Various London Councils are to attend a seminar next month that has a workplace parking levy on the agenda. Authorities in Milton Keynes, Cambridge and Oxford have all previously expressed an interest.

Last August the then Labour Government confirmed UK’s first workplace parking levy would come into effect in Nottingham in 2012, meaning employees will have to pay up to £350 per year to ensure a space.

Under the scheme any company with 11 or more parking spaces will be charged £250 per year for each – rising to a potential £350 within two years. Employers can choose to pay this themselves or pass it onto their staff. In Nottingham alone 40,000 commuters could be affected.

In his blog, Richard George, roads and climate campaigner at The Campaign for Better Transport, said: “There are two really good things about the WPL programme. The first is obvious: the council needs to put forward the right scheme for their area, because otherwise they’ll get voted out at the next election. That’s how Nottingham City Council got their parking levy – by persuading people it was the right thing for Nottingham.

“Secondly, in the midst of a recession where every service is at risk of being cut, parking levies generate a new, ring-fenced revenue stream to fund otherwise unaffordable improvements..

“What this should do is spark is a debate about what sort of transport people want, and how they want to fund it. Councils should be considering parking levies, even if only to dismiss them, because there are so few funding options.

“In many cases, it will be workplace parking levy or no public transport improvements for years to come. If so, councils have a duty to explain that to their constituents, and let them decide whether the best thing for their area is to have improved public transport or a small number of businesses providing free parking to their staff.”

But the Forum of Private Business is deeply opposed to the scheme and believes it will provoke fury among business owners, who could be forced to pay tens of thousands of pounds each year simply for providing their employees with somewhere to park their cars.

Forum spokesman Chris Gorman said: “When the Nottingham WPL scheme was given the go-ahead last year, we said at the time that it would only be a matter of time before it spread to other towns and cities. Sadly, it appears those fears will soon be realised.

“In our view, and in the view of our members, it’s simply a stealth tax which will have a disproportionate impact on small businesses. It’s the equivalent of charging homeowners to park on their own driveways and will increase parking problems in town centres and cities.

“Businesses already contribute enormous amounts to public services through existing taxes such as business rates. Whatever its supposed justifications, the danger is that the WPL could open the floodgates to a raft of new taxes and charges being levied onto companies to pay for things which were previously paid for through general taxation.

“And while councils’ finances are under pressure, this is a very short-sighted idea as companies are likely to avoid areas with a WPL scheme in operation, meaning jobs, investment and therefore tax revenue will end up elsewhere.”

“This proposal comes as small businesses are battling with economic uncertainty, public spending cuts and worrying levels of inflation.

“We would urge any businesses whose local authorities are considering implementing a WPL scheme to oppose it in every way they can.”

In towns and cities across the country, the cost of parking is soaring, with some local authorities doubling – and in one case trebling – their rates.

Elsewhere, residents are being forced to buy expensive permits for the first time and thousands of free parking spaces are being scrapped and replaced with paid-for spaces.

Motoring organisations said the charges were effectively a tax on the motorist, and said they could be subject to legal challenges because they were designed to raise revenue rather than ease congestion. Small businesses warned that the changes could also hurt the economy.

But local authorities defended the increases and said the extra revenue would be reinvested in road safety.
An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph has established that at least 150 councils have brought in new parking charges this year, or are considering such a move.

These included 40 councils that have either introduced, or plan to introduce, parking charges in areas where parking was previously free and 12 councils that are extending chargeable hours or bringing in weekend charging to raise extra funds.

The remainder are putting up, or considering putting up, the cost of existing parking.

The areas affected include:

• Milton Keynes, where the council is preparing to charge for 5,000 spaces that are currently free – bringing in an extra £2.2 million a year.
• Brent, in north-west London, where the council agreed on Wednesday to increase residents’ permit charges and introduce an emission-based charging regime that will raise an extra £1.1 million.
• Babergh, in Suffolk, and Broxtowe, in Nottinghamshire, where parking charges will be introduced for the first time.
• Blackpool, where, in April, prices in three car parks more than trebled to £7.50 for a four to 12-hour ticket, up from £2.20. At one of the town’s long-stay car parks, minimum rates increased from 50p for up to one hour, to £2.30 for up to two hours.
• Northampton, where the cost of joining the residents’ parking scheme rose sevenfold, from £50 to £350.
• In North Somerset, Dartford in Kent, Doncaster in South Yorkshire, Rushmoor in Hampshire, Bexley in London, and in the Scottish Borders, some tariffs have been doubled.

