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August 2020 | #340
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WELCOME AUGUST 2020 | #340
Let’s hope a few weeks spent sunbathing and eating nice meals will calm frayed nerves
It’s time we had a break
T
he journey out of the nationwide lockdown imposed in March is proving to be one that progresses in fits and starts. The easing of restrictions on how we travel, shop, socialise, study, work and worship has taken place unevenly, sometimes feeling accelerated, at other times slow, and often inconsistent and illogical. The fact that the four nations of the United Kingdom have adopted different approaches and applied different timescales has added an extra element of complexity and complication. However, on the whole, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are all travelling in a broadly similar direction regarding opening up the economy, education and tourism. After months of enforced domestic captivity and a news cycle that, inevitably, underlined the ever present threat of illness and even death, it is not surprising that most everyone feels like they need a break. However, the ‘travel corridor’ concept has proven fragile, with quarantine rules for key holiday destinations lifted but then reintroduced, often at short notice. This means sticking closer to home seems a much less stressful option when it comes to planning summer holidays in 2020. On the plus side, hot and sunny weather arrived just as people are free to head to the countryside and seaside for either day trips or longer ‘staycations’. The downside, however, is the capacity restrictions that social distancing is continuing to place on rail services means the car will be the primary mode of travel for many of these journeys. This means coastal resorts and rural beauty spots will have to manage an influx of cars over the coming months. To avoid a summer of gridlocked roads, packed car parks and jammed residential streets, local authorities and destination operators alike are doing their utmost to run their sites safely and with a human face. Many are providing advance travel advice, deploying interactive signs and implementing contactless payment options. Some beach car parks have even introduced prebooked parking systems that are more usually seen at airports and stadiums. Sadly, some members of the public have been behaving badly, ignoring social distancing, littering and being generally anti-social. Yes, tempers have been frayed, but abusive behaviour towards frontline parking personnel is never justifiable. Let’s hope that a few weeks of sunbathing, bracing walks and nice lunches in re-opened restaurants will calm everyone’s nerves before the shorter, wetter, and darker days of autumn descend upon us. Mark Moran Editor
Parking Review online: www.parkingreview.co.uk COVER IMAGE: THE NISSAN PAVILION, YOKOHAMA, JAPAN
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PR340_p02-05_Welcome & Contents.qxp_PR340_p02-05 12/08/2020 19:20 Page 4
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CONTENTS
22 30
Bus gate signs misled drivers Newcastle City Council gave motorists a confusing message, rules TPT chief adjudicator Caroline Sheppard
For the record... Eight councils have been shortlisted for PATROL’s Parking Annual Reports by Councils competition
32 35 36 44 48 52
The British Parking Association has met the challenge of working remotely during the pandemic
Parking can be a healthy choice The BPA’s Park Active project will support the walking and cycling agenda, says transport minister Baroness Vere
The future of traffic and parking John Siraut, Richard Walker, Peter O’Driscoll and Paul Moorby explore the impacts of coronavirus on travel and air quality
Step into tomorrow today Japanese electric car owners can pay for parking by discharging energy at the new Nissan Pavilion
The fall and rise of parking payments Parking payments are key staging points on the re-routed road to recovery, predicts NMI’s Peter Alcock
Cirencester car park postponed Cotswold District Council delays Waterloo multi-storey project to explore post-COVID transport options
Editorial Managing editor: Mark Moran Tel: 020 7091 7871 mark.moran@landor.co.uk Deputy editor: Deniz Huseyin Tel: 020 7091 7872 deniz.huseyin@landor.co.uk Editorial director: Peter Stonham
Still learning at 50
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Parking Review was launched in 1989 and is published twelve times a year. It is the only independent magazine dedicated to the UK parking sector.
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ETIENNE GODIARD/UNSPLASH
EDITORIAL A shop window in London
NHS parking was big news... for a day Reports that free parking for NHS staff would end sparked a political row, but this quickly faded, writes Mark Moran
T
he possible ending of free parking at hospitals for NHS staff in England became the subject of a political row that made headlines and then vanished almost overnight last month. On 25 March, health secretary Matt Hancock had announced that the Government will cover the costs of parking for NHS staff who were “going above and beyond every day” at hospitals in England. However, on 7 July the i newspaper reported that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) was planning to scale back the NHS parking concessions. A DHSC spokesperson had told the newspaper: “We want to make sure NHS staff can travel safely to work during the pandemic, which is why we requested that the NHS make parking free for staff, and that local authorities do the same with their car parks. When the pandemic begins to ease, the NHS will continue to provide free hospital car parking to key patient groups and NHS staff in certain circumstances. We will provide further updates on this in due course.” The newspaper report prompted dismay among health unions and health professionals. Sara Gorton, head of health at Unison, which represents nearly 500,000 NHS employees, said: “Nurses, cleaners and other health workers shouldn’t be punished for simply parking at work so they can save lives and care for patients. The virus problems are far from going away and, when this is over, the government should fund trusts properly so they can scrap staff charges for good.” The British Medical Association (BMA) said it was concerned that charges could return while the virus is still being fought. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the BMA council chair, said: “The government’s decision to waive parking charges during COVID-19 was a welcome announcement, but to reinforce them, before we’ve even won the fight against this virus, is a rebuff to the immense efforts of staff across the country and the sacrifices they have made to keep others safe.” Then politicians became involved. Liberal Democrat leadership candidate Layla Moran MP wrote to
6 | AUGUST 2020 | PARKING REVIEW
the health secretary demanding “urgent clarity” on the issue. She added: “Nurses and care workers on the front line against COVID-19 need more than a round of applause, they need a decent wage.” The Scottish Nationalist Party called for the UK government to follow the lead of Scotland in abolishing parking charges at almost all hospitals. The SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford MP said: “Nobody should be paying to visit a hospital car park, be that staff, be that patients or those visiting the hospital.” With the parking issue making headlines in the print and broadcast media, health minister Edward Argar to issue a statement to the effect that nothing had changed on free parking for staff. He wrote: “The provision of free parking for National Health Service staff by NHS trusts has not ended and nothing has changed since the announcement on 25 March. However, free parking for staff has only been made possible by support from local authorities and independent providers and this support cannot continue indefinitely.” Argar said the government wanted to be able to make good on its Manifesto promise of free hospital parking for disabled people, frequent outpatient attendees, parents of sick children who are staying overnight and nightshift workers. “Implementation of this commitment has been on hold whilst the NHS has been managing the COVID-19 pandemic and devoting its hospital parking capacity to staff and other facilities necessary for managing the pandemic,” he said. The free parking issue was raised in Parliament by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions on 8 July. Sir Keir called on the government to extend the NHS free parking scheme, saying any move to end it would “add further insult to injury” in the wake of the pandemic. “We owe our NHS workers so much,” said Sir Kier. “We all clap for them, we should be rewarding them, not making it more expensive to go to work. The Prime Minister must know this is wrong, will he reconsider and rule it out?” The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, replied: “The hospital car parks are free for NHS staff for this pandemic, they’re free now, and we’re going to get on with our manifesto commitment to make them free for patients who need them as well. The House will know that was never the case under Labour – neither for staff nor patients. May I suggest he takes his latest bandwagon and parks it free somewhere else.” There have now been several pointed exchanges between the PM and Sir Kier over the handling of the pandemic, but the issue of NHS staff parking seems to have disappeared from the headlines as rapidly as it dominated them. However, experience shows, hospital parking is a subject that will be back on the front pages before long.
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NEWS
Traffic management powers to be updated Gear Change walking and cycling strategy to unlock CCTV powers The Department for Transport (DfT) seems set to finally give highway authorities in England outside London the power to enforce moving traffic offences such as banned turns and yellow box junction infringements. The announcement was made in Gear Change, the DfT’s new walking and cycling strategy, which forms part of the government’s anti-obesity campaign. Councils in London already have the powers. However, while Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 provides for local authorities outside London to enforce moving traffic offences the DfT never enabled this by issuing guidance. Ministers have long resisted calls for the powers to be extended elsewhere, apparently amid concern that the change will lead to a huge number of penalty charge notices (PCNs) being issued to drivers. In contrast, local authorities in Wales now have the power to enforce moving traffic offences. However, in recent months, councils have been given powders to enforce against misuse of mandatory bike lanes, and look set to gain more. The Changing Gear document states: “We will commence the remaining elements of Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, allowing local authorities, rather than the police, to enforce against moving traffic offences
City mayors set to get more road network powers such as disregarding one-way systems or entering mandatory cycle lanes.” The DfT says this change has already largely taken effect in London, where it has significantly reduced police workload on traffic offences, allowing officers to prioritise more important matters, while also improving enforcement. “Traffic flow and speeds have improved and casualties have fallen faster than in areas where the powers have not been commenced,” it says. The DfT said it will issue guidance to local authorities about the powers including on the importance of ensuring citizens are properly informed about them and the need for traffic signing to be properly designed and placed, so that it is clear to drivers what restrictions are in force. “We propose that motorists be issued with a warning for a first offence, and fines for subsequent offences,” the DfT says. The DfT will also be reviewing the Network Management Duty
in the Traffic Management Act 2004, which requires highway authorities to ensure traffic moves freely on their roads. The DfT said: “We published new statutory guidance in May 2020 that was aimed at supporting the response to COVID-19 and building a green recovery. But we want to go further and look afresh at the statutory guidance about the duty that is now over a decade old. We want it to reflect much more clearly the current imperatives of decarbonisation, encouraging healthier forms for transport and emphasis on technology. “Outside London, mayors of combined authorities have responsibility for strategic transport but only limited powers over the strategic roads, the major main roads, in their areas. “Our intention is to increase their powers over their key route networks, similar to the powers that apply already in London and enable integrated highways and transport authority status
People come before vehicles in new order Drivers and cyclists will have to give way to pedestrians waiting to cross a side road or junction under a proposed rule change to the Highway Code. The government has launched a consultation on changes to benefit active travel set out in the Department for Transport’s new Gear Change walking and cycling strategy. The revisions would introduce the notion of a hierarchy of road users into the Highway Code, ensuring that those who can do the greatest harm “have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat they may pose to others”. The hierarchy will place pedestrians at the top, followed by cyclists, horse riders, motorcyclists and finally other motorised vehicles. “The objective of the hierarchy is not to
Pedestrians will have priority over cycle and cars give priority to pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders in every situation, but rather to ensure a more mutually respectful and considerate culture of safe and effective road use that benefits all users,” the DfT explains. “This doesn’t detract from the
at combined authority level for these roads, and we will consult on this.” Transport for London manages 360 miles of road – the Transport for London Road Network – and has influence over some borough roads. Changing Gear sets out a vision of thousands of miles of new protected bike lanes, an expansion of cycle training, making bikes available on prescription and an ambition to create a ‘zero-emission transport city’. New standards for cycling and walking routes will be spelled out in updated official guidance. The proposals will include more cycle racks at stations and other transport hubs, as well as in town and city centres, and for protected bike hangars allowing safe storage for people who cannot keep a bike at home. The new standards will be overseen by a new inspectorate, Active Travel England, which will be responsible for the cycling budget and help make sure schemes are compliant with the new standards. The strategy will seek to improve air quality and reduce traffic by creating more ‘Low Traffic Neighbourhoods’ to reduce rat-running, including by consulting on communities’ right to close side streets. There will be more ‘School Streets’ to reduce traffic and the government will fund 12 new areas to become more cycle friendly, known as ‘Mini-Hollands’. The concept has been pioneered in the London Borough of Waltham Forest.
requirements for everyone to behave responsibly.” A new rule covers where cyclists should position themselves on the road. It advises cyclists to ride in the centre of the lane on quiet roads, in slower-moving traffic, and at the approach to junctions or road narrowings where it would be unsafe for drivers to overtake. When overtaking cyclists, car drivers are advised to keep a minimum distance of 1.5 metres at speeds under 30 mph and two metres at speeds over 30 mph. Drivers of large vehicles should keep two metres away in all conditions. The ‘Dutch Reach’ for opening vehicle doors is endorsed. This method makes the car user turn their head to look over their shoulder before opening the door, and should reduce the number of cyclists injured when someone opens a car door without looking.
