

The ‘Virtual Parking Bay’ system was devised by Herron utilising innovative, patented GPS technology developed by Dr Phillip Tann, a lecturer at Sunderland University, who made headlines when accused of doing 42mph in a 30mph zone. Dr Tann was testing out prototype GPS/GPRS telemetry so presented data at the court which proved he was doing 29mph. Herron saw how this system could be adapted to create real-time vehicle tracking and destination management system. “The answer is to create journey certainty,” he said. ”If you are on a journey from A-to-B the best thing is to know there is a guaranteed space when you arrive. With a virtual parking space you are saving CO2 emissions, fuel use and man hours. And it smoothes traffic flow.”

The Fleetm8 system has undergone initial trials with Westminster City Council and DHL Tradeteam, and the Virtual Loading Bay Solution emerged from those trials. “With the virtual parking bay we have created a system where you book your kerbside loading space in real-time, effectively a real-time dispensation to park on the highway. Local authorities will ‘risk-assess’ the bays, some of which may only be available for two or three hours a day when it least impinges on traffic flow.”

Delivery companies using Fleetm8 (or other telemetry incorporating the bespoke software) are able to pre-book a slot in a virtual parking bay. The virtual bays are only visible to a vehicle's on-board telemetry and are effectively real-time, site specific exemptions. The delivery driver’s in-cab GPS device or PDA receives details of the delivery window. The local authority’s civil enforcement officers’ GPS-enabled handhelds also receive real-time details of vehicles with a booked arrival so that they know not to issue a PCN.

“It is possible to create virtual ‘geo fences’ which, when breached by the delivery vehicle, send an automated alert the person expecting delivery so they can be ready for the arrival so as to further reduce loading time. When the lorry leaves, it breaches the virtual polygon forming the bay so that it becomes available for someone else can book. This is managing restricted kerbspace rather than just enforcing.”

Herron said the concept can be used off-street too, with a geo fence created at the entrance and exit.

Virtual bays offer local authorities a revenue stream because operators are prepared to pay for guaranteed loading slots. Herron said: “ACTIV8 would be a positive revenue model for the authorities based on the provision of a service with a traffic management benefit and something which commercial operators from delivery companies, couriers, coach operators and utility companies have expressed a desire to see implemented.”

PiP frameworks revised after European ruling

European Commission upholds procurement complaint
Parking Review November 2010

Lee RowleyWestminster City Council has been found to have infringed European Union rules on local government procurement by the European Commission (EC). The commission investigated a complaint about the city council’s decision to enable members of the Partners in Parking (PiP) procurement group to join in its use of a mobile phone parking system rather than go through their own tendering process.

The EC was investigating a complaint originally made to the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), part of the UK government’s Cabinet Office. The anonymous complainant said the phone parking contract should have been re-tendered.

The EC?agreed with the complaint and asked the OGC to take “appropriate and adequate measures for the purpose of terminating the infringement in question”.

On 20 November the EC reoported: “Westminster committed to ensure that the public bodies, parties to the framework agreement, were restricted to those expressly listed in the contract documents. Furthermore, the Office of Government Commerce has published and updated guidance on the matter, ensuring adequate identification of the bodies permitted to use framework agreements. Finally, Westminster City Council decided to limit the duration of the framework agreement to the period permitted by law.”

The framework agreement is now restricted to four years and limited to PiP’s original members: Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Islington and Camden and Transport for London.
Lee Rowley, Westminster Council’s cabinet member for parking, said: “We cooperated fully with the European Commission and OGC. It’s important to note that there was no punitive action taken by the EU against the council. Indeed, if the council had committed a serious wrongdoing then the case would have been escalated to the European Court.”

There is no suggestion that phone system provider Verrus was at fault during the process.