Councils said that budget cuts were a factor in their decision to raise more money from parking charges.

Dozens of councils said they could not provide precise details of the extra income they expected to receive but those that could said motorists would be paying out at least £14.8 million more.

Paul Watters, the head of public affairs at the AA, described the situation as a “war on the motorist”.

“With councils’ coffers being drained and grants being cut, parking is the only revenue provider they have and they are clearly going to milk it,” said Mr Watters.

“Parking charges are effectively a tax on motorists when they should be about managing space effectively.
“Drivers are being ripped off at the pumps, ripped off by parking, and it affects the whole economy.”

Prof Stephen Glaister, the director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Motorists have always been suspicious that councils regard them as easy pickings. It now seems that in some cases they are dead right.

“The legal advice the Foundation has received is very clear; on-street parking fees can only be set to relieve or prevent congestion, and cover the costs of running the scheme.

“For cash-strapped councils to set charges simply to raise general revenue is ‘back door’ taxation and leaves them open to legal challenge.”

In 2007-08, councils in England collected £324.5 million from sales of parking permits and car park charges. A spokesman for the Federation of Small Business said: “By increasing parking charges in local town centres it will drive people to out-of-town shopping centres where most of the time they can park for free. “Businesses are concerned about it. We will lose impulse trade.”

As a result of the recession some local authorities have had reduced receipts from parking tickets, and justify the changes simply as a way to balance the books. In Brent the proposals to introduce an emission-based charging regime are now due to go out to public consultation.

A council spokesman said: “This is the first rise in controlled parking zone charges in Brent for over 10 years and brings us more in line with other London boroughs.

“The majority of residents will still be paying less than £100 a year, those with the lowest emissions will pay nothing and less than a dozen residents will pay the maximum charge for high-emitting vehicles.” Richard Kemp, the vice chairman of the Local Government Association, said: “Councils do not increase parking charges lightly. Any town halls which are putting up prices for motorists will have examined the likely impact on people who live in the area and on those who visit.

“Some councils are freezing and cutting parking charges as part of their efforts to support local businesses and tourism.
“In some cases, introducing or increasing charges can help deter drivers who may have been using town centre spaces while they commuted to another city, making room for genuine visitors and shoppers.

“Councils are well aware of the need to keep costs down for residents during these difficult financial times. Each council is best placed to make its own decisions about what fees are appropriate for its local area.”

The Home Office recently announced plans to make it illegal to clamp or tow away a car parked on private property.

Currently, a car can be clamped if it is parked in a pub or supermarket car park or at a block of flats or workplace reserved for permit holders or customers, or if the driver has overstayed the time limit in a public car park.

Clamping companies charge exorbitant fees to unclamp the vehicle or to release it after towing it away.

Such practices will become illegal under the new laws, although powers will be given to the emergency services to remove vehicles that are parked dangerously or causing an obstruction.

You can avoid having to pay high London parking fees and fines and find free parking in London by using the Tube and our text service to find free parking near tube stations outside the congestion zone.

Simply text the word Parking and the name of a tube station OUTSIDE THE CONGESTION ZONE to 80039 and you’ll receive a text back giving you three locations near the tube, or the one closest to it on the same line.

Telegraph.co.uk

Motorists in the London borough have received 47,500 fewer penalty charge notices (PCNs) in the 12 months up to March 2010 compared to the previous year.

Overall,143,386 PCNs were issued by the local council compared to 190,144 between April 2008 and March 2009.

According to Barnet Council, the decrease is largely driven by the implantation of the Verrus payment scheme, which allows residents to pay for their parking with their mobile phone.

A statement from the council said: “The decrease in PCNs is due in large part to the introduction of more user friendly schemes, such as cashless parking, free after three and e-permits.”

Motorists simply ring the Verrus service number and pay for their parking fee with their bank card.