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NEWS
LIVE NATION
Live Nation cancels drive-in concerts Car park gig tour derailed by concerns over local lockdowns Music promoter Live Nation has cancelled a series of drive-in concerts due to uncertainties caused by local lockdowns. The concerts had been set to feature performances from Kaiser Chiefs, Ash and Beverley Knight. There would also have been performances of the hit musical Six, based on the six wives of King Henry VIII. Live From The Drive-In was billed as a reimagining of the live music experience during a time of social distancing. The drive-in shows were set to take place at outdoor venues such as airports and racecourses booked in 12 cities, including London, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, and Edinburgh. All 12 dates have now been scrapped, just weeks before they
How Live From the Drive-In could have looked were scheduled to begin. In a statement, Live Nation said: “The Live From Drive-In concert series will no longer proceed as planned this summer. We received huge support from artists, the live music production contractors, our headline sponsor Utilita along with our other partners and of course you, the fans.
SWINDON BOROUGH COUNCIL
Swindon CEO covered with plaster
The council warden targeted in the plaster attack A civil enforcement officer working in Swindon was attacked by a motorist, who covered her in plaster after objecting to being issued a penalty charge notice. A picture of the officer targeted was posted by Swindon Borough Council on Twitter. It shows her head and jacket covered in light brown plaster. The council tweeted: “We’re sad to report that, this week, our parking wardens have been assaulted three times, one was even covered in plaster. We understand that you are using your cars more and need to find parking, but that’s no excuse for dangerous parking or this kind of behaviour.” The council did not reveal exactly when or where the assault took place.
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“However the latest developments regarding localised lockdowns mean it has become impossible for us to continue the series with any confidence.” Concertgoers would have been able to watch from their vehicles or stand outside them in allocated spaces, or sit in fold-out chairs – though attendees were banned
from bringing umbrellas or their own food. Other performers booked for the show were Dizzee Rascal, Gary Numan, Jack Savoretti, Lightning Seeds, Nathan Dawe, Sheku, Sigala and Cream Classical Ibiza. Live Nation confirmed that refunds would be issued directly to all ticket holders. Other socially distanced music events are still set to take place in the UK this summer, including Suffolk’s Red Rooster Festival, Unlocked in Northern Ireland and a series of open air gigs at Newcastle’s Virgin Money Unity Arena during August and September. Gosforth Park in Newcastle will see performances by Supergrass, The Libertines and Maxïmo Park this summer. The Comedy Story, meanwhile, is hosting a series of drive-in shows at rugby grounds and racetracks throughout August.
Motorway service area visits have risen rapidly, reports GroupNexus Motorway service areas recovered rapidly once lockdown provisions were relaxed on 4 July, data released by parking operator GroupNexus indicates. Service area visits surpassed prelockdown figures from the same period four months ago, showing an increase of 4.46%, whilst dwell time has decreased by 14% to 30 minutes, compared to pre-pandemic activity in March. As lockdown restrictions have lifted, the data shows that traffic has migrated back to the motorways with even more visitors than before. It appears people are less keen to dwell, with the most visits taking place during lunchtime hours between 12pm-2pm. GroupNexus said this is perhaps reflective of reactions to precautionary measures. A comparison of the week nonessential retail reopened with the week that food and beverage outlets reopened, highlights that visitor numbers have increased by 55% in the South West as the second wave of restrictions were eased. GroupNexus said this suggests people were in search of more rural locations and an increased demand for ‘staycations’. Service stations were 31% busier in Scotland and 35% in Wales, where different restrictions are in place to England. GroupNexus said this
suggests that people were migrating over to England where restrictions had been eased. GroupNexus’s proprietary data on retail car parks has also identified that owners of luxury cars and electric vehicles were venturing out in greater numbers when nonessential retail reopened on 15 June in comparison to when bars and restaurants reopened on 4 July, at which point volumes of such traffic decreased by 50%. The company said this suggests an immediate release of pent-up demand by a higher-income demographic, with people keen to shop when fashion stores started opening, and correlates to reports of revenge spending. Total visit numbers in the week after 4 July (dubbed ‘Super Saturday’) were higher, but were dominated by budget, mid-range and family cars, perhaps motivated by the ability to dine out, or grab a bite to eat while they shop. Elli Morris, director at GroupNexus, said: “Analysing the figures, it is interesting to see how people are emerging from their homes as restrictions have been eased. The pent up frustration from lockdown seems to have led to an increase in footfall to holiday locations, heralding the rise of the staycation.”
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NEWS
Companies asked to sign anti-idling pledge New call for London’s fleets to turn engines off when parked A London-wide campaign aims to encourage businesses to tackle air pollution caused by idling engines. The call for action comes amidst emerging evidence that air pollution is linked to poor recovery and higher infection rates of COVID19 due to damage caused to the lungs. Launched on 3 August, Idling Action’s #EnginesOff campaign asks firms to pledge that their fleet drivers and other employees will not leave their engines on when parked. The Idling Action Project, jointly led by the City of London Corporation and the London Borough of Camden, and supported by the Mayor of London, has been running since 2016. It sees 30 London local authorities and the City of London Corporation joining forces in a bid to cut dangerous vehicle emissions. Keith Bottomley, chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Environmental Services Committee, said: “64,000 people die prematurely every year in the UK from breathing polluted air. Switching off the engine when your vehicle is parked is more important now than ever before. As we learn more about the harmful effects of COVID19 on the lungs, we are making a particular plea to London’s businesses to play their part in ridding the capital of toxic air and saving lives.” As part of the #EnginesOff pledge, Idling Action is offering London drivers free training and a providing a toolkit of resources to businesses, whose operations
The Idling Action Project has launched a new campaign aimed at businesses and fleet operators involve vehicle fleets, professional drivers, or employees who travel by car to work. The group wants to equip companies with the knowledge of how best to reduce air pollution caused by vehicles to protect the health of drivers and the public. Construction company MACE have already signed up to the initiative. Omar Rouchdy, MACE’s senior sustainability manager, said: “A clean work environment and work processes makes for a safer and healthier workplace. MACE will work with the Idling Action Project to deliver anti-idling training to our colleagues and those who work for our supply chain, equipping them with the knowledge needed to reduce unnecessary air pollution. “Asking drivers not to idle is a simple action that can help to protect the health of the those working on site and the local community. “
Veolia’s Central London contracts with City of London Corporation, Camden and Westminster have been among the first companies to pledge their support for the campaign, continuing to demonstrate the company’s commitment to reducing vehicle emissions and helping to improve air quality. Michael Clarke, general manager for Veolia Central London, said: “Veolia is investing in zeroemission electric vehicles, as well as trialling alternative fleet solutions, to support the improvement of air quality and avoid pollution. We continue to work closely with our teams to ensure that engines are only running when necessary and are switched off when not in use.” Idling Action officers have already run air pollution antiidling workshops with 40 schools, and spoken with nearly 8,000 drivers to ask them to switch off their engines at regular
Emissions-based parking charges for Hounslow The London Borough of Hounslow is proposing to introduce emissions-based parking charges for on-street and offstreet parking, and parking charges in Hounslow town centres on Sundays. Hounslow already has an emissionsbased element in residential parking permits, with a £50 diesel levy and free permits for lower emission vehicles. The council says extending the principle to on-street and off-street parking, as well as business parking permits, is a “logical extension” to support its climate emergency and air quality objectives. Three tariff rates will apply to on-street
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and off-street parking, with the lowest rate for zero emission vehicles and an intermediate rate for low emission vehicles. The definition of a low emission vehicle is 75gCO2/km or below (the consultation had proposed 50gCO2/km). Low emission vehicles will pay broadly the same as now, though vehicles with higher emissions will pay more. Charges for up to 30 minutes in an onstreet bay will be 80p for zero emission, £1.20 for low emission, and £1.60 for other vehicles. For two hours the rates will be £2.40,
idling action events with London’s local authorities. As well as asking businesses to pledge, the partner local authorities own fleets will be taking part in driver training and taking the #EnginesOff pledge. Vehicle Idling Action is a London-wide behaviour change campaign which is helping to reduce localised air pollution caused by motorists leaving their engines running when parked. The project has been awarded funding as part of the Mayor’s Air Quality Fund Round 3. As well as the delivery of idling action events, in which teams of volunteers, local authority officers and project staff work to educate both motorists and pedestrians, the project is delivering school workshops, engaging with businesses, offering vehicle fleet training, and is working with all local authorities to ensure idling regulations are enforced across London.
£3.60 and £4.80 respectively. For five hours they will be £8, £12, and £16. The discounts will only be available to people paying by phone. Pay & display machines cannot distinguish different vehicle emission classes. The low emission criterion for business permits will be set at 100g/CO2km because there are fewer low emission commercial vehicles available on the market. Parking charges will apply in Hounslow town centre between 11am and 5pm. The consultation had proposed a longer period of coverage, 8am to 6.30pm. Implementation of the changes is planned for January 2021.
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NEWS
Private parking tickets up by a quarter Private parking firms issued almost a quarter more tickets in 2019-20 compared with the previous 12 months. Companies handed out 8.4 million tickets to British drivers during the last financial year, RAC Foundation analysis of DVLA data has found. This is a 24% rise on 2018-19, when 6.8 million parking charge notices were issued. Parking companies can obtain vehicle keeper records from the DVLA to chase car owners for alleged infringements in private car parks. Each resultant notice can cost drivers up to £100. Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Anyone who received a private parking ticket last year would have been in plentiful company – yet again the number of keeper addresses released by the DVLA to private parking companies has shot up, this time by almost a quarter. “To put the numbers in context, if every one of the 8.4 million releases came with a ticket to
MATT SEYMOUR/UNSPLASH
DVLA data suggests 8.4 million tickets were issued in 2019-20
Parking rules on private land can be regulated using parking charge notices the next Glastonbury festival Michael Eavis would have to rerun the event over 60 times to fit everyone in.” The RAC Foundation welcomes the Parking (Code of Practice) Act, which will see a government-sanctioned code of practice to replace the current self-regulatory standards that are drawn up by the industry itself. Gooding said: “The hard graft of creating a new code of practice for the industry is currently under way. This will go out for public
Source: RAC Foundation
consultation before being presented to Parliament. But the code is just one part of the new framework that needs to be put in place, including a single appeals body and independent scrutiny of the private parking trade associations and their members.” A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) spokesman said: “We are committed to cracking down on the minority of rogue parking operators who
POPLA resumes considering private parking appeals Consideration of appeals against parking charge notices issued on private land will resume from 1 August, nearly four months after it introduced an automatic adjournment process due to COVID19. POPLA (Parking on Private Land Appeals) adjourned all new appeals on 6 April because the lockdown left motorists and parking operators unable to engage with the appeals process. As the UK moves out of lockdown, with travel restrictions eased and more vehicles on the road, POPLA believes motorists are better placed to submit appeals and operators are better equipped to respond to them. POPLA has decided that any new appeals submitted on or after 1 August will not be adjourned and will follow the normal process. John Gallagher, lead adjudicator at POPLA, said: “When introducing the adjournment process back in April, we recognised that motorists may not be in a position to revisit car parks or gather other relevant appeal evidence. We encouraged motorists to continue to register appeals within
John Gallagher the usual 28-day window and confirmed they would have opportunity to provide any missing evidence once the adjournment ended. “The first stage of processing adjourned appeals will therefore be affording motorists the opportunity to provide additional evidence. “Starting with appeals that have been adjourned the longest, we will start writing to motorists on 3 August to invite further evidence. “As motorists respond, we will
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Changes in vehicle keeper records obtained by car park management companies from the DVLA 2019-20 ......................8.41 million 2018-19 ......................6.81 million 2017-18 ......................5.65 million 2016-17 ......................4.71 million 2015-16 ......................3.67 million 2014-15 ......................3.06 million 2013-14 ......................2.43 million 2012-13 ......................1.89 million 2011-12 ......................1.57 million 2010-11 ......................1.17 million 2009-10 ......................1.03 million 2008-09 ............................687,000 2007-08 ............................499,000 2006-07 ............................272,000
notify parking operators of each appeal and all relevant evidence. The appeals will then fall in line with the normal process. If a motorist does not respond within 21 days, the case will proceed with the initial submission only. “We will be contacting parking operators that have significant numbers of adjourned appeals to discuss their capacity and other operational and procedural matters.” Motorists can take their case to POPLA for free when a parking operator that belongs to the British Parking Association (BPA) rejects a parking charge notice (PCN) appeal. POPLA, which received 89,609 parking appeals last year, is run by independent not-for-profit organisation Ombudsman Services. The scheme launched in England and Wales in 2012 and expanded into Scotland and Northern Ireland in May 2019. The motorist is given a 10-digit verification code by the parking operator, enabling them to submit an appeal through the POPLA website. For more information, visit www.popla.co.uk
exploit motorists. That’s why we are working with the British Standards Institution on a code of practice for the industry that is fair to both drivers and operators. We expect to consult on this new code later this year.” The DVLA charges private parking companies £2.50 per record. The agency says its charges are set to recover the cost of providing the information and it does not make any money from the process.
