If there are so many drivers failing to heed the signs then those in charge of traffic management should be replaced by engineers who will come up with a more effective solution to manage traffic and get drivers to comply ... but that would cause the cash to dry up!
I am sure that this is just the beginning of the Grafton Road story ;-)

Revealed: The £5m raised by one camera on Britain’s most baffling road
By Andrew Buckwell
Mail on Sunday
29th May 2011

Motorists have been fined a staggering £5 million for driving down a quiet residential street which has been dubbed ‘Britain’s most baffling road’.
More than 41,000 drivers have been hit with penalties after a council erected nine signs that confuse everyone who enters the road, and a CCTV camera.

Most confusing is the rule that bans motorists from driving one way down the street in the morning and then from going in the opposite direction in the afternoon.

Last night campaigners accused the Labour-controlled Camden Council in North London of using motorists as a ‘cash cow’ to help boost Town Hall coffers.
Paul Pearson, a parking campaigner who runs the Penalty Charge Notice website, said: ‘It’s absolutely staggering. This is highway robbery. It’s one of most profitable cameras in the country – and it’s in a residential street.

‘This is a clear case of using cameras to raise revenue for a cash-strapped Town Hall.’

Until five years ago, access to Grafton Road in Kentish Town was restricted by a hydraulic bollard and a set of traffic lights that showed either red or green, depending on the position of the bollard.
Then, in 2006, the council lowered the bollard and introduced signs and a camera to capture breaches.
Drivers are now confronted with nine signs, the set of defunct traffic lights and the sunken bollard.

Confusing: Camden Council has been raking it in thanks to these baffling signs
The mouth of the road has been divided into three sections with a
central section blocked off and accessible only by emergency vehicles, with lanes for cars either side.

As the traffic is funnelled into the lanes, the confusion begins.
Two pairs of access signs warn cars and motorbikes of restrictions to their passing, indicating the exact times they cannot pass – 7am to 10am one way, 2pm to 7pm the other.
Then there are two no-entry signs applying to the lane on the other side of the road, one width-restriction sign, one cycle sign and a traffic-camera sign.

Figures revealed in a Freedom of Information request by The Mail on Sunday show that the camera caught 41,237 motorists between October 2006 and March 2011, at a rate of almost 800 a month.

Motorist David Howard, 51, said: ‘The signs are so small and numerous you have to slam on your brakes to see them, by which time you’ve been flashed. I bet everyone going down it the first time receives a ticket. I’m certain it’s deliberate.’

A Camden Council spokesman last night denied the camera was a trap. He said: ‘The signs stating the restrictions are clear to motorists.’

More refunds as the fightback continues ...

Council forced to refund £134,000 in parking fines
A council was forced to repay £134,000 in parking fines after changing the rules for leaving cars on bank holidays but forgetting to change the signs.
Daily Telegraph
22 Apr 2010

Camden Council in north London bebgan ticketing drivers for parking on single yellow lines on Good Friday and Easter Monday.
But the has now agreed to refund all the money after a storm of complaints.

And it has promised that in future, drivers will be able to park on single yellows on bank holidays - as they always have done.
Andrew Marshall, the council's Conservative deputy leader, said: "Camden Council got it wrong in terms of enforcing single yellow lines on Easter bank holidays.
Camden Council will now communicate clearly in the run-up to the next bank holiday that we are NOT enforcing single yellow lines."

But Barrie Segal, of the AppealNow website, has called for an inquiry into the council's actions.
He said: "This is like Dick Turpin being caught with his hands down the motorists' pocket.
"It's disgraceful that the council, one of the largest in the country, could stoop to that sort of activity ~ announcing it surreptitiously on the internet and sending out its scavengers to catch unsuspecting motorists."

Traffic wardens handed out a staggering 1,119 fines to motorists on single yellow lines on Good Friday and Easter Monday adding up to £134,280.
But the only warning that parking attendants would be policing single yellow lines was a tiny notice on Camden Council's website announcing that 'normal yellow line restrictions apply for the duration for the Easter period'.

One furious University College London Hospitals doctor, writing on an internet forum as DoctorDJ, said: "I was ticketed as I worked in the A&E department of UCLH treating sick children.
"I've parked on Gower Street every bank holiday (including Christmas Day and Boxing Day) and never been ticketed."

Another outraged driver, writing under the name Innocently, said: "On the Easter Bank Holiday Monday, I parked on a single yellow line at Lincoln Inn Fields, believing it was safe to do so as I have parked there before on bank holidays - only to get a ticket at around 5pm!!!
"I approached the officer who gave the ticket and asked why and he simply snapped back, 'law changed'.
"The ticket officer said I should 'look on the internet'!!!! Who looks on the internet to see if the parking law has changed?"