It can help reduce the likelihood of receiving a PCN as shoppers can add more credit to their parking ticket without having to return to their car, while reminders can also be sent to the user’s phone before the ticket expires.

The council claims the owners of Bugattis, Ferraris and Lamborghinis routinely flout parking restrictions because they know officials are powerless to trace them in their own countries.

The council, Britain’s largest parking authority, accuses the culprits of a “blatant disregard” for the country’s road laws by refusing to pay the penalties.

In the past three years, offenders have failed to settle a total of 36,332 parking tickets, leaving the council £3,776,490 out of pocket.

Top of the authority’s most wanted list is the owner of a £300,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom, who owes them £2,000 for 18 parking tickets.

While the owner of a Bugatti Veyron L’Edition Centenaire would have lavished £1.2 million on buying their 250mph car, they have failed to pay a £120 fine for parking on a single yellow line outside Selfridges.

Despite having the distinctive registration 111111, the council is also struggling to track the driver of a red and black Bugatti Veyron ticketed this month near Marble Arch. All three cars are on Arabic plates.

Other prolific offenders include owners of a US-registered Hummer and a Lamborghini Murcielago from Dubai.
Westminster Council is calling on the Government to help establish a system of international co-operation to allow local authorities to trace foreign motorists – 80 per cent of whom refuse to pay fines.

Currently, there are no laws to provide parking authorities with access to overseas driver and vehicle registration data to chase up parking fines.

New EU legislation will allow member states to share such information but experts say British authorities will not be able to use the law because parking offences are not classified as criminal offences in this country.
Cllr Lee Rowley, Westminster Council’s cabinet member for parking, said: “British taxpayers can no longer foot the bill for foreign motorists who seem think the rules of this country do not apply to them.

“We would like to see a more rigorous system put in place to hold these drivers to account and send a clear message that this blatant disregard of the law will not be tolerated.”
Officials say the problem is most pronounced among vehicles registered in the Middle East, which are frequently seen parked on yellow lines, in bus lanes or in residents’ parking bays in expensive parts of the capital.

Many wealthy Arabs have their sports cars flown into Britain by private jet during the so-called ‘season’ in July and August, when it has become fashionable to visit London.

The issue follows complaints, from residents in Knightsbridge over sports car owners shattering their night-time peace by racing through the streets around Harrods.

The Daily Telegraph disclosed last week that campaigners claim wealthy Middle Eastern visitors are making residential roads “like the starting grid of Le Mans” since the Qatari royal family purchased the department store in May.

Official figures earlier this year show that owners of foreign-registered vehicles evade motoring fines totalling nearly £15 million each year across Britain.

Sparks, a coalition of London councils established to tackle the problem, said 330,000 tickets worth £12.9 million are issued to foreign-registered vehicles in London each year for parking and other contraventions. One in eight foreign registered vehicle owners fails to pay their congestion charge.

In June it emerged that foreign diplomats in the capital owe more than £37 million in unpaid congestion charges, parking fines and other motoring penalties.

Last year, Westminster Council wrote off more than £20 million in unpaid parking fines after failing to trace the owners of offending vehicles.

Owners of vehicles on foreign number plates are allowed to drive them temporarily in Britain for a total of six months in any 12 month period without registering them or taxing them in the UK.

After that they must register and tax them with British plates through the DVLA.

Those with number plates bearing letters or numbers not identifiable in Britain must obtain a temporary registration mark from the DVLA for the duration of their visit.

dailytelegraph.co.uk

The anti-fraud team at Harrow Council, supported by police officers and parking enforcement staff, set up camp at Greenhill Way from 12 noon and 6pm on Wednesday last week, where they found 16 of all motorists monitored were using the badges illegally.

Blue Badges are issued to disabled residents allowing them to park for free on single and double yellow lines, in disabled bays and park and display bays.

But in the six hour crackdown 16 of the 32 drivers checked by officers were found to be abusing the system.
Officers spoke with motorists in legitimate possession of the badges who gave the thumbs up to the council crackdown, hoping that it would ensure the spaces were freed up for those who really need them.

A sentiment shared by Avani Modasia, Chief Executive of Age Concern Harrow, who said: “We absolutely welcome this type of campaign by the council because it helps to free up spaces for people who really, genuinely need them.