Q-Park launches key worker offer in Westminster Car park operator Q-Park and Westminster City Council have agreed a way of providing a lowcost parking solution for key workers in Westminster. Since the pandemic began, the city council has been providing key workers with free on-street parking. However, the easing of the lockdown means that key workers have been finding it harder to locate available spaces. The agreement between the council and Q-Park means that key workers can now park off-street from £5 using a special card. Q-Park operates 17 car parks across Westminster, which are being regularly deep cleaned and sanitised. “Current government advice remains to avoid public transport where it is almost impossible to socially distance so the opportunity to avoid risk and avail of quality parking in these uncertain times is invaluable,” said Adam Bidder, managing director of Q-Park UK.
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Swapping parking machines for trees & cleaner air Kensington and Chelsea council hBT reduced JUT carbon emissions whiMF off-setting 70 tonnes of Darbon (tCO2e) with our Meters for Trees programme. To find out how to get involved, please visit: metersfortrees.co.uk
#metersfortrees
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NEWS NORTH WALES POLICE
Snowdownia National Park, Gwynedd Council and North Wales Police work together
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ational parks and other scenic areas in Wales have been experiencing problems caused by vehicles blocking access for emergency services, as well as littering and the lack of toilet facilities. The Welsh national parks closed in March as part of coronavirus lockdown measures. Walkers and hikers were allowed back when the Welsh Government’s “Stay local” lockdown restrictions were eased on 6 July. Following a spate of irresponsible parking in the Pen-y-Pass area of Snowdonia last month, public authorities in this mountainous area of North Wales have worked together to implement emergency measures to address problems such inconsiderate motorists parking illegally and blocking one of the main routes skirting the foot of Snowdon. Chaotic scenes in the area during the weekend of 18-19 July saw 180 penalty fines issued to badly parked cars. On Monday 20 May, police turned scores of vehicles away from close to the base of Snowdon. Cars were also towed away after motorists were warned against parking illegally in Snowdonia National Park. Gwynedd Council, Snowdonia National Park and North Wales Police have now agreed a joint approach for the coming weeks to ensure motorists park responsibly. During the summer, National Park, council and police personnel will be on duty in the area at weekends to remind motorists of their responsibility. Signs warn motorists that those who flout the rules are liable to be towed by the police and cones discourage parking on the highway. Visitors are also being encouraged to use of a special park & ride service. Gwynedd Council leader Cllr Dyfrig Siencyn said: “Our message for people who intend to visit Snowdonia is to plan in advance before they set-off so that they can do so safely and responsibly. We are urging motorists to make full use of the car-parking facilities available at Nant Peris and Llanberis as well as at nearby Pen-y-Gwryd and to check the National Park’s website for upto-date details of their car parks. “The fact is that motorists like those who parked illegally at Pen-y-Pass endanger the lives of other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians and cause serious access issues for emergency service vehicles, including mountain rescue volunteers. We want people to be able to enjoy our stunning mountain ranges safely. Those who ignore the message by parking illegally on the highway on Snowdonia’s mountain passes will face an on-the-spot fine or even being towed away by police. “Walkers are also encouraged to use the regular Sherpa bus service which will be running every 15 minutes from 6.45am
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A car being towed for obstructing the A5 in the Ogwen Valley
Rescuing the mountain from Saturday onwards and which links all the main Snowdon car parks with the various summit paths. This will help us to control the traffic on these narrow mountain routes.” At weekends, the car park at Pen-y-Pass will operate only as a drop-off site for buses and taxis to reinforce the message that walkers should park in Llanberis, Nant Peris and Pen-y-Gwryd, and use the regular Sherpa bus services. Traffic and parking in other parts of Snowdonia National Park are also being monitored and visitors are being urged to make use of local park & ride services, which have been increased. Emyr Williams, chief executive of Snowdonia National Park Authority, said: “These urgent measures will help to tackle the immediate challenge and we will continue to monitor and adapt as matters progress. Such a situation confirms the urgency required of further progressing the existing partnership work on developing a
sustainable alpine style model of transport, which involves a radical re-think in the way the area is experienced by visitors and local residents.” Superintendent Neil Thomas of North Wales Police, said: “We are working closely with our colleagues at Gwynedd Council and the National Park to help reduce the risk to walkers, cyclists and other road users. The measures have been put in place to maximise public safety. This is a 60mph area and the irresponsible and dangerous parking risked lives and also would have prevented emergency vehicle access. “Whilst we appreciate that people are getting out and about more now that the travel restrictions have lifted, we are urging people to be responsible and think about where they park and to make full use of the park & ride facilities that are available. Anybody found to be parked on the clearway or causing an obstruction will have their vehicle removed at their own expense.”
North Wales Police and the Snowdonia National Park have used social media to alert people to the new enforcement rules
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NEWS
South Coast prepares for a busy summer BCP Council and Dorset Police will remove illegally parked vehicles “Please park considerately, respect the communities you are visiting,” is the message being sent by the police to people heading to the South Coast’s beaches this summer, Parking marshals, removal vehicles and apps will deployed in Bournemouth and Poole to manage an influx of sun-seekers over the summer. The reintroduction of quarantine measures for travel to Spain means that people are expected to head in great numbers to the British seaside over the coming weeks. Dorset Police and Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council have agreed to field more patrols in a bid to avoid the problems that led to a major incident being declared on 25 June when as many as half-a-million people descended on the beaches. In June, the police reported fights, overnight camping and three men were stabbed in an attack near Bournemouth pier. Cars were left abandoned on verges as visitors struggled to park and the beaches were strewn with litter. BCP Council leader Vikki Slade said the towns were ready to welcome visitors, but marshals had been deployed at car parks along with extra security officers, First Aiders and additional traffic management systems. The council has also launched
BCP Council has been using social media to inform the public a new app it has developed that pinpoints busy parts of the beaches. BCP Council has also introduced new removal powers to tackle illegal parking in cases where parked vehicles are causing an obstruction. The council said the towing away of vehicles will complement the existing enforcement ticketing operation in place across the conurbation, but will only be used where parked vehicles are causing significant problems such as a dangerous hazard. The towing operation will run through August to the end of September before being reviewed ahead of a decision on whether to roll it out permanently. Cllr Andy Hadley, portfolio holder for transport and infrastructure, said: “This is a decision not taken lightly but as a result
of the significant volume of illegally parked cars experienced, particularly at Sandbanks and Bournemouth seafront; we have no choice but to take action. “I hope we rarely have to use the power and people instead choose to park responsibly but everyone should be aware we now have this option at our disposal if they choose otherwise.” The option to tow has been rolled out across the whole area of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and not just in seafront locations. Vehicles that flout parking rules and are left on double yellow lines, across driveways, cycle lanes, on verges or too close to junctions blocking sight lines could be towed away. Vehicles removed will be subject to the government-set fine of £150 and face up to £20 a day storage fee for every 24 hours the car is left before being collected.
400 enviro-crime fines issued in Brighton and Hove
Brighton & Hove City Council enforcement officers have issued almost 400 fines for a range of environmental offences including littering and fly-tipping in the last three months.
The city council issued 191 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) at £150 each for littering, including on the beach and seafront, and 84 for fly-tipping at £400. The council has fined businesses that dump rubbish unlawfully, with £300 fines issues to 49 waste disposal companies operating illegally by not having the correct licence to dispose of waste. The 383 fines issued since the start of the financial year in April total almost £100,000. This money is reinvested directly into the environmental enforcement service, meaning the cost to taxpayers is zero. Littering includes everything from cigarette butts, chewing gum, food and food wrappers, bottles, cans, used BBQs and anything else deemed litter. Fly-tipping is leaving any waste or household items on land or the street without permission, even in the hope someone will take them away for free.
BCP Council enforcement officers will also to patrol car parks to ensure people are parking appropriately. The new approach has now been tested in reality. Friday 31 July saw record temperatures recorded at Heathrow, where it reached 37.8C (100.04F), making it the third warmest day ever recorded in the UK. On the South Coast crowds of daytrippers arrived by car, which led to tailbacks. By 9am, some roads were gridlocked and the mobile app was showing red in three areas, meaning “avoid”. By 11am it was reported that traffic marshals were turning people away from Sandbanks car park and residents were urging the council to close the road. By mid-afternoon, nearly all of the seven-mile stretch of beach between Poole Harbour and Highcliffe was marked as red on the council’s beach app, meaning “avoid, safe social distancing not possible”. Dorset Council reported that car parks at Lulworth and Durdle Door, on the Jurassic Coast, were also full. Superintendant Richard Bell of Dorset Police said plans had been put in place to cope with another surge. Officers were working longer shifts and some had their rest days cancelled to cope with the anticipated influx of visitors over the summer. Supt Bell said: “We have seen a significant increase in demand during the last few weeks with the good weather attracting thousands more people to Dorset. “We would ask anyone coming to the area to be prepared; it will be busy, please take care on our roads and respect the fact that many beaches will be near capacity and you may need to change your plans and find another less busy location. “We are working closely with our partners to maintain a safe environment for everyone, but it is critical people act responsibly, park considerately and remember that COVID-19 has not gone away. Everyone must play their part in maintaining the safety of residents and visitors alike.” Similar issues with traffic and busy beaches have been reported at other resorts across the UK during the first few weekends of August.
