REVIEW
PARKEX REPORT Parking challenges
BAKER’S WHISTLE-STOP REVIEW OF PARKING
As more than 2,000 delegates poured through the doors of the National Hall at Olympia, the seminar programme highlighted the huge challenges facing parking, as well as some of the innovative measures being introduced to address the needs of an industry in transition. Someone whose understanding of the issues facing the sector has increased markedly over the past two years is Transport Minister, Norman Baker.
Baker always talks like a man with a train to catch and this time was no different as he packed a phenomenal number of issues into a 10-minute speech. He opened by saying that he felt the parking industry was in good heart, although it is a sector perceived as controversial by members of the public.
He then outlined the challenges that the parking sector faced, acknowledging the work being done by the BPA to ensure a fair deal for both the sector and the motoring public. ‘There is a lot going on in the sector at the moment, much of it involving the government. We recognise that parking is important for the success of town centres, and is a central factor in the state of the economy. The implementation of civil parking enforcement over the past few years has meant more than 90 per cent of local authorities now run their own parking enforcement service. ‘I wrote to the remainder of authorities when the coalition government came into power, and I am pleased to say that three more authorities have just introduced civil enforcement, with more applying to come on board later this year.’ Baker said that moving traffic offences were an area that the government was looking at closely. With Wales moving towards the London model, the Minister said he was sympathetic and would be looking at ways that moving traffic offences could be geared to meeting the needs of councils outside London. The Protection of Freedoms Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament, was a case of give and take, said Baker. On the one hand, a ban on clamping by private operators would become law later in the year but to address the needs of landowners, there would be greater powers to enforce parking on their land, including access to vehicle keeper details. ‘As a balancing factor (for removing the sanction provided by clamping) we will give
www.britishparking.co.uk
landowners extra powers to enforce parking on their land,’ said Baker. ‘For this to happen though, the sector must provide an independent appeals service, and I am very pleased the BPA has committed to creating this service. We hope that keeper liability will be brought in at the same time as the clamping ban on private operators, but keeper liability will only happen if there is a robust independent appeals service in place.’ Baker called people who abuse Blue Badges ‘pretty shabby’ as he explained that the Blue Badge system had undergone an overhaul to make it more fit for purpose. ‘It has not changed for years,’ he said, ‘but with the number of people eligible for Blue Badges set to rise by several hundred thousand in the next 15 years, and with an ever-rising number of elderly people, something had to be done to stop people abusing the system.’ When it comes to the turmoil created by street works, Baker said that the government is taking action to cut down on disruption, particularly through the creation of roadwork permits and financial penalties for companies causing disruption through digging up streets. A glowing example was Kent, where five years’ worth of disruption has been avoided through the use of permits. However, Baker said the government’s aim was to direct such legislation away from Whitehall. ‘Local decisions should be in the hands of the local authority,’ said Baker.
And the theme of locally-based decision making continued when Baker addressed the on-going review of traffic signs. ‘The government is already delivering many of the recommendations,’ said the minister, ‘but central government legislation over local matters is systematically being removed to reduce paperwork and time, and consequently the cost to local authorities. The government has also recommended removing the need to put notices of proposed traffic signs in local papers. Just this measure alone, said Baker, would save local authorities around £60m.
PARKEX REPORT Parking challenges
LIABILITY COMES WITH PROVISO The Approved Operator Scheme has been in operation for four-and-a-half years and has attracted a mix of praise and criticism. Steve Clark, Head of AOS, gave a robust account of where the scheme is now.
MAY 2012 19
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