“I would say to people who are abusing the badge or using it fraudulently to think about the people they are taking these parking spaces away from.” All of the motorists found to be parked illegally had their badges confiscated and were issued with penalty charge notices.

They will all now be interviewed at a later date and may face criminal proceeding which could result in fines up to £1,000 in court.

It was the second operation of its kind to have carried out by the council in the past month and Councillor Graham Henson, responsible for performance, customer services and corporate services on Harrow Council, added they would continue to work to cut out the fraud.

He said: “We want people to understand that if they use the badges illegally they are depriving someone who really needs the parking space.

“Older residents and people with mobility problems rely on blue badges to keep their independence.
“It is important that as a council we protect their right to these spaces and in turn their access to Harrow’s facilities.

“We will keep the pressure up on offenders so the message to them is that if we haven’t caught you yet, then it’s just a matter of time.”

Harrow Observer

The total punishment for driving offences, including speeding and parking violations, works out at a staggering £10billion. Those in London rack up the highest lifetime tally, with an average of £680, while those in Northern Ireland tot up only £90.

The research, by insurance company Esure, found that 34 per cent of drivers have been fined for speeding at least once and 6 per cent have been caught three or more times. Nearly four in ten have been slapped with at least one parking fine and one in 14 are serial offenders with three or more tickets.

The survey of 1,017 motorists for the car insurance website found that more 30% of motorists are confused by the myriad of parking rules and regulations. Others admit they do not know many of the other highway laws which could lead to fines. Nearly half of men have been caught speeding and more than four out of ten have received a parking ticket.

That compares to just a quarter of women drivers penalised for breaking the speed limit and 27% who have been ticketed by traffic wardens. It leaves men paying out £152 on average for speeding and £111 on parking tickets while women will pay only £79 and £ 75 for the same offences.

The £283 average takes into account the fact that some drivers will have a near blemish-free record while serial offenders may clock up many thousands of pounds. About 7% of drivers have been fined at least once for disobeying road signs and 5 per cent prosecuted for traffic light offences.

Five per cent have been penalised for seat belt offences and 4 per cent for careless driving. Mike Pickard, esure’s head of risk and underwriting, said: ‘Running a car can be very costly, particularly with rising fuel costs. Avoidable charges for driving offences only make this more expensive.

‘Speeding and using a mobile phone while driving not only add points to a motorist’s licence but put drivers and other road-users at risk. Making changes such as slowing down and driving more carefully will not only help make roads safer but also leave you better off financially.’

The figures follow last week’s disclosure that speed cameras and red light traps brought in £87million in the year to March 2009 – the latest period for which figures are available.

Transport Secretary Phillip Hammond has vowed to ‘end the war on the motorist’ but road groups said they will be watching carefully to ensure the Coalition Government’s actions match his words.

You can avoid having to pay high London parking fees and fines and find free parking in London by using the Tube and our text service to find free parking near tube stations outside the congestion zone.

Simply text the word Parking and the name of a tube station OUTSIDE THE CONGESTION ZONE to 80039 and you’ll receive a text back giving you three locations near the tube, or the one closest to it on the same line.

A judge rejected claims by Warren Djanogly, of No To Motorbike Parking Fees, that the authority introduced it simply to raise revenue. He also turned down claims the council did not conduct a full consultation before bringing in the charge, now operational across the borough.

The ruling may have wide-reaching implications, with other boroughs now also likely to consider charging motorcyclists to park.

Lord Justice Pitchford, sitting with Mr Justice Maddison, said the council had “perfectly legitimate objectives” in bringing in the fee to help regulate traffic. He added: “While there were traffic management and environmental arguments for and against treating motorcycles as a special case, it does not seem … the council acted outside its powers by resolving that all road users should pay their fair share for on-street provision of spaces.”

He said the charge was introduced “to improve on-street parking availability for motorcyclists in order to meet actual and anticipated increased demand. The existence of that need cannot be seriously challenged. The evidence was overwhelming.”

The judge said the influx of motorcyclists into Westminster following the start of the congestion charge in 2003 demonstrated “the continuing need for measures of “restraint”, which was the basis for the auth- ority’s policy in the first place.”

Westminster said it would seek to recover its legal costs of £50,000.