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NEWS
Fraudulent parking operations closed down Car park investment companies wound up after investigation by Insolvency Service
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pair of companies that fraudulently offered car parks as investment opportunities have been wound up following an investigation by the Insolvency Service. The linked companies sold investors individual spaces in car parks near Manchester Airport. They offered rates of return that could not be delivered on sites that they did not own and in which they had not invested. Aston Darby Group and Drake Estates Property Company were wound up in the public interest on 3 July 2020 in the High Court, Manchester, before HHJ Halliwell. At court the Official Receiver was appointed as liquidator of the companies. On 9 July 2020 Paul David Allen and Chad Griffin of FRP Advisory Trading were appointed as joint liquidators. In considering the petitions, the court heard that the two companies sold car parking spaces to the general public as investment opportunities at sites close to Manchester and Glasgow airports. Following complaints about Aston Darby Group and Drake Estates the Insolvency Service carried out confidential enquiries into the two companies. Investigators uncovered that Drake Estates began trading in October 2016, selling parking spaces at a site in Lode Hill, Styal, Cheshire for £25,000. The site was close to Manchester Airport but was not owned by Drakes Estates. Funds received were used to purchase the Lode Hill site in the name of an offshore company acting as trustee for Drake Estates. The property, however, was subject to a unilateral notice and the transfer of the property’s title to Drake Estates’ trustee has still not been registered with the Land Registry. The second company, Aston Darby Group, began trading a few months later in April 2017. It also sold car parking spaces at the Lode Hill site as an agent of Drake Estates, as well as spaces at a second site in Harbour Road, Paisley, Scotland. The Harbour Road site was close to Glasgow Airport and again was not owned by the company. Funds received from investors of both Lode Hill and Harbour Road were used to purchase the Harbour Road site. The property was registered in the name of an associated company before later being transferred to Drake Estates. Investigators established that between October 2016 and December 2019, Drake Estates and Aston Darby Group sold circa 456 car park spaces at the Lode Hill site in Manchester for close to £11.5m. Aston Darby Group sold more than 630
The closed companies The companies wound-up by the court were: • Aston Darby Group Limited, company registration number 10674154 • Drake Estates Property Company Limited, company registration number 10274697 Public enquiries concerning the affairs of the companies should be made to: Email: AstonDarbyEnquiries@frpadvisory.com Email: DrakeEstatesEnquiries@frpadvisory.com car park spaces at the Harbour Road site in Glasgow between April 2017 and December 2019 for more than £14.3m. The companies sold individual car park spaces to investors for £25,000 each and guaranteed an 8% return over the first two years for investments at Manchester’s Lode Hill site. Returns of 11% were guaranteed to investors at the Harbour Road site in Glasgow for the first two years. However, investigators established that these guaranteed returns were paid to investors from the original investments rather than income generated by the car parks. The companies made misleading claims in their sales brochures and marketing materials. Documents claimed that the sites were already generating yields of 8% and failed to make it clear that the companies did not own the sites when initial sales were made. Investors were also misled into believing that planning permission
Aston Darby’s prospectus (top) and the company’s website (above)
had been granted for the Lode Hill site and that their funds would be specifically used to buy a parking space. However, 50% of their investments were used to fund commission and other charges by the companies and no development activity has been undertaken to convert the Lode Hill site into the ‘state of the art’ car park that investors were led to expect. Approximately £2m raised from investments in the Lode Hill site was used to part-fund the acquisition of the Harbour Road site without the knowledge of the Lode Hill investors. Investors in the Lode Hill site were also led to believe they would acquire long leasehold titles to their property. However, Drake Estates could not fulfil this as there was a unilateral notice against the property. The winding up petitions were presented against both companies in June 2020 and were initially due to be heard in September 2020. But at a hearing on 3 July 2020, the court accepted that it was appropriate to expedite the proceedings and heard the petitions that day. The court accepted that the two companies had operated with a lack of commercial probity and with a lack of transparency, as well as failing to fully cooperate with the investigation and failing to maintain and deliver financial information to the investigators. David Hope, chief investigator for the Insolvency Service, said: “These two companies unscrupulously secured millions of pounds worth of investments from members of the public using misleading sales tactics. The court rightly recognised the potential damage done to investors by Aston Darby Group Limited and Drake Estates Property Company Limited selling a flawed business model and has acted swiftly to shut the companies down.” Company Investigations, part of the Insolvency Service, uses powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
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NEWS
TfL consults on 24-hour bus lanes Transport for London (TfL) plans to start operating its bus lanes around-the-clock. The changes reflect a current customer shift away from travel at ‘normal’ peak hours with demand now spreading throughout the day. The aim is to make bus journeys quicker throughout the day – 24-hour bus lanes are seen as a way of reducing the impact of congestion on buses. The trial will start in late summer and last a minimum of six months. It is hoped the bus lane revisions will see bus journeys become more consistent, taking a similar amount of time, irrespective of the time of day. Running more consistent ser-
TFL
Around-the-clock operation will reduce impact of congestion
A modern Routemaster vices will make it easier for Londoners to follow the government’s advice to travel outside peak times where possible. TfL said customers will also be able to more accurately plan their journeys, and greater service reliability will prevent large queues forming at bus stops,
making social distancing easier. Before the pandemic, in 201819, 1.15 billion journeys were made on the bus routes that will now benefit from the proposed changes. Capacity limits on buses allow no more than 30 passengers on double decks and 11 or 14 on single decks,
London Councils makes case for road pricing London Councils is pressing the mayor and Transport for London (TfL) to pursue a London-wide road pricing scheme as part of a green recovery from COVID-19. Last month London Councils’ leaders’ committee endorsed eight proposals drawn up by officers. One is to “radically reform the focus of the road network in London by working with the mayor and TfL to introduce a London-wide road pricing scheme that can underpin fair contributions by people using our roads, and support significant
enhancement of the strategic interconnection of walking and cycling routes across borough boundaries”. The proposals include the establishment of a working group of TfL, the Greater London Authority and borough officers in the first instance to develop some suitable options based on work already undertaken by TfL and bodies such as the Centre for London think tank. TfL is currently conducting a road user charging strategic options study looking at whether distance driven, emissions, time
Somerset plans a unitary structure Somerset County Council is proposing a unitary structure of local government in the county. Publication of the plan comes amid speculation that cost pressures caused by COVID-19 will prompt more two-tier shires to move to a unitary model. The two-tier structure of local government can be a source of tension for transport policy. County councils are the local transport authorities but districts have landuse planning powers, as well as responsibility for off-street parking and their own views about transport policy and spending priorities. Somerset says the two-tier system creates confusion for residents and adds to costs. It predicts that moving to a unitary model will have one-off reform costs of £16.5m but recurring savings of £18.5m a year. Somerset lacks a high profile on
the national stage for regeneration initiatives, it says. It points to the success of the neighbouring West of England Combined Authority in securing government funding for transport infrastructure. With government backing, Somerset says a new unitary council could be launched in April 2022, with the first elections in May 2022. Somerset’s full council will debate the proposal and, if supported, talks will take place with district councils. Some two-tier shires were replaced with unitaries in the 1990s. Recent ad hoc changes have seen the number of two-tier areas reduce further. The unitary Dorset Council was created last April following the transfer of Christchurch Borough Council into the new Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary. A unitary Buckinghamshire Council was created in April.
depending on bus size. Drivers may allow more passengers on board at their discretion, in particular for family groups. However, TfL said that even with current capacity restrictions due to social distancing, a singledecker bus could carry ten times the average occupancy of a car yet only use twice the amount of road space. Existing access to bus lanes for bikes, taxis and motorcycles will be retained, while designated disabled parking bays, Blue Badge parking facilities and most loading bays will also be retained during the trial. Claire Mann, director of Bus operations at TfL, said: “The pandemic has changed the way we all live, work and travel. We need to adapt our network, be flexible and continue to help people travel safely and reliably as London gets back on its feet.”
and road danger can be incorporated into charges. The Centre for London published a report in April last year recommending distancebased road charging for the capital. TfL provided input to that work. London Councils also calls on the Treasury to devolve Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) receipts from London to the mayor, “to support this refreshed and holistic approach to fair road user charging”. Since April VED receipts in England have been ringfenced for the National Roads Fund, chiefly targeted at the Highways England network.
Northamptonshire County Council is due to be abolished next April, being replaced by North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire unitaries. With Northamptonshire’s demise, 24 two-tier shires will remain: Devon, Somerset, Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, North Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria. The government is expected to state its position on reform in a forthcoming devolution and local recovery White Paper. Ministers are understood to be interested in creating more mayoral combined authorities (MCAs) – with transport powers – in shire areas. An MCA covers two-tier Cambridgeshire and the unitary of Peterborough.
Free parking boost for York’s economy The City of York Council is to offer free short-term parking in many council-owned car parks during July and August to encourage people to return to shops, cafés and restaurants. During July, two hours of free parking will be offered to people paying for parking using the RingGo app. One hour of free parking will be offered in August. The policy only applies in car parks outside the city walls so does not apply to car parks in the very heart of the city. The free parking is part of the council’s Economic Recovery – Transport and Place strategy, which aims to build resident, visitor and stakeholder confidence that York is a safe, healthy and attractive place for everyone to enjoy.
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LEGAL NEWS
Image from the Traffic Penalty Tribunal’s chief adjudicator’s report: A driver’s view when heading north on the slip road off the A167(M) approaching the roundabout with a sign indicating ‘City Centre B1309’, accompanied by Shopmobility graphic (Google Street View, June 2018)
Bus gate signs misled drivers Newcastle City Council created bus gate signage that gave motorists a confusing message, rules TPT’s chief adjudicator Caroline Sheppard
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arning signage for a bus lane in Newcastle city centre has been labelled “misleading” and “wrong” by Caroline Sheppard, chief adjudicator of the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. Sheppard carried out a review of cases relating to the John Dobson Street bus gate, which has been operation since 2016. It is understood that up to 92,000 motorists were issued penalty charge notices (PCNs) for driving down the section bus lane covered by the contested signage during 2016 and 2017. In creating the bus gate, Newcastle City Council (NCC) essentially created a ‘no through road’ by restricting 70 metres at the most northerly part of the street to buses, taxis, cycles and other authorised vehicles. Sheppard wrote: “The bus lane referred to in the PCNs is what traffic engineers call a ‘bus only street’ or ‘two-way bus gate”. A significant number of PCNs have been issued since to the owners of unauthorised vehicles that have travelled through the bus gate.” Complaints about bus gate signs have been at the heart of a number of appeals to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal by motorists. Following a site visit and the hearing of 10 consolidated appeals concerning PCNs issued for alleged contraventions of the bus gate restriction, adjudicator Paul Pearson allowed seven appeals relating to the northbound carriageway of the bus lane, but dismissed those relating to the southbound carriageway. Newcastle City Council then applied for a review of the adjudicator’s decision in respect of five of the seven allowed northbound appeals. The city council’s application was made under Regulation 23(1) of the Bus Lane Contraventions (Penalty Charges, Adjudication and Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2005, which provides
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that an adjudicator may, on the application of a party, review and revoke or vary any decision to reject a notice of appeal or to dismiss or allow an appeal upon a number of grounds. Ground (f) provides that a review may be conducted if it is in the interests of justice. The council said it considered adjudicator Pearson’s decisions to be inconsistent with his earlier decisions relating to the John Dobson Street bus gate. In particular, the city believed adjudicator Pearson did not explain in his written judgment that he had determined earlier appeals relating to the John Dobson Street restriction and had dismissed them. NCC argued that this omission amounted to procedural unfairness. The council also argued that adjudicator Pearson did not properly consider the judgment of Beatson J in Oxfordshire County Council v The Bus Lane Adjudicator [2010] EWHC 894 (Admin); that the decision has inconsistencies within in itself; and because of the perceived inconsistency and the publicity concerning the enforcement of this restriction, motorists are likely to be confused, and that NCC itself does not know whether or not to introduce new signs. Chief adjudicator Sheppard refuted NCC’s argument that adjudicator Pearson had been inconsistent in his decisions. She said that, in some of cases, the old sign on the approach to the roundabout off the A167(M) – indicating ‘City Centre B1309’ – actually misdirected drivers to the John Dobson Street bus gate. The chief adjudicator wrote: “I am bound to express dismay that a sign directing vehicles to the city centre through John Dobson Street should have been left in place at a principal junction and not have been replaced. That neglect alone is grounds for showing that NCC had not brought the bus gate restricting access to the city centre to the attention of road users.” When considering the original cases, adjudicator Pearson had confirmed that the signs at the beginning of the bus gate restriction comply with the signs regulations. However, having reviewed the cases, adjudicator Pearson had stated that the advanced signs
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LEGAL NEWS
I am bound to express dismay that a sign directing vehicles to the city centre through John Dobson Street should have been left in place at a principal junction and not have been replaced Caroline Sheppard
between the A167(M) and the bus gate needed to be improved in order to direct motorists to their intended destination, thus avoiding the restriction. With improved signage, particularly on the approach to the roundabout off the A167(M), fewer motorists would unexpectedly encounter the bus gate. It was materially important, Sheppard wrote, that the appellants were from outside Newcastle and, therefore, some followed the sign to ‘City Centre B1309’ off the A167(M), even though the city centre ceased to be accessible from the B1309 after the John Dobson Street bus gate restriction was put in place. This sign also displayed the Shopmobility icon from when these services at Eldon Garden Shopping Centre could be reached by this route. The chief adjudicator stated: “It is significant that all the appellants in these five cases did not reside in Newcastle (although some live nearby) and some said they had not been in the city since the restriction was put in place. This was the common fact to these appeals.”
