PARKEX2013 REVIEW
The NoTo Mob address delegates
‘modern-day Robin Hoods’ ‘biker gangs’ and ‘anarchists’ was wholly or predominantly wrong. He also corrected a common misconception that the NoTo Mob were a sub group of Anonymous – the internet anarchist group – although he conceded that the groups might have ‘members in common.’ Outlining the history and purpose of the movement, Coco said: ‘We are a group of people with an interest in re-establishing justice. We began as a group to counter the introduction of motorbike parking charges in Westminster. We have since extended our remit and so civil enforcement generally has become our target. ‘We have a mandate from the government to go about this work. When David Cameron spoke of the ‘Big Society’, he was calling on communities to form action groups; and the communities and local government minister, Eric Pickles, called for the public to insist on accountability from both central and local government.’ The NoTo Mob hit the headlines with the BBC programme, Has Parking Gone Mad? In the documentary viewers saw members of the group following ANPR camera cars and then warning the motorists that the camera cars were ‘lurking’. Coco explained that this action was necessary because the cars tended to patrol in areas where signage was unclear, or ‘just plain wrong.’ But, he said, a lot of work is not in the public eye. There are numerous people – ‘keyboard warriors’ – who are doing research, studying local authority accounts and chasing information
22 MAY 2013
Boyo outlines his main points
My question is what do you see as the
alternative to POPLA – surely it is something to be welcomed? It is an attempt to help the motorist and, while we know it is not perfect, I don’t know why you are attacking it
via Freedom of Information requests. Coco also explained that the group was entirely voluntary and any costs, including repairs to motorbikes and fuel charges, were met by the members themselves. There was also no management structure and no money changed hands. The second speaker, Boyo said that the NoTo Mob ‘just want to protect the public from the increasingly technical and sophisticated ways of managing parking enforcement. ‘We, the public, see you, the parking industry, as money-grabbers. In other words, “It’s all about the money”.’ A further problem, outlined by Boyo, is the fact that POPLA – the independent appeals process for motorists ticketed by private operators – is being run by the BPA. ‘Self regulation is no regulation. The system is flawed because it is not in the interests of the BPA to get rid of its paying members’, he said.
Boyo also raised the question of the DVLA selling details of motorists. ‘The whole culture seems to be that everything is for sale. The DVLA is paying out performance related bonuses, which total £19.1m over three years. Profit is the first concern, security seems a distant second.’ The final speaker, Jonesy said that the
NoTo Mob had been approached with a view to creating a rival accredited trade association for the profession. ‘The BPA is not going to suspend the “big boys” who are its core membership, it will suspend the ‘little guys’ to demonstrate that it is operating its own code of practice.’
www.britishparking.co.uk
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