Over the past year the campaign group has held weekly demonstrations in Westminster, with “go-slow” rides in and around Trafalgar Square in the morning and evening rush hours to “paralyse” central London and turn the spotlight on their campaign. Motorcyclists have also taken their protests to the entrance of Westminster City Hall in Victoria.

Lee Rowley, Westminster’s cabinet member for parking and transportation, said: “Our decision to charge motorcyclists £1 per day to park has been rigorously scrutinised, open to widespread public debate and has now been tested in the High Court.

“We have always maintained that with huge demand for on-street space here, charging motorcyclists a small sum to park was fair and I’m glad the judge has reiterated this.

“This is not about the council versus motorcyclists, who we see as an important part of central London’s transport mix. We were one of the UK’s first local authorities to permit motorcycles in bus lanes and we will always want to work with the motorcycling community.”

Motorcyclists are charged to use any dedicated on-street bay. The council says it will hold the charge at £1 a day for three years. Riders can park free in its car parks.

This is london

A study by Big Brother Watch found just 54 of the modified Smart cars have punished an astonishing 188,000 motorists.

The survey found 31 councils across Britain have versions of the popular town car modified with a 15ft mast and CCTV camera.

Only 25 were able to provide figures but they showed they raked in £323,000 each at a rate of £188,000 per car.

Officials park the spy cars at known “hot spots” where they video motorists. Specialists later trawl through the footage looking for offenders.

Most of the 31 councils that operate the cars are in London. Ilford in east London admitted it bought one of the £40,000 cars specifically to monitor “inconsiderate” parents parking outside schools.

Greater Manchester’s car is used to catch drivers “using their mobile phones or being otherwise distracted”.

Haringey in north London says it uses CCTV cars to catch parking violations as well as traffic offences.

Dylan Sharpe, of Big Brother Watch, said: “The car represents a very dangerous escalation in Britain’s surveillance society.”

You can avoid having to pay high London parking fees and fines and find free parking in London by using the Tube and our text service to find free parking near tube stations outside the congestion zone.

Simply text the word Parking and the name of a tube station OUTSIDE THE CONGESTION ZONE to 80039 and you’ll receive a text back giving you three locations near the tube, or the one closest to it on the same line.

Daily Express

The Metropolitan Police (Met) said the incident happened at 1015 BST, on the first floor car park at the Arcadia shopping centre in Ealing.

Luckily, the driver managed to clamber out of the vehicle and was unhurt.

An Arcadia shopping centre spokeswoman said an elderly lady had been driving the car, but the Met is yet to confirm who was in the vehicle when it crashed.

The car park is about 50ft (15.24m) above the ground.

London Ambulance Service said they treated a man in his 60s who was taken to Ealing hospital with minor injuries.

The Conservative-run council claims the scheme failed in its aim to encourage residents to change their cars to lower emission models. Richmond is still London’s worst polluting borough for CO2, with more cars in the highest polluting band than when the scheme started, it says.

The CO2 scheme, which applies to controlled parking zones within Richmond, was subsequently adopted by Camden, Islington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Haringey Lambeth, York, Brighton and Edinburgh councils.

The council says it is not ‘anti-environment but this scheme has proved it is not the way to achieve real change to emissions levels’, a spokesman said.

Council leader, Nicholas True, said: ‘We need effective green policies that help, not hurt. If we are to fight climate change and engage public support in it, we need policies that apply to all and discourage use of large-polluting vehicles. Richmond’s CPZ tax utterly failed that test.

‘It is regressive. It hurts residents in smaller terraced houses in a minority of roads with controlled parking, while letting those in big houses with drives off scot-free, no matter how many gas guzzlers they owned.’

Instead, as part of a package of ‘Fair Parking’ policies, the council plans to introduce 30 minutes free parking to local residents where on-street and off-street sites are levied.

The council’s new parking policies will go before the cabinet on 12 July.

You can avoid having to pay high London parking fees and fines and find free parking in London by using the Tube and our text service to find free parking near tube stations outside the congestion zone.

Simply text the word Parking and the name of a tube station OUTSIDE THE CONGESTION ZONE to 80039 and you’ll receive a text back giving you three locations near the tube, or the one closest to it on the same line.