The chief adjudicator pointed out, notwithstanding the fact that the John Dobson Street bus gate prevents access to the city centre, or anywhere else, the B1309 had not been de-classified, and, therefore, the signs created the false impression that it led to another A road. The chief adjudicator also decided that the advance warning sign in John Dobson Street itself was placed so that it could be frequently obscured by buses. The sign is misleading, insofar that it implies the left turns before the bus gate show Northumberland Road and Ridley Place are through roads, which they are not. Sheppard said: “The adjudicator described the advance direction sign as ‘vague’. In my view it is, in fact misleading and wrong. Both the turnings to the left are shown by a line with a chevron point at the end, indicating a through road.” In support of its application, NCC produced two videos filmed from the dashboard of a car driving along John Dobson Street and through the restriction. The chief adjudicator used images from the videos to illustrate the problems drivers faced seeing and complying with the signage. “I am grateful for this helpful evidence of the route from the perspective of a driver,” she wrote. Sheppard rejected Newcastle City Council’s contention that adjudicator Pearson’s decision in five appeals was inconsistent with his decision on the first wave of appeals. “I agree with Newcastle City Council that motorists are likely to be confused, not because of potential inconsistency, but because of signing, conflicting directional advice and lack of information,” she wrote. “In their submission, NCC says itself that it does not know whether to introduce new signs. The adjudicator’s decision could not have provided a clearer description of the signing problem. It is not for adjudicators to tell a council how to design and sign a traffic scheme. The authority is obliged not just to sign the restriction itself, but when a new scheme is introduced to sign directions for the alternative route. Where this is successfully achieved, it is unlikely to give rise to appeals such as these.” www.trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk
Refunds and reviews debated Newcastle City Council plans its next move
Driving north on John Dobson Street approaching North Street turnoff left. The bus ahead is obscuring the oncoming directional sign for the bus lane and available turn-offs at this point (still from NCC video)
View of second available left-turn off John Dobson Street when driving north, before the bus lane, on to Ridley Place. This follows a preceding directional sign (indicated as ‘Ridley Pl only’). Note that a driver faces dead-ends straight-on and right (Google Street View, August 2018)
The Traffic Penalty Tribunal’s chief adjudicator has criticised signing used to alert driver to bus gate restrictions in Newcastle. Newcastle City Council has not yet decided on whether the council will appeal to the High Court for a judicial review, nor what changes will be made to the bus lane now, or whether or not drivers who were fined for using the bus lane previously will be refunded. The total value of the 91,806 charges is estimated to be between £2.7m and £5m. The penalty for driving in a bus lane is £60 but can be reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days. Cllr Arlene Ainsley, cabinet member for transport and air quality, said the Labour-controlled council would refute any suggestion that it has been negligent or has misled drivers in any way, particularly as the measures we put in place were compliant with the government guidelines. Cllr Ainsley said the council would talk with the Department for Transport before making any further announcements. Cllr Anita Lower, Liberal Democrat chair of the council’s overview and scrutiny committee, wanted to have clarity on the potential cost of resolving the dispute. She said: “This longrunning issue has been a hot spot for chaos and confusion, and key questions remain: how much will this debacle have cost the council by the time it is over?” The Lib Dems, who are the main opposition, said the council should commit to implementing all lessons learnt from the review. They have also called for Cllr Ainsley to resign. Lib Dem leader Cllr Nick Cott said: “It is disappointing to see that the council wants to pass the buck on this long-running saga. Learning lessons requires accepting responsibility. Cllr Ainsley says that further information will be provided in a shorter timescale than it has taken the Tribunal to find against the council: with the track record of delays at Blue House roundabout, Killingworth Road, and other schemes, we won’t hold our breath. An impartial inquiry is the way to go.”
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BUSINESS NEWS
CDER is a new name in enforcement Debt recovery agencies JBW, Phoenix and Collect Services unite under new name Debt recovery specialist JBW Group has announced that its Phoenix, JBW and Collect Services businesses have merged together to form a single company, CDER Group. CDER Group will operate as a national collections and resolutions company with over 1,050 employees and agents, collecting over £250m annually. It will operate from regional centres of excellence in London, Bolton and Darlington. The combined companies will collect central government, traffic and road user charging debt. Meanwhile, CDER Group subsidiaries Court Enforcement Services, Rundles and Advantis enable the group to offer clients access to a range of services including leading High Court enforcement and debt collection agency capabilities. Nick Tubbs, chief executive of the new company, said: “Whilst this significant change marks the end of the JBW, Phoenix and Collect Services brand names, the new company brings together their significant knowledge, skills, experience and IT capabilities. Together we believe we are even better positioned to meet our clients’ needs.” Tubbs said the company is launching an approach called ‘Fairness in Operation’. “At this critical time in the UK recovery, it has never been more important for us to ensure we raise the standard of good conduct and practice in everything we do,” he said. Paul Caddy, former managing of Phoenix is now CDER Group’s director of central government services. “‘Fairness in Operation’ reflects key principles that will drive continued improvements across the enforcement sector. As someone who worked closely with the Ministry of Justice to shape the TCOG (Taking Control Of Goods) reforms prior to their implementation in 2014, I am pleased to reflect on their successes.” The reforms have promoted sector-wide investment in body-worn video evidence, contact centre technology, training in professional standards and vulnerability identification and support. Meanwhile, Caddy said initiatives such as the CIVEA Code of Compliance Audit demonstrates a wider commitment to establishing effective selfregulation to evidence professional standards across the sector. Caddy said: “One of the principle factors behind Phoenix Commercial joining with JBW in 2018 was the commitment to embed fairness across the whole business and to commit the investment to develop a ‘Service Quality Dashboard’, to evidence, with oversight from an independent advisory board, that fairness in operations is delivered in practice.” CDER Group aims to settle 50% of cases at the compliance stage and seeks to identify 40% of customers as potentially vulnerable, who receive tailored interventions.
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Nick Tubbs John Mason, director of road traffic and road user charging services, stated: “We recognise that any customer referred to us for collection and enforcement activity may be vulnerable or potentially vulnerable. Vulnerability does not remove their debt liability, but there are a number of ways in which we can support vulnerable customers, through our specialist welfare team or through referral to a regulated debt advice agency or charity, or in cases of particularly vulnerable customers, by returning the case to the client.” Carole Kenney, CDER’s director of customer car and welfare, said: “Our ‘Fairness Charter’ makes a number of commitments to vulnerable and potentially vulnerable customers through accountability, respect and our provision of balanced and individual resolutions. Ultimately, this is ensured through governance from our independent advisory group.”
Paul Caddy Sir Martin Narey, former chief executive of Barnardo’s and former director general of the Prison Service, chairs an independent advisory group that scrutinises CDER Group’s policies and operations. Sir Martin said: “Since I was first introduced to the world of debt collection, I have discovered a wider industry which is vital – there is a necessary civic responsibility to pay things like Council Tax and traffic penalties – but where treatment of the frequently vulnerable debtor has sometimes been unacceptably harsh. What I’ve witnessed in JBW and its other group companies over the last two years has been a committed and conscientious effort to treat debtors with respect, to identify and support the vulnerable, and where the concept of fairness has been put at the heart of the company.” CDER Group is part of Outsourcing Inc, a Japanese multinational company headquartered in Tokyo.
Collecting unpaid debt is a public service
Andy Cummins The resumption of debt collection visits in August is an important step, believes Andy Cummins, CDER’s director of local government revenues. “The recovery of public debt, and in particular Council Tax, is essential to funding local services,” said Cummins. “We are living in unprecedented times when public funds will be more critical than ever before, yet a higher number of taxpayers will face financial difficulty. “The government’s review into public debt collection is likely to advocate a move
to more typical debt collection recovery practices such as letters, outbound calls and messages. Whilst enforcement should always follow the completion of a comprehensive internal collection process, it is vital that the sanction and remedy of enforcement is available to deter potential defaulters and support local authorities to maximise essential income. “There is yet to be published any verified comparative data between enforcement agencies collection rates and those of a debt collection agency recovering postliability order cases. From the experience of our own debt collection agency, PS&P, we have seen that the contrast in collection rates for delinquent debt, using debt collection and enforcement methods, is considerable and therefore an effective enforcement service is a necessary remedy for public debt collection. That is not to say that it cannot be fair to the customer and our Fairness Framework will set a new high standard for fair collections and enforcement.”
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BUSINESS NEWS
Bristow & Sutor plans to expand workforce Civil enforcement agency launches recruitment drive Debt recovery agency Bristow & Sutor is resuming recruitment and hiring for enforcement agents, collection officers and other roles within the business. The inability to safely undertake visits and inspections during lockdown saw enforcement agents furloughed and almost all recruitment activity had to be placed on temporary hold. With government legislation allowing visits to resume at the end of August, the company is looking to expand its workforce. Bristow & Sutor currently directly employs over 450 people across the UK to provide debt collection and credit management support for clients in local and central government, as well as the private sector. Andy Rose, chief executive at Bristow & Sutor said: “From a local authority perspective this was essential, as businesses who did not retain staff will now need to recruit to replace,
Andy Rose whereas Bristow & Sutor are immediately recruiting to grow. This is especially important when considering the company has recently won a number of key new business projects, including collecting unpaid penalty charge notices (PCNs) at warrant stage for all road charging schemes and traffic enforcement contraventions for Transport for London. “Many local authorities are keen to resume collections and
enforcement activity as soon as possible, to help fill the holes left by loss of revenue streams and to help provide increased support to those impacted financially by the coronavirus pandemic.” From Monday 20 July, Bristow & Sutor began sending reconnection letters to debtors, giving them the opportunity to set up flexible payment arrangements and discuss changing circumstances before services recom-
mence from the 24 August. Andy Rose said: “At Bristow & Sutor, we remain advocates of the direct model of employment, so we are delighted to be able to resume hiring again. We have already seen a significant number of clients instruct us to prepare for sensitively making visits to their debtors. It is our committed intention, to the very best of our ability, to protect our workforce, ensure the safety of the vulnerable in our community and work with all partners and customers during these uncertain times.” While on furlough, all enforcement agent staff at Bristow & Sutor continued to receive training and certification, so they would be prepared to work as soon as it was announced as safe to do so. • Bristow & Sutor and Palladium Digital won Silver at DCXA’20 in the Digital Transformation and Change category. Founded in 2008, DCXA’20 aims to encourage and reward examples of positive business practice. The winners were named in a virtual ceremony on Thursday 16 July.
ZZPS signs Good Business Charter Debt management specialist ZZPS has signed up to the Good Business Charter (GBC), an accreditation that seeks to raise the bar on business practices for employees, tax, the environment, customers and suppliers. The Good Business Charter is available to all companies and charities with 10 employees or more across all industries and sectors. “It has never been more important for businesses to regain trust and show they care about more than just profit,” said Gary Osner, managing director of ZZPS. “At a time when people are caring more about who they work for and who they buy from, the Good Business Charter offers a straightforward accreditation. The charter recognises organisations which prioritise and care for their employees, the environment, customers and suppliers, whilst also paying their taxes according to the spirit of the law. The GBC and its members seek to inspire many other businesses to follow suit.” The Good Business Charter was set up by a charity called the Good Business Foundation. It has the support of the CBI and the TUC,
which both have trustee representation on its board. Other partners of the GBC include the Living Wage Foundation and the Prompt Payment Code. Chairman of the GBC board, Simon Fox, said: “The Good Business Charter brings together 10 standards, most of which already exist, but in separate places. We have bought them together to give a coherent overall position for businesses to aspire to. We believe that the GBC has enormous potential to change business practice for good. We hope that because of its simplicity and cost effectiveness, it will quickly gain support.” ZZPS is the first in the private parking sector to join the GBC and hopes that other firms will follow its lead. Gary Osner said: “Being the first business from the private parking sector to be accredited is also a great achievement. Prior to hearing about the Good Business Charter, ZZPS became both a Living Wage Employer and Investors in People accredited and are justifiably proud of the way we engage with our colleagues, clients and customers alike.”