Motorists who paid their fines by credit or debit card will have the money automatically refunded to their account.
Others will have to apply for their money back.
Sam Monck, assistant director Public Realm and Sustainability at Camden Council, said: "Our traffic orders, relating to single yellow lines, make it clear that we can issue tickets over the bank holiday weekends.
"However in recent years, Camden has on a discretionary basis taken the decision as a gesture of goodwill not to issue parking tickets to cars parked on single yellow lines on Good Friday and Bank Holiday Monday."

He added: "Over the Easter period this year, we did enforce parking regulations and displayed this information on our website, but realise that many motorists may have been confused by the inconsistency.
"Given the history of non-enforcement we have taken the decision to cancel or refund any parking tickets issued on Good Friday and Easter Monday."

Where will the money come from to refund motorists?

Once the millions of pennies start to drop that unlawfully derived income contained in council's accounts MUST be refunded the councils' spin machines will set to work saying that if they are forced to refund then that will mean cuts in services.

Perhaps we should have a look and see where that money could really come from and let the ones whose failings have caused the problem have their fat cat salaries slashed.

Let us hope, in the first instance, that no bonuses are paid to those responsible for the credit card surcharge fiasco.

Peeping through the audit window – it’s a sight for sore council taxpayers
Camden New Journal
News - EXCLUSIVE By RICHARD OSLEY
Published: 20 August 2009

A recession, but top 25 bosses still pocketing fat bonuses
• Nearly £100k in payouts for errors
• Thousands shelled out on their own parking fines

SECRET details of spending at the Town Hall on everything from parking fines incurred by the council’s own staff to meaty bonuses for high-earners have been uncovered by a New Journal investigation.

Using the little known powers of the 1998 Audit Commission Act, we have accessed a series of previously confidential documents which show how the council has handled its finances during 12 months of economic turbulence. They show that despite the tough times, the council has been able to find money to reward its top earners with incentives and to pay out for scores of parking fines slapped on their own vehicles.

Documents seen by the New Journal show:

* Highly-paid senior staff have together been treated to more than £170,000 in incentives.

* Camden has spent nearly £2million on severance payments in order to sack people.

* Council staff racked up £15,000 in parking tickets while on work business – effectively £300 a week spent.

*£80,000 was spent on hiring an interim manager who ran the rule over changes in the parking department for little more than six months.

* Compensation pay-outs to members of the public who have suffered as a result of council errors total nearly £100,000.

The details of financial matters are normally locked away in the accounts department but once a year Camden Council is obliged to let people inspect the paperwork during a month-long window.

This requirement under the Audit Commission Act is rarely used by the public, however, and even many of the council’s own officers are unaware of how the “audit window” works.

Other requests for information are still being prepared for the New Journal but the initial figures have already stoked a political debate – especially over the thorny issue of staff bonuses.

The Town Hall was yesterday (Wednesday) defending the use of bonuses to staff, some of whom already take home six figure salaries, insisting that the policy has been in place for several years.
The top earner is Moira Gibb, the chief executive. Critics say that the bonus system, set up during healthier economic times, is hardly appropriate in the current climate. Officials were yesterday (Wednesday) insisting that bonuses to public servants were fair in the context of running a large London authority. Nevertheless, the sharp contrast of pay and income at the Town Hall is open for all to see.

Chief officers earning anything up to £199,000 before any bonus is paid can on any day share a lift at the council’s headquarters with a contract cleaner whose pay does not even hit £7.45 an hour, that’s the Mayor of London’s suggested minimum pay for people working in London.

Labour councillor Theo Blackwell said: “The council now seem utterly confused on pay policy. They accept that higher wages are useful to attract the best, if they are referring to the leader and the chief executive, but in the same breath claim no link between pay and high performance for the lowest paid.”

Cllr Blackwell is now working on an investigation into poorly-paid council staff. He has challenged the leaders of the administration to set a minimum wage for contractors, but was told at one scrutiny panel meeting that policy would not be “made on the hoof”.

Moira Gibb’s predecessor Steve Bundred, now head of the Audit Commission, wrote an article for The Observer last month in which he suggested that council workers should accept pay freezes. A gloomy outlook of hard times ahead has been hammered home to staff with regular reminders that budgets may be cut in the near future. Politicians from all sides have warned of “difficult decisions” for whichever party wins overall power at next year’s boroughwide elections – but yesterday (Wednesday) there was no sign of the bonus system being dismantled.

Liberal Democrat councillor Ralph Scott – the council’s treasurer – said he had not been briefed on who got what under the bonus scheme. “Clearly in the tough economics, everything needs more scrutiny and we need to be careful with resources but this is one of the ways we reward staff for good performance,” he said.

