Parkwise in trouble. The meltdown continues ...

... and is set to get worse once all the restitution cases start to have an impact. The short term financial rewards that clouded the vision of the myopic council officers and elected members when they embarked upon decriminalised parking enforcement is now going to come back and haunt them. In the haste to implement the new 'cash-cow' proper checks and controls (signs, lines, Traffic Orders, contracts, paperwork compliance) were overlooked or disregarded.

As the net begins to close and councillors begin their own investigations it is only a matter of time before we see resignations and dismissals.

For all the council officials and Parking Attendants who were, and still are concerned at the activities that you have been asked to condone you can check out www.pcaw.co.uk or e-mail us in complete confidence at enquiries@parkingappeals.co.uk

Lancashire councils to be left with '£1.1m Parkwise bill'
Blackpool Citizen
By Tom Moseley

COUNCILS have been told they need to save more than £1million to retrieve the money lost by a "shambolic" parking ticket scheme.

A new audit of Parkwise, which controls parking enforcement in Lancashire, has revealed the true extent of its debts.

Bosses say the doomed arrangement between the county and 12 district councils cannot continue after experts said it was "not sustainable".

In January the Lancashire Telegraph revealed how the current model was to be scrapped when the contract with operator NCP expires in September 2009 because it was dogged by costly overheads, admin costs and bickering between council leaders.

The report, released tomorrow, looked at the year up to March.

It reveals:

• A financial black hole predicted for September 2009 has risen to £1.1million and will increase further if nothing is done.
  
• The cost to the scheme of handing out a parking ticket is more than £60 in some areas.
  
• To maintain the current model would cost the county council more than £300,000 a year.
  
• In some districts the scheme lost more than £200,000 last year.
  
• 1,401 tickets were cancelled due to "parking attendant error" in 2007/08.
  
• Almost 6,000 tickets are currently unpaid.

It has also been revealed five councils, including Burnley and Ribble Valley, have never even signed the agreement.
It has not yet been decided who will pick up the bill for the shortfall when the contract expires, and urgent meetings are being held between county and district finance chiefs to decide who is responsible.

Lancashire county council's cabinet member for resources Tony Martin said: "Our view is very clear.
"It's a district council scheme and we administer it.
"Their view is equally clear - it's a partnership scheme and we should pay for it."

Parkwise was set up in 2004 when councils took over control of parking enforcement from the police.
The county council is in charge of roads, and districts control off-street parking.
Parkwise covers both on and off street enforcement under a partnership agreement.

Council leaders will now be presented with a series of options for the future.
These include setting tough targets for district councils to save hundreds of thousands of pounds from its parking enforcement budget and form a new agreement after 2009.

This would need to be agreed by all councils by September 1, the report said.
But the county council's cabinet member for resources Tony Martin said: "Don't hold your breath.
"We do work together well on some projects, but if it costs more to issue a ticket than the amount you're getting back, we're all doomed.
"We will go our separate ways."

The most likely outcome is thought to be the county council taking over responsibility for highways and district councils patrolling car parks.
District councils would be offered the chance to pay the county for its wardens and back office facilities, Coun Martin added.

Parking campaigner Neil Herron said: "It's been a shambles from start to finish."

Ticking time-bomb in Lancashire ...

The Lancashire Evening Post today reports on a potential problem for Lancashire Councils' parking enforcement operations run by Parkwise.

An adjudication listed for yesterday was adjourned for 28 days to allow skeleton arguments to be submitted.

Have you had a ticket in Lancashire? If so, the story below will be of interest to you (and potentially your wallet) ...

Driver brings landmark case over Lancashire parking fine
By Tom Moseley
Lancashire Evening Post

THOUSANDS of parking fines could be torn up if campaigners win a landmark case, it has been claimed.
According to campaigners the case turns on the precise wording used on fine notices.
They said it could trigger refunds worth millions of pounds.

But bosses at Parkwise, the Lancashire-wide parking agreement between councils, said they were not aware of a problem and would await a judgment from a tribunal before commenting.

A woman from Chorley has brought a case against Park-wise with the help of parking ticket campaigner Neil Herron.
He claimed the "notice to owner", sent when a fine increases because it is not paid within 14 days, had been worded illegally for years until a recent revamp of traffic laws.

The case relates to notices issued before April 2008, when the new Traffic Management Act came into force.

Mr Herron, who has successfully challenged parking fines across the country, said:
"This would mean every notice to owner issued to drivers in Lancashire under the old regime is invalid and could be refunded."

He said drivers had been told to pay the £60 fine within 28 days of the date the notice was sent, which should have been the date it was received.
He added: "It effectively shortens the time period people have to respond. "

The case was adjourned yesterday at the Traffic Penalty Tribunal in Manchester to allow legal arguments to be prepared.

The case does not affect Blackburn with Darwen, which runs its own parking enforcement.

In January, the Lancashire Telegraph revealed Parkwise was to be scrapped when its contract expires in 2009 as it is expected to end up almost £1million in the red.

A spokeswoman said: "Until the facts are presented and a decision made by the independent adjudicator, we cannot investigate the specific details relating to this case."
"Following adjudication we will be in a position to seek relevant legal advice should it be required."