We currently supply and have vacancies around the UK for Permanent and Temporary positions: • Civil Enforcement Officers • Environmental Enforcement Officers • Parking Back Office (Appeals/Notice Processing/Correspondence) • Parking Change Management • Interim Parking Managers • Car Park Attendants/Marshalls/Stewarding • Parking Supervisors (Both Enforcement and Back Office) • Parking Management (Both Enforcement and Back Office) • Heads of Parking/Directors • Parking Technologies (Business Development and Project Managers/ Field Service Engineers/General Managers)
• Off Street Parking (Business Development, Contract Managers and Regional Managers)
• CCTV Operators – SIA and BTEC qualified
Looking for staff or need employment? Please contact our experienced team on: Tel: 0203 668 5680 Email: parking@unity-recruitment.co.uk Web: www.unity-recruitment.co.uk
***Parking Experience Essential***
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BUSINESS NEWS
Transport for London finances scrutinised Road charges and driverless Tubes may restore TfL coffers Road user charges and driverless Tube trains are among the policies the government is considering to restore Transport for London (TfL) to financial health. The government announced a review of TfL’s finances in May, alongside news of a £1.6bn COVID-19 emergency aid package designed to keep transport services in London running until September. The review is led by the Department for Transport, which has appointed consultant KPMG to assist. Three ‘levels’ of analysis will be conducted: Level one: evidence and understanding of TfL’s current financial position, including a review of current obligations and functions, current income streams, and commentary on how these have been impacted by COVID-19. Level two: evidence and options to strengthen TfL’s financial position over the remainder of 2020/21 and 2021/22. This will include: options for short-term revenue maximisation; raising more non-fare based revenue; and further efficiencies. TfL’s approach to prioritising capital spending will also be explored. Level three: options for more fundamental changes that could put TfL in a fully sustainable financial position by the end of the current business plan period (2024/25). This will include: • options for maximising revenue and more non-fare based
TfL has faced rising costs and falling revenues during the pandemic income; revenue yield choices over time; and changes to road user charging schemes as foreshadowed in the mayor’s transport strategy • further efficiencies on operating costs, including extending driverless operation from the Docklands Light Railway to Tube lines that are already automatic • reviewing the approach to prioritising capital spending • reviewing the current operating model • reviewing the balance sheet and financing structure of TfL.
Conclusions will be reached by the end of August. The review will report to transport secretary Grant Shapps, with oversight from the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The review’s findings will be used inform the negotiation between the government and TfL over a fresh round of COVID-19 emergency support. Jo Hawkes, TfL’s director of corporate finance, will say in a paper to its board next week that TfL will need extra support for years. “The need to provide a
Gilligan and Moriarty join TfL board The government has appointed Clare Moriarty and Andrew Gilligan as its special representatives on the Transport for London (TfL) board. Moriarty retired from the civil service in March, having latterly been permanent secretary for the Department for Exiting the European Union and, before that, permanent secretary of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2015-2019). She previously worked for the Department for Transport as director general of the rail executive and of corporate services. Gilligan is the Prime Minister’s transport advisor. He served for three years as cycling commissioner for London when Boris Johnson was London mayor. The appointment of government representatives to TfL’s board was announced in May, alongside financial support to help TfL cope with the effect of COVID-19. Moriarty and Gilligan do not have voting rights.
full transport service to support London while continuing with on-going public health and safety restrictions (such as social distancing), and the possibility that COVID-19 may change transport use permanently, means that TfL will require further financial support for several years to come,” says Hawkes. “TfL has one of the highest proportions of fare income cost recovery in the world, at 80% of the day-to-day cost of operating the network, compared to 38% in New York.” Prior to COVID-19, TfL had reduced the funding deficit for operations, maintenance, renewal and financing costs from £1.5bn in 2015-16 to £200m. COVID-19 is forecast to cost TfL £4bn this year alone. TfL has appointed its own expert panel to lead a financial review that will run in parallel with the government’s review. The expert panel comprises: • TC Chew, leader of Arup’s global rail business • Stephen Glaister, emeritus professor of transport and infrastructure at Imperial College London and a former TfL board member • Bridget Rosewell, chair of Atom Bank and the M6 Toll company, a National Infrastructure Commission commissioner, founder of Volterra Partners, and former chief economic advisor to the Greater London Authority • Sir Jonathan Taylor, vice president of the European Investment Bank and previously director general of financial services and stability at HM Treasury. Consultants Evercore and Nera will provide advice.
Logistics UK is new name for FTA
APCOA teams up with HERE
The Freight Transport Association will change its trading name to Logistics UK on 27 July. David Wells, the organisation’s chief executive, said the change would better reflect the full range of its membership. “The FTA is strong because of its size and scale, and because we already represent all of logistics, a very large sector critical to the success of UK Plc. “Most news programmes describe us as ‘FTA, the organisation that represents all
Parking operator APCOA Parking has teamed up with location data platform HERE Technologies to jointly pursue business opportunities in the automotive and urban mobility sectors. Initially, the partners plan to enhance location data and services for APCOA’s almost 10,000 sites in 13 European countries. Based on this work, APCOA and HERE plan to build a joint parking solution for car makers, mobility service providers and smart cities. The companies are also looking to kickstart a joint initiative for the creation of HD 3D indoor maps of
of logistics in the UK’. Our media coverage and influence is growing, but sometimes our name does not help and can get in the way. “The word ‘freight’ often does not really represent what our members in vans, construction, utilities, public sector, 3PLs and passenger transport actually do. “While we are not changing what we do or who we represent, a more descriptive and impactful name will help important stakeholders and influencers outside of the industry take more notice.”
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car parks in Europe. This would enable the development of new services such as autonomous valet parking and pre-booking of parking spaces. “We are very excited to join forces with HERE to enhance the mobility experience of drivers across Europe with seamless digital parking services,” said Frank van der Sant, chief commercial officer at APCOA. “And the development of HD 3D maps of our car parks for indoor navigation will be a real first to market innovation made available on a larger scale.”
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BUSINESS NEWS
Solutionlabs taps into Pryor’s creative spirit Branding specialist to build up technology developer’s profile Tim Pryor has joined parking technology developer Solutionlabs as its brand and marketing consultant. In his new role, Pryor will oversee the brand and marketing strategy for Solutionlabs. Together with the management team, Pryor will seek to cement a dominant market position for the company’s flagship brands such as Tap2Park, whilst also helping to introduce exciting new innovations such as input360 to the sector. Michael Youngman, sales director from Solutionlabs, said: “We’ve expanded in a really positive way over the past 12 months, but we realised we needed someone to assist us in making that next step up. Securing a marketing professional with exceptional creative vision such as Tim’s, combined with priceless experience in the parking industry, is a huge coup for us. Tim’s creative work and
Tim Pryor presence in the industry has been easy for all to see and we can’t wait to see his vision for Solutionlabs come to life.” Solutionlabs is a UK-based company providing a range of technology-based solutions
for companies operating private car parks. Its solutions include: the cloud-based GoANPR system; PaymyPCN.net notice processing system; Tap2Park cashless parking service; and UCS, a debt
recovery platform. Its latest product input360 will be unveiled later in 2020. The company recently launched an exciting new service called StartInParking, which assists new operators to break into the parking sector. A brand and marketing consultant, Pryor said: “Solutionlabs offer such amazing solutions – excuse the pun – which I believe the parking sector need to get to know better. I wish to support the company’s recent growth and drive their existing portfolio of brands forward with a fresh, new approach. “What attracted me to Solutionlabs was its philosophy of always improving the customer experience and their commitment to innovation. I believe my experience and creativity matches perfectly with their own ‘outside the box’ thinking.” Pryor was previously marketing director at payment terminal supplier and upgrade specialist InaParc. In this role, he oversaw the company adopt a higher profile in the UK parking market.
McArdle’s BPA presidency extended
Did you know? Taranto has a new end-to-end Blue Badge application and management module John McArdle The British Parking Association (BPA) has decided to extend the terms of office of its president John McArdle and vice-president Mike Marrs by another year because of COVID-19. At a virtual AGM held in July, the association said the extended terms would ensure there was continuity in leadership during the COVID19 pandemic. The meeting saw BPA board director and chair of the public affairs board Nick Lester-Davis announce he is stepping down
from both roles after many years’ service. BPA board chair Nigel Williams said: “None of our achievements would be possible without the generosity of our members who donate their time and share their talents to help us deliver on our vision of ‘Excellence in Parking for All’. As we pass our 50th anniversary and look to the next half-century we continue to work hard to ensure that parking’s voice is heard at the highest levels of government.”
The inbuilt fraud checker helps reduce fraudulent applications and integrates with Taranto mobile enforcement software to detect Blue Badge misuse To find out more please get in touch
taranto@wsp.com 0151 331 8148 wsp.com PARKING REVIEW | AUGUST 2020 | 27
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How delivering fairness is more important than ever before in parking and tra c enforcement John Mason
Director of Road Tra c and Road User Charging Services, CDER Group As we start to come to terms with a “new normal” in this post COVID-19 lockdown world we face the daunting challenge of adapting the parking and tra c management services we previously delivered to accommodate the very many changes that have impacted on everyone’s lives. We know that the impact on our client’s revenues has been catastrophic. Already limited road space has been cut further through the introduction of increased cycling and pedestrian facilities with huge swathes of controlled parking areas reduced dramatically. Since March most Local Authorities either suspended or signi cantly curtailed “on” and “o ” street parking enforcement and the recovery of unpaid Penalty Charge Notices was either suspended entirely or scaled down signi cantly. Despite the dramatic e ect the COVID-19 crisis has had on Council revenues and budgets, the pressure on all of us to ensure debtors are treated fairly has never been greater. We must now carefully consider how the services we previously delivered need to be adapted for both the short and long term. Since being acquired by OUTSOURCING INC in 2016, JBW Group has expanded from a single company returning £26 million per annum (at no cost) to its clients into a national collections group which now recovers up to £250 million in unpaid debts and nes per annum
How CDER Group will maximise collections for parking, road tra c and road user clients whilst ensuring fairness for all.
on behalf of the government, public and private sector organisations. Over the past 2 years, JBW has been strengthened further by high pro le client partnerships, investment in its next generation secure cloud infrastructure and ve strategic acquisitions including Collect Services and Phoenix Commercial Collections. Each one of these successes has been part of a broader strategic vision to bring a new proposition to the collections and enforcement market. As such I am delighted to announce that with e ect from the 1st August 2020, JBW, Phoenix Commercial Collections and Collect Services will converge to form a newly named company, CDER Group, with a clear vision of delivering Fairness in Operation at the heart of everything we do.
All three of the companies coming together to form CDER Group have an exceptional track record in delivering high levels of collections for parking and road tra c debt recovery contracts across England and Wales, with minimal complaints and highly developed policies and processes for protecting the vulnerable. By bringing these specialist teams together to create a dedicated Parking, Road Tra c and Road User Charging Directorate and, through the implementation of our Fairness Charter and utilisation of our own unique advanced case management system, Edge, our combined capability and capacity to deliver service excellence will be stronger than ever before. With more and more cities looking to implement Clean Air Zones and relying on existing parking departments to operate and manage the PCN process for the schemes, our unique insight into managing similar schemes for Transport for London and Highways England will also ensure all such schemes are appropriately and fairly enforced with a core team with detailed, rst-hand knowledge of Road User Charging regulations and schemes. Most importantly, the new CDER Group will deliver our services in line with our vision of Fairness in Operation.
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Our vision of ‘Fairness in Operation’. CDER Group will bring ‘Fairness’ to life in a very real and measurable way – in everything we do. More than ever before the enforcement industry needs an enhanced operating standard and so we have decided to act on this and have articulated this standard so that it can be applied and used across every part of the organisation and have called this ‘Fairness in Operation’.
A framework for Fairness. These are not just words. We are committed to ‘show’ how we are applying this operation right across the group, cascading down into the daily activities our people are undertaking. Developed over the past three years by our dedicated Customer Care and Welfare Director and current CIVEA President, Carole Kenney, we have developed and embedded an enhanced and comprehensive set of operating standards, embodied by our Fairness Charter, and underpinned by an extensive Fairness Framework. The design of this framework brings a timely focus on how we deliver enhanced working practices that operate to a new standard that in every case can be characterised and acknowledged as achieving a fair resolution. This enhanced approach now takes even greater steps to identify potential vulnerability early and is governed by published and independently scrutinised principles and practices. Everything we have put in place has been designed to achieve the simple measured aim which recognises our belief – that everyone has the right be treated fairly – our customers, clients and employees.
