First signs of madness for parking cash cow

Open and transparent parking policy?

Press and public are not allowed to see the first stages of BSE as the parking cash cow starts its descent into madness.

Press excluded from parking talks
Bucks Free Press
Wednesday 27th January 2010

THE Bucks Free Press was last night ejected from a High Wycombe Town Committee meeting as councillors discussed on-street parking tariffs.
The committee held its first meeting of the New Year at Wycombe District Council's offices in Queen Victoria Road on Tuesday night.
But members of the public and the press were excluded from the meeting under Paragraph three, Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 as committee members discussed parking in private.
Item 15 on the agenda was a "review of on-street parking tariffs".

Wycombe District parking fines revealed

Bucks Free Press

MOTORISTS have been hit with more than £300,000 worth of fines in four months after Wycombe District Council took control of traffic wardens, it has been revealed.
The council has billed 5,223 drivers since taking over enforcement duties from the police in October, worth £338,410.
Of these just 3,434 tickets have been paid, worth £125,867.

Catherine Spaltion, press officer for the council said as most people paid the fines within 14 days – during a 50 per cent “discount period”. This means the fine actually paid often falls below the amount officially charged by the council.
The full value of each ticket is £50 or £70, depending on the offence.

The council said none of its officers worked on an incentive, commission or target led basis.
It said reasons for unpaid tickets could include a vehicle's owner not being traceable, a disabled driver having been verified, or a successful appeal against the ticket. Some cases may have gone to formal adjudication or even be at the court stage.