Cllr Scott said it was not a case of paying out bonuses while youth projects and other worthy causes were starved of funding. He added: “I don’t have the details in front of me but obviously it is done on a case by case basis. It is a way of giving encouragement to staff.”

Conservative leader Councillor Andrew Marshall said that the council would have to “keep an eye” on high salaries and bonus payments if the recession worsened.But he added: “These payments are built into the salaries so that there is some performance-related element to what they are paid. I think that’s right. Staff are rewarded for the valuable work they do.”

Bonuses £175k to keep the elite officers sweet

A BONUS system operating at the Town Hall is reserved only for the highest earners and has been retained despite Camden’s diminishing resources in the recession, the figures released to the New Journal show.

The breakdown reveals that £174,760 was paid out on top of basic pay last year with many of the performance-related incentives handed out to staff already on six figure salaries. Among those who qualify for the extra money are chief executive Moira Gibb, whose salary is roughly £185,000 a year, and department directors who can take home £150,000 under the council’s pay scheme.

In total, 25 bonus payments were made to staff in the last year. The New Journal understands that as part of the bonus system senior management sits down and agrees a series of targets that they need to hit in order to qualify for the extra money. A council spokeswoman said yesterday (Wednesday) that those who received the bonuses had large responsibilities and therefore deserved to be given extra money.“Camden demands a lot of its chief officers and we need to attract and retain the best talent in local government,” she said. “Having an element of pay at risk – for example, if a chief officer under performs no bonus would be paid – helps to ensure we have high performance.”

There are no plans to halt the bonus scheme despite the current downturn.The spokeswoman added: “The average bonus is normally around 5 per cent of salary to ensure the scheme is measured and appropriate.”

Credit Cards - Motorists could recoup driving fines from credit card payments

Credit Cards - Motorists could recoup driving fines from credit card payments - 17/08/2009

It has been revealed that drivers could gain back the money paid in fines on their credit cards.

Over the years, motorists have paid millions of pounds in parking fines, but they now could be in line for refunds, after a test case ruled that town hall surcharges imposed for paying by credit cards are unlawful.

An estimated eight million drivers, around one in four of the total number on the roads, receive a parker ticking each year, paying a predicted £1 billion in fines.

Many choose to pay off this fine with a credit card, either by paying online or via a telephone service. At least 12 councils impose a surcharge on this payment method.

However, this practice was challenged by one driver, who criticised the 1.3% surcharge in Camden. As a result, the adjudicator said councils could not demand money in addition to the fine for the offence itself.

Neil Herron of the motorists’ campaign group Parking Appeals, said he was ready to launch a class action to force town halls to reimburse motorists if they fail to do so voluntarily.

He said: "Yet again we have exposed councils acting unlawfully in their pursuit of the motorist. Councils have a duty to act within the law at all times and yet again their greed, by trying to extract every last drop of cash from the motorist, is going to come back and bite them.
"In this instance they can have no excuses. The legislation is explicitly clear. The process of refunding motorists the full amount could not be simpler."

An AA spokesman said: "These credit card charges have been outrageous. Councils have got their fingers burned and have been caught acting illegally. It shows the extent to which councils have been acting as a law unto themselves."

Camden's parking tickets ruled illegal

BREAKING NEWS ...

Camden’s Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) have been ruled unlawful in a recent adjudication due to the fact that they levied a 1.3% Credit Card Surcharge.

We will supply subscribers to http://www.parkingappeals.co.uk/ with a FULL DEFENCE (100% money back guarantee on your subscription if we are not successful) for PCNs issued since 5th January 2009 to 10th June 2009.
Some of the PCNs issued AFTER that will also be invalid as Camden are continuing to use old paperwork despite the fact that they suspended the charge on 9th June 2009.
Here is an extract from the Parking And Traffic Appeals Service decision:

















And here is an extract from the legislation …









HAVE YOU PAID A CAMDEN PCN?

Whether you have paid by credit card, cheque or cash we will assist you with recovering your money whether you are a business or individual. Simply contact us at http://www.parkingappeals.co.uk/ or e-mail enquiries@parkingappeals.co.uk titled 'CAMDEN PCN'

NB. ALL PROFITS WILL BE USED TO HELP SUPPORT THE MOTORISTS LEGAL CHALLENGE FUND

Parking still not fine in Camden ... when will the truth come out?

We expect more whistleblowing and revelations soon. Will be interesting to know how 'aware' the council has been with regard to the unlawful restrictions it has been enforcing whilst embarking on the programme of corrections.

Hats off to Richard Osley at the Camden New Journal for the story below ...

Six months on the meter, and the man brought in to make parking fairer for motorists has gone‘Errors of judgement’ claim as parking department’s star signing exits the Town Hall

THE Town Hall last night (Wednesday) claimed a parking chief appointed to make Camden’s flagging parking system fairer had made “errors of judgement”.