Ultimately, this is ensured through governance from our Independent Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Martin Narey, former Chief Executive of Barnardo’s, who was knighted in 2013 for his services to vulnerable people. We recognise that, more importantly than ever before, any customer referred to us for collection and enforcement activity in relation to unpaid PCNs may be vulnerable or potentially vulnerable and su ering the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis for many months, even years to come. However, we also recognise the signi cant strain that our parking and road tra c and user charging clients will be under, to maximise revenue. Vulnerability does not remove a person’s debt liability, but there are a number of ways in which we can support vulnerable customers, through our new, enlarged specialist Welfare Team, through referral to a regulated debt advice agency or charity, or in cases of particularly vulnerable customers, by returning the case to the creditor. The creation of CDER Group, the bringing together of experienced and knowledgeable PCN debt recovery specialists and our Vulnerability Strategy and Fairness Framework, will ensure we balance support to individuals and the repayment of debt in a sustainable manner and we will set a new standard for fair, responsible and e ective collections and resolutions.
Please visit our new website www.cdergroup.co.uk or contact me directly for more information via j.mason@cdergroup.co.uk
cdergroup.co.uk
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ANNUAL REPORTS
For the record... Eight councils have been shortlisted for PATROL’s Parking Annual Reports by Councils competition
E
ight local authorities from across England and Wales will be competing for the top honours in the PATROL Parking Annual Reports by Councils Awards, or PARC Awards. The competition recognises the important role annual reports play in promoting public understanding of civil parking enforcement and how they support the wider traffic management objectives of keeping traffic moving. The awards are run by PATROL, which stands for Parking and Traffic Regulation Outside London, which is a joint committee of over 300 local authorities in England outside the capital (which has its own arrangements), and Wales. PATROL’s main role is to provide for independent adjudication, which it does through the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. In spite of the impact of the COVID-19 emergency, the competition has proven popular. PATROL reports that there were a significant number of high-quality submissions for this year’s event. Louise Hutchinson, director of PATROL, said: “Despite the challenging times, a shortlist of 2018-19 Annual Reports for this year’s PATROL Parking Annual Reports by Councils (PARC) Awards has now been selected. “While the ongoing COVID-19 situation has, unfortunately, meant that changes have had to be made to the running and format of the PARC Awards this year, including the cancellation of the reception at the House of Commons, we were keen to keep up the momentum and encourage traffic teams to prepare their 2019-20 reports.”
The review group
Effective traffic management keeps communities on the move, but has to respond to ever changing mobility needs Louise Hutchinson
The entries were assessed by an independent review group, which comprised representatives from the local authority, motoring, consultancy and design worlds. Brighton & Hove City Council has achieved considerable success in the PARC Awards in the past. This year, Paul Nicholls, the city’s parking strategy and contracts manager, has agreed to chair the independent PATROL PARC Review Group. The group comprises Jo Abbott, communications manager, RAC Foundation (retired), transport consultant David Leibling and freelance designer Lizzie Unwin. They met virtually to review the reports last month and the shortlist of eight 2018-19 Annual Reports were selected in consideration for an award.
once again kindly agreed to host the event next summer,” said Hutchinson. “I would like to recognise all authorities that have produced 2018-19 annual reports. While not every report can be shortlisted, they are all so important in continuing to explain to and engage with the public and external stakeholders on the purpose and importance of parking and traffic management, locally, in creating better communities in which to live and work.”
The PARC Awards shortlist
Developing guidance
• • • • • • • •
The PARC Awards have a practical dimension, in that the review group’s analysis of the entrants is used to update PATROL’s Annual Report Toolkit, a guide designed to help local authorities communicate with the public and stakeholders via a range of channels – print, social media and online. Louise Hutchinson said: “Each year, PATROL reviews its toolkit to support local authorities in the production of their annual reports, and this year we are grateful to the PARC Review Group for their contribution to developing these resources. “As parking and traffic managers start to think about reporting on their challenges and achievements in 2019-20, it will be impossible not to reflect the seismic changes that COVID-19 has heralded. Effective traffic management keeps communities on the move but, in turn, has to anticipate and respond to everchanging mobility challenges and solutions.”
Borough of Broxbourne Council Cardiff Council Cheshire East Council Devon County Council Durham County Council Lincolnshire County Council Newcastle City Council Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council
Recognising the best PATROL is liaising with the shortlisted authorities regarding further information about plans set in the reports. Despite the lack of a live reception PATROL plans to recognise the shortlisted authorities for their contribution this year. “PATROL will be inviting all those shortlisted this year to the 2021 reception at the House of Commons, where both sets of winners will be presented with their awards. Huw Merriman, MP for Bexhill and Battle, and chair of the House of Commons’ Transport Committee, has
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The PATROL Annual Report Toolkit is available at: www.patrol-uk.info
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ANNUAL REPORTS
For more information about PATROL visit: www.patrol-uk
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BEYOND PARKING: BPA
BPA
Still learning at 50 The British Parking Association has adapted to the challenges of COVID-19
Connecting the parking community
Andrew Pester, the association’s chief executive, said: “We are in a period where the BPA, our members and society more generally are facing significant challenges, as we have done periodically throughout our 50-year history. Membership support remains he British Parking Association (BPA) turned 50 this our top priority as we work together to find a path through this year, but lockdown and restrictions on social gathsituation and beyond. We need to also learn lessons and harness erings throughout the coronavirus emergency have the creativity that will continue to emerge as we adapt our ways seen many planned events postponed, or should of working – including new ideas on virtual networking to that be parked. The annual Parkex trade show has promote accessibility and diversity of our governance. I have skipped a year, as have the BPA’s many gatherings – been so impressed by the willingness of our staff team to adopt the association holds around 80 conferences, regional and specialist new and creative approaches to support our amazing members.” group meetings annually. Pester’s annual report outlined how the association has been However, the association has responded to the challenges of an advocate for the parking sector. “Over the past year we have communicating with its members by setting up virtual meeting strengthened our political relationspaces and creating a number of ships with government to inform new channels. The BPA website now policy and responded to a growing has an area called ‘Meeting Place’, number of requests to provide inforwhich features a section called ‘BPA mation and solutions,” he said. Communities’ for all members and In particular, Pester said, the BPA interest groups as well as a series of had influenced the drafting of the webinars and ‘Beyond Parking’ podAs we look to the future it will be new Parking (Code of Practice) Act casts. Elements of Parkex were salexciting to work in a sector playing a 2019 for the regulation of private vaged in the form of V-Innovate, an leading role in shaping smarter travel land, the final version of which online showcase of systems that reflected the association’s calls for would have been on show at the Andrew Pester a standard setting body, a single exhibition. Looking ahead, the BPA code of practice, and a single indeis planning to run its annual conpendent appeals service. “We conference as a two-day virtual event tinue to work with stakeholders to across 15-17 September. help ensure its delivery achieves a One significant casualty of coropositive outcome for all,” he said. navirus was the annual President’s The BPA had also represented its members at meetings of the Reception, which is traditionally held at the Palace of Westminster Department of Health and Social Care’s Hospital Car Parking after the association’s annual general meeting. While the reception Programme Board, and built up its relationships with adminiswas cancelled, the 50th AGM was held using a video link that trations in the devolved nations by supporting its Scottish, Welsh attracted a record attendance. Nearly 60 people joined the online and Northern Irish members. meeting to hear how the association is leading its membership The BPA’s corporate membership increased from 749 in March community through challenging times by evolving, innovating 2019 to 766 in March 2020. The association has seen a marked and providing support and guidance for members.
T
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BPA BEYOND PARKING: BPA
increase in corporate individual membership, up from 174 in March 2019 to 688 in March 2020. Corporate individual members benefit from initiatives such as free e-learning. There was also positive news regarding a number of initiatives, The BPA operates the Safer Parking Scheme (SPS), under which the number of sites with Park Marks remains stable at 4,910. The Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA) service heard 60,422 appeals against parking charges issued by members of the BPA’s Approved Operator Scheme. This was up from the 48,038 appeals heard by POPLA during the same period the previous year. The association’s commitment to wider society was evident in the BPA raising over £8,000 for Marie Curie to support people with terminal illnesses and their families.
Weathering the storm Strong events during 2019 and rising membership meant that BPA’s finances are in a strong position, Pester reported. “This has been another strong year for our association,” he said. “Our membership reached record levels and we continued to invest in supporting our membership community. As the year was drawing to a close, it became clear that the COVID-19 crisis would have an unprecedented impact on our world, our own sector and of course our association. The association is well placed to weather this crisis. Financially we are in a strong position and operationally we have been able to react quickly to the crisis.” Lesley Bradford, head of finance, explained that the association’s budgets for 2019-20 has been set at breakeven across the various workstreams in line with its not-for-profit status. A substantial surplus outcome of £1.11m for 2018-19 allowed the BPA to invest a total of £266,000 from reserves into several key member support projects across the association’s activities. The past year saw a year-end outcome of £215,049 deficit, due to the budgeted spend from reserves. Going into 2020-21, Bradford said the BPA’s reserves remain robust at £849,929. The association has been addressing how the pandemic will affect its finances going forward. “As we moved towards the end of our financial year, it became clear that the effects of the COVID-19 crisis would have a severe and unprecedented impact on the association,” said Bradford. “The BPA board instigated weekly meetings to monitor the situation and ensure that everything possible was being done to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, to protect our association and enable it to continue supporting our members.”
