INTERVIEW FEATURE
people to do the jobs. My section issues 37,000 tickets a year, and I only have two technical staff who deal with parking notice processing. There aren’t enough people to do this role. It will have an impact on the quality element of it all. Training is very important as issues move so
swiftly – you need to make sure all your staff have proper training and keep up-to-date.
The BPA has moved on in leaps and bounds. We have got everybody who is involved in all aspects of parking communicating, and we’ve set up special interest groups for hospitals and manufacturers. We communicate much more efficiently. The government values the work of the BPA – we are the only organisation that engages with them solely in terms of parking.
I started up the charity, Parasol, by accident. Five years ago, I developed rheumatoid arthritis and was in a bad state for 12 months. I was also turning 50, and wanted a personal challenge. So I decided to do a 106-mile walk for charity. But who was I going to do it for? A few days later I watched a 19-year-old soldier on TV who had been blown up in Afghanistan. He was as young as my son, and I cried my eyes out – he’d had his whole life in front of him, and now that was destroyed. So I decided to raise money for injured soldiers. Currently we raise about £30,000 per
it forwards. And I knew I could do it. I’m a proactive person, so I knew I could lead.
We need to move away from uniforms and traffic wardens, and find more innovative ways to work more collaboratively with other local authorities. My aim is to raise the profile of the BPA, raise the profile of women in parking, and raise the profile of parking itself, as well as the customer service that we provide. We also need to professionalise the industry as a whole with qualifications. There are so many skilled people in the parking industry, including a lot of ex-armed forces people.
The biggest challenges are the austerity measures taking place at the moment. The budget for training will be cut drastically in the next two to five years. It affects customer service as there won’t be enough
www.britishparking.co.uk
I played badminton at All India level, as
well as basketball, hockey, athletics – I was good at discus, long jump and high jump
year. I would like everyone in the parking industry to dedicate one day in the year where they wear a Parasol t-shirt and raise as much money as they can, so that we can buy a half-way house for soldiers for when they come out of hospital.
I played badminton at All India level, as well as basketball, hockey, athletics – I was good at discus, long jump and the high jump, and winter sports. I used to practice with male students as females didn’t play much. Now, I do running and walking a lot and play golf and badminton, too.
My partner, Roy, sees the strength in me, and he’s good at pointing me in the right direction. My son, Russell, also inspires me – he’ll be starting at Sandhurst soon. My father was quite an inspiration, a man before his time. It doesn’t matter who you are with, you always have to respect people.
SEPTEMBER 2012 23
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