NOTES FROM BIG BEN …


The British Parking Association at 40, and its ‘Master Plan for Parking’


BY PETER GUEST T


HE BRITISH PARKING ASSOCIA- tion (BPA) is celebrating its 40th anniversary.What started with a small number of people with a common interest in the business of parking and


traffic management has grown into one of the largest national associations in the world, withmore than 650 member organizations, including more overseas members than any other similar body.


The anniversary year started in May


with a dinner for all surviving Past Presi- dents of the BPA. Time and the Grim Reaper have taken their toll, but 14 man- aged tomake it. The BPA is an organization of organ-


izations, and three years ago, as Presi- dent, I had the pleasure of launching the Institute of Parking Professionals (IPP), which has individual membership, albeit that, for the present, IPPmembers have to work for a BPA member organization. To coincide with this anniversary, the


BPA has published a “Master Plan for Parking.” Aimed at the new UK govern- ment, the document sets out 11 points where the BPAwants government action. It calls for: • Coordination in government for all


parking issues. •An independent appeals service for


the entire private parking sector. • Car owner liability for charges in pri-


vate car parks. • Compulsory membership in an accredited trade associa-


tion (ATA) for companies that undertake parking enforcement on private land. • Full regulation of private parking operators. •The government and the health service providers across the


UKto recognize that free parking does not deliver higher standards. • Penalty charges throughout theUKto be set to ensure com-


pliance with parking regulations. • The government to grant Civil Enforcement Officers the


same protection in law as Police Officers. • Creating a regulator for bailiffs. • Funding for qualifications for the parking profession. • Implementation of the planned reforms to the “Blue


Badge” (handicapped parking) system. The full document is available from the BPA (info@british-


parking.co.uk) or at its website: www.britishparking.co.uk/ files/images/Master_Plan_for_Parking.pdf. I don’t believe this document is a “master plan”; it is a wish


list.And I think the BPA has, on this occasion, largely missed the point. First, in calling for government coordination on parking


matters, the BPA fails to recognize that parking as a process cuts across all aspects of modern life. Indeed, the authors of the document seem unaware that the Department of Communities and Local Government, which sets the national planning agen- da, has a major role in parking; it is not mentioned. Parking is one part of a wider transport process, and to suggest that parking can be separated fromthe bigger picture fails to see that big- ger picture. The call for an independent appeals


service for the private parking sector is strange.Most transactions between the pri- vate sector and the parker are in the formof a contract, and if either party feels that the other side is not honoring the contract, there is an arbitration process – it’s called a court. The reason for this request becomes


clearerwith the third point,which is breath- taking in its implications. At present, if there is a contract dispute between two par- ties, then either party has recourse to the courts or some previously agreed arbitration process to determine the rights and wrongs of the case; there is no default liability on either side. But the proposal is that, henceforth, the


owner of the vehicle should automatically become responsible for a charge imposed by the car park provider. There would be deemed responsibility on no stronger basis than the operator saying the charge is due. Further, that responsibility is no longerwith


the other party in the contract but with a third party, the car own- er. The proposal would move from a process whereby the opera- tor has to prove the debt exists to one where the owner of the vehicle, not the parker, would have to prove that it did not I see no reason general contract law should be modified to


create a specific and patently unfair process specifically to deal with this specific type of contract. In any case, the UK Human RightsAct states that “every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions”; it appears that the BPA is proposing to abrogate this right for the financial gain of the private parking sector. Compulsory membership in an accredited trade association


and compulsory regulation are fine principles, provided that the ATAhas public confidence and,more important, has andwill use procedures that will exclude those that fall below the required standard. The BPA has worked long and hard and honorably to put in place such a process, and with its “approved operator scheme” is part way there.


Continued on Page 26 SEPTEMBER 2010 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com 25


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