In an unexpected move, John Meyer left the council service in the final working week before Christmas – just two months after a New Journal investigation into the council’s much-maligned warden service.Mr Meyer had previously been expected to keep the post of interim parking manager until the summer at least.But his contract has not been renewed and he cleared his desk on the Friday before the festive break.

The Town Hall said there had been actions “not compatible with the public profile of the post”.

Officials confirmed that Borough Solicitor Andrew Maughan was last month asked to investigate anonymous allegations that Mr Meyer had awarded himself a permit allowing him to park on yellow lines and in residents’ bays across Camden – although it did not lead to any disciplinary action.

A spokeswoman said: “We investigated the allegation. It identified some minor issues but the investigation is closed and no disciplinary action was taken.”As a matter of course, Camden investigates all complaints against staff. It was pointed out yesterday how accusations are often made unfairly against officials, particularly those in high office. The council spokeswoman added that directors believed Mr Meyer had contributed to improvements.

Last night, Mr Meyer, 37, declined to comment, beyond confirming that a six-month contract had expired on December 19 and that he was now working on a fresh challenge elsewhere. He is understood to have felt he performed well and got on well with senior colleagues during a drive to reorganise the department, taking backbiting among some members of the team in his stride.But the sudden decision to part company has left the parking department without a head just as it enters its most crucial period for four years and with critical decisions over who should run the borough’s warden service in the future to be resolved.

Camden is planning to offer its biggest-ever deal to private contractors at the start of next year and is preparing the ground before going out to tender on the lucrative opportunity. The winning bidder could take on all of Camden’s parking enforcement operations for eight years. At the same time, the Town Hall is struggling to understand why cash raised from parking tickets is down by £4million, with bosses ordering an internal investigation and a search for “quick wins” to improve performance. A council spokeswoman said yesterday: “At the end of Mr Meyer’s contract, the position was jointly reviewed with him and it was decided not to renew the contract. The decision has absolutely nothing to do with contracts or parking tickets.” She added: “During his time with Camden, John has played an important role in the council’s review of the service to make parking more transparent and fair. There were, however, some errors of judgement on his part that we believe were not compatible with the head of service role or the public profile of the post. No further action is necessary.”

Mr Meyer has forged a reputation as a top operator in the specialised world of parking enforcement and has advised other councils and large parking companies on their operations. But, as the New Journal revealed in an investigation in October, his appointment in Camden was the source of staff unrest from almost his first day. A group of staff took the unusual step of writing to their superiors – albeit anonymously – to advise caution. While some of his new colleagues at Camden raised the possibility of a conflict of interest over Mr Meyer’s private company HHCT Limited, which repairs hand-held computers used by wardens, and his brother Simon’s post at one of Camden’s contractors, council chiefs stood by their man.In a briefing organised in response to the New Journal investigations, environment department director Rachel Stopard insisted there would be no conflict in terms of his private interests and that he had given up a position he had held in the Conservative party. And in a private memo, Robert Scourfield, her deputy, confidently announced Mr Meyer’s appointment to staff, introducing him as a star signing and suggesting he would be in post until June 2009.

Officials at the Town Hall stressed last night that the “errors of judgement” did not relate to Mr Meyer’s business interests. Senior officers told last year how they need to make the parking service “fit for purpose”, although initial moves to hike builders’ permits by 267 percent have not engendered much confidence among motorists. Unresolved internal investigations into two suspended, well-liked managers have, meanwhile, further angered staff. The department was already unsettled by the departure of Rudy Bright, the last permanent parking manager, who left last year with a redundancy package soon after he had been lampooned by protesters in a You-Tube video condemned by the council.

Camden’s Labour group leader Councillor Anna Stewart said: “This a blow to the Camden Parking Service, which is in a demoralised and volatile state. There is a massive financial shortfall looming this year and staff will be under pressure to bring in ever higher charges for residents. Parking must be fair and effective for local people.”A council spokeswoman said: “The process of recruiting a new permanent head of parking services is under way, and short-term arrangements have been made to cover the post temporarily.”

Camden Parking Ticket? It always hurts ... but we can heal the pain

If you have had a Penalty Charge Notice in Camden then you will be pleased to know that the majority of their restrictions are unenforceable.

If you had a ticket in a parking place between 31st March and 17th April 2008 ... there are even more problems for the council.

If you have had a ticket on a yellow line since then you will be pleased to know that the CPZs are incorrectly signed.

If you have had a yellow line ticket since 31st March 2008 then you need to click the image on the left to find out why you should appeals.

Knowledge is power ... this will be the best (and most satisfying) £9.99 you have ever spent.

IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT MORE CLICK HERE AND IF YOU SIGN UP YOU WILL GET AN EXTRA MONTH'S MEMBERSHIP FREE