Government bans use of CCTV 'spy cars' for on-street parking
23 Jun 2014 02:36 PM
Use of closed circuit television spy cars on
their own to enforce on-street parking made
illegal.
In
a victory for drivers and shoppers, the government will make it illegal to use
closed circuit television (CCTV) ‘spy cars’ alone to enforce
on-street parking ending the plague of parking tickets by post, Communities
Secretary Eric Pickles and Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced
today (21 June 2014).
The
announcement is one of a range of measures that will give hard working people
and local shops a fairer deal by reining-in over-zealous parking enforcement
practices, which often force people to shop in out-of-town centres or
online.
The
long-called for ban will now become law through the Deregulation Bill,
following a 3-month consultation. Tickets will have to be fixed to the windscreen
by parking wardens, making it illegal for councils to issue penalty charge
notices to drivers using just the CCTV spy cars that currently patrol
roads for on-street parking enforcement.
Parking officers will now carry out all essential
enforcement, limiting the use of CCTV to issue tickets by post to
critical routes such as schools, bus lanes, bus stops and red routes where
public transport must be kept moving for safety reasons.
The
other measures designed to help local shops, support drivers and give
communities a greater say on parking policies include:
- trialling a 25% discount for motorists who lose an
appeal against a parking ticket at tribunal on the full price of their parking
ticket
- changing guidance so motorists parking at an
out-of-order meter are not fined if there are no alternative ways to
pay
- introducing a new right to allow local residents and
local firms to demand a review of parking in their area, including charges and
the use of yellow lines
- reforming operational parking guidance so it is less
heavy handed with motorists, prevents over-aggressive action by bailiffs,
positively supports local shops and clearly reinforces the prohibition against
parking being used to generate profit
- proposing a widening of the powers of parking
adjudicators. This could include, for example, measures to protect drivers
where adjudicators have repeatedly identified a problem at a specific location,
such as inadequate signage, and parking tickets have repeatedly been issued -
in such circumstances, potential measures could see adjudicators allowed to
direct an authority to stop issuing tickets or direct the authority to change
the signage, or indeed both
- updating guidance so the public know when they can be
awarded costs at tribunals
- increasing parking transparency so councils are required
to publish how income from parking charges is being used, including a new
statutory Transparency Code
- maintaining a freeze on parking penalty charges for the
remainder of this Parliament
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles
said:
CCTV spy cars can be seen lurking on every street
raking in cash for greedy councils and breaking the rules that clearly state
that fines should not be used to generate profit for town
halls.
Over-zealous parking enforcement and unreasonable
stealth fines by post undermine the high street, push up the cost of living and
cost local authorities more in the long term.
Today the government is taking urgently needed action to
ban this clear abuse of CCTV, which should be used to catch criminals, and
not as a cash cow.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin
said:
These measures will deliver a fairer deal for motorists,
ensuring that parking enforcement is proportionate, that school children are
protected and buses can move freely, and that key routes are kept
clear.
Further information
Local authority revenue from parking in England rose
from £608 million in 1997 to £1.3 billion by 2010. Nine million
parking fines are now issued every year by local authorities in England. There
has been a big increase in the use of CCTV for on-street parking
enforcement following legislation in 2004.
The
government has already scrapped previous Whitehall planning policy that
encouraged councils to hike car parking charges, and removed Whitehall
restrictions which restricted the provision of off-street parking
spaces.
Media enquiries
Office address and general enquiries
Eland House
Bressenden Place
London
SW1E 5DU
Contact formhttp://forms.communiti...
General enquiries: please use this number if you are a
member of the public030 3444 0000