People will build the future The need to provide continuity in what are uncertain times means current BPA president John McArdle and vice president Mike Marrs had their terms of office extended by another year at the AGM The BPA’s chief executive Andrew Pester paid tribute to the association’s back office staff and regional managers. The association’s new customer relationship management (CRM) system allowed staff to quickly switch to efficient home working and develop new ways of working “Our talented staff team were once again recognised, receiving a prestigious Investors in People (IiP) Gold Award,” said Pester. “The opportunity to be benchmarked against the very best performing organisations allows us to further build leadership capabilities and drive value added across all our membership activities.” The virtual meeting closed with a viewing of ‘Beyond Parking’, an animation celebrating the BPA’s 50 years and setting its vision for the future. Pester said: “As we look to the future it will be an exciting time to work in a sector that can, and must, play a leading role as we approach smarter travel choices as well as evolving consumer expectations. “We are well equipped to do this. Our collaboration with the International Parking and Mobility Institute (IPMI) and the European Parking Association (EPA) to form the International Alliance for Parking Data Standards (APDS), continues to make strong progress towards a global data sharing standard to enable the parking community to support the development and deployment of connected and autonomous vehicles.” www.britishparking.co.uk
Parking is on a journey BPA chair Nigel Williams has a positive vision The coronavirus pandemic has stalled economic activity and upended communities around the globe. These are extraordinarily difficult times, but I am proud to say that our BPA community has come together (virtually) and is finding ways to cope with this unprecedented situation. I would particularly like to thank our talented staff team, who have gone to extraordinary lengths to overcome significant obstacles and maintain service to our members. Our sustained investment in membership support, our strong financial reserves, and the culture of continuous innovation we have developed over the last five years means that we face this global crisis from a position of relative strength. 2019-20 was another excellent year for our association with a continued focus on our key activities: member engagement; information management; auditing and compliance; technology, innovation and research; data standards; and the Positive Parking Agenda. The association has always been eager to transform perceptions of parking. And whilst the media paint a general picture of dissatisfaction, we commissioned a ground-breaking piece of research revealing what the public really think to provide deeper insights that will help our members improve the parking experience, change public attitudes and bust some commonly held myths. Our association’s staff and members are recognised as thought leaders who are helping to shape the future of the parking and mobility sectors. We are working with local and national government and other key stakeholders across a whole range of projects to create a smarter, cleaner, safer and more accessible transport network with parking and kerbside management as core elements. The Alliance for Parking Data Standards (APDS) and the Department for Transport’s TRO-Discovery initiative are helping to facilitate sustainable multimodal travel and provide real-time digital information to inform parking and transport decisions before, and during, any journey. Nigel Williams is chair of the BPA Board
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A healthy parking plan The BPA’s Park Active initiative aims to get more drivers walking and cycling
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s places where drivers turn into pedestrians and cyclists complete their journeys, car parks could have a key role to play in promoting active travel across the UK. This is the central idea behind a new government-backed campaign that is being championed by the British Parking Association (BPA). ‘Park Active’ aims to encourage more people to think about walking or cycling the last part of their journey. Park Active will encourage the use of peripheral parking sites that are easy to access and offer cheaper long-stay parking and act as bases for onward active travel options, mainly cycling or walking. In parallel, it will discourage longer stay parking close to town and city centre destinations, thereby reducing the amount of traffic and helping free up central area short-stay parking for shoppers and Blue Badge holders and to allow more space for social distancing. The campaign also aims to help reduce congestion and improve air quality in town and city centres. The BPA has been engaged to lead the project with input and support from central government, which has committed to give the association £75,000 for piloting the scheme. The Park Active scheme was launched in the wake of the UK government announcement of an £250m emergency active travel fund from a £2bn investment in cycling and walking (which is the first stage of a £5bn commitment to invest in new active travel funding announced in February). The £250m is available for projects that support and promote greener travel habits by building healthier communities with better air quality. The government will fund and work with local authorities across the country to help make it easier for people to use bikes to get around. Fast-tracked statutory guidance, published in May, told councils to reallocate road space for significantly increased numbers of cyclists and pedestrians. In towns and cities, some streets could
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become bike and bus-only while others remain available for motorists. More side streets could be closed to through traffic, to create low-traffic neighbourhoods and reduce rat-running while maintaining access for vehicles. Alison Tooze, the BPA’s membership development manager, has been nominated as BPA Park Active champion. She is engaging with various stakeholders, including cycling and walking campaigns such as Living Streets, Sustrans and Cycle UK. Tooze said: “For many people, it is impossible for them to complete an entire journey to the nearest urban centre by bike or on foot, it is just too far. However, if there was some facility for parking further away with the ability to continue the journey by foot or bike on a safe, well-signposted route, then that would appeal to a lot of people. “The government is very proactive regarding active travel and, in conversation with the Department for Transport, we were asked how parking could play a central role in active travel. Really, it is about rebranding car parks and promoting the concept of parking just outside town and walking or cycling in.” The BPA is keen to mobilise the parking community behind Park Active as a part of the Positive Parking Agenda, a local authority initiative that promotes parking as a public service. Initially, Park Active live trials will be run in up to 10 cities and towns across the UK to demonstrate the feasibility of the initiative. Local authorities that are set to trial Park Active include Sefton on Merseyside, Brighton & Hove City Council and the North Essex Parking Partnership in Colchester. The trials will explore if the Park Active concept can fit in with other active travel schemes, and look at what needs to be done in terms of providing bike parking, cycle routes and wayfinding signage. The project scope also includes development of a campaign toolkit to promote and raise awareness of Park Active both locally and nationally. The pilot will result in a national framework and guidance to enable the implementation of Park Active sites anywhere. “I am really excited about the possibilities for the scheme as we go on,” says Tooze. “In the long term, the parking sites have the potential to develop into travel hubs, from where e-bikes, e-scooters and autonomous vehicles could be used.”
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Travelling cleaner, travelling greener Transport minister Baroness Vere sets out how car parks can support the active travel agenda
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he past few months have presented unimaginable challenges to the way we live, work and travel. As we slowly begin easing restrictions, we must be forwardthinking about how we can help people get safely from A to B in this new world, and take advantage of new behaviours. Cycling is up by a staggering 71% compared to early March – and we want to use this recovery to change the way we travel permanently, so it’s cleaner and greener than ever before. Consequently, we’re investing a record £2bn in cycling and walking, funding pop-up cycle lanes, as well as rolling out a voucher scheme to help people get their old bikes back on the road. However, we know that cycling or walking longer distances simply is not practical for many people. We also know that many of us want to keep the cleaner air and quieter streets that we have been experiencing as a result of the lockdown measures, long after those have been eased. I am pleased to announce that we are giving the British Parking Association (BPA) a £75,000 grant to help get its first-of-a-kind Park Active scheme off the ground an encourage more people to build active travel into their daily lives. The project, being trialled during the next six months, will look to encourage people to make use of parking sites outside town centres. The sites will be easy to access, offer cheaper long-stay parking, and allow people to leave their car and walk or cycle for the rest of their journey. Not only will this help reduce demand for central parking spaces so they are available for those who need them, but it will also help reduce traffic in these areas – freeing up space for people to social distance, cutting congestion and improving air quality. Proper, effective parking management is key to our future mobility needs, and this is why I see the BPA as the perfect body to take this forward. With a membership spanning local government, commercial providers, consultants and academics – and with a commitment to innovation, advancing knowledge and raising standards – it is uniquely placed to secure the buy-in of a diverse range of partners. The idea is that parking facilities taking part would have signs and be colour-coded, to tell drivers how long it will take to walk or cycle from the location to the centre of town. Locations of participating sites could even be included in journey planning apps, similar to those provided by the BPA for the NHS. At larger parking sites, the pilot will investigate adding bike-hire facilities, so even those without a bike would be able to take part. Further investigation is needed into how best to deliver the scheme safely and ensure the right infrastructure is in place. The Park Active pilot is very much in its infancy, it could lead to the idea becoming a reality across the country. I am excited to see how it progresses over the coming months as we recover as a nation.
Baroness Vere of Norbiton is Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport
A virtual showcase JustPark wins the public vote in the BPA’s virtual Parkex 2020 Innovation Trail Parking technology suppliers took part in a virtual competition by the British Parking Association (BPA). The V-Innovate competition was run to fill the gap left by the Parkex Innovation Trail, a showcase of systems and technology that is run during the annual parking tradeshow, which was cancelled this year due to the pandemic. Six systems were selected and the parking community were invited to select their favourite. Voting closed on 16 July and the winner was JustPark with its Hybrid Occupancy Solution. JustPark: Hybrid Occupancy Solution (winner) When the government announced lockdown, tourist destinations had to close their car parks to discourage people from visiting. But with much of their income coming from parking, clients told JustPark they wanted to be ready as soon as restrictions started to lift and people could visit outdoor spaces again. One client in particular, West Wittering Beach in West Sussex, wanted to open its site responsibly and keep their staff, the public and local community safe. The solution was to control the number of visitors. With no other parking in the village or nearby, the council decided to limit the number of vehicles in their car park and as a result, the people on the beach. Audax: 2091 body-worn video camera The new 2091 body-worn camera is robust, durable and suitable for all British climatic conditions. The camera also has an SOS button to summon assistance if needed from the control room. The large front button can be activated by operatives without having to take any gloves off. The 2091’s inbuilt Wi-Fi and GPS tracking, live video and audio can be streamed to operatives in the control room, who can view, locate and assist their colleagues. The cameras are also encrypted to meet the BS 8593:2017 to help users comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Barbour Logic: Chatbot Max Chatbox Max is an artificial intelligence (AI) system that can engaged in live chats with motorists who think that they have been unfairly issued a penalty charge notice. Max has natural language conversations with motorists, enabling them to resolve their issues without having to write in, saving time and stress for both motorists and back office staff. Flowbird: Park & Sanitise Flowbird has developed an automatic hand sanitising unit that attaches to parking terminals to help users maintain hand hygiene and prevent the transmission of coronavirus. The Park & Sanitise technology is automatically primed when a transaction is completed at a Flowbird pay & display and pay-on-foot terminal. Users then place their hands underneath the unit and an intelligent sensor triggers the release of a pre-defined dosage of sanitiser gel. At no point do users need to touch the dispensing unit. PayByPhone: Customised Visitor Permit PayByPhone’s customised visitor permit solution enables councils to scrap process-heavy electronic visitor permits and inefficient paper scratch cards in favour of an easy to use, bespoke addition to the PayByPhone app. Using the app, the entire permit approval process takes a matter of minutes as opposed to weeks. RingGo: Living Machines RingGo’s Living Machines are a concept designed to help local authorities and private parking operators alike encourage touchfree payments by turning pay & display terminals into natural decorative features using planting that enhances local High Streets and open air car parks. Scheidt & Bachmann: NHS Concessions By adopting Scheidt & Bachmann’s smart parking solutions, NHS hospitals can offer automated concessions to qualifying Blue Badge holders. The Blue Badge holder enters the hospital car park as normal. Upon leaving the car park the Blue Badge owner scans the badge’s barcode to freely exit. www.parkex.net
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By giving more room to pedestrians and cyclists the Streetspace programme has transformed much of London
A picture of life after lockdown Traffic levels are creeping back up as lockdown is relaxed. But John Siraut says local government could dramatically improve the streetscape by deploying a range of traffic and parking measures. Report by Deniz Huseyin
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OVID-19 has brought into sharp relief our relationship with the automobile, the way we travel and how we view our high streets. Local authorities now face a clear choice between returning to a preCOVID world or ushering in a radical new approach to mobility, believes John Siraut, director, economics, at Jacobs. “What we will see going forward is a divergence of opinion between two different viewpoints,” said Siraut at the ‘Clearer Roads, Cleaner Air’ webinar, organised by Landor LINKS as part of the Traffic & Parking series. “One is that the economy needs to recover rapidly and, therefore, anything goes and we need to get cars back into our town centres and reduce parking charges. That way leads us back to where we were before with pollution and all the other problems and congestion.”
Radical solutions The other choice, Siraut suggested, involves local authorities embracing a range of radical solutions to stop a return to the old ways. This could be the moment for councils to take space away from motorised vehicles, promote more walking and cycling in town centres, in a bid to address both climate change and air pollution in city centres. “It will be interesting to see which argument wins out and which of those towns and cities have performed best. Will it be those that have gone back to life as it was before or those who seize an opportunity to do something completely different?”
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After lockdown started on 23 March, traffic on the road network dropped 70%, Siraut noted. “What we have seen over the last couple of months is a steady increase in traffic on the roads. HGV traffic is almost back to normal levels, light goods vehicle traffic is slowly getting there, boosted by home deliveries and car use is two-thirds to three quarters of its previous use. “By contrast, bus use levels still remain very low, at about 20% of pre-lockdown levels. Cycling levels, meanwhile, fluctuated dramatically during lockdown driven mainly by leisure traffic at weekends and the warm weather in May.” Cycling levels are currently still about 50% higher than normal levels. Walking levels, meanwhile, have dropped to half of what it was in the early months of lockdown. Parking activity is still about 50% down on normal levels, Siraut observed. “In other European countries parking levels are almost back to where they were pre-COVID.” Research data from Dublin shows that evening and overnight traffic fell the most. This is representative of what happened in towns and cities across the UK, said Siraut. “In Ireland, as in the UK, the evening economy has been very badly hit – virtually all the pubs closed down early, before lockdown came in.” By mid-July morning peak traffic had slowly crept back to around two-thirds of its previous level. “Off-peak traffic is starting to increase, not quite back to normal levels, but is still growing very strongly. So we have seen traffic levels increasing fairly steadily since lockdown. As the restrictions are lifted, traffic flows have been increasing significantly. “The pandemic gave us one of the most successful public transport marketing campaigns ever,” said Siraut. The core message was unequivocal: “Need to travel? If possible walk or cycle or go by car.” This succeeded in getting people off public transport to the extent where even the NHS was telling people to drive, Siraut said. “We are dealing with an obesity crisis in the UK, but still we are telling people to get in their cars and drive.”
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TRAFFIC & PARKING Some councils temporarily scrapped charges in their car parks to encourage people to drive. “The result of all this has been an increase in the amount of pollution on our streets. So, when lockdown came in there was a massive reduction in the amount of traffic and hence the amount of pollution, but what we are seeing is a steady increase back, not quite to the usual levels of pollution but getting
We are seeing a worldwide phenomenon where road space is being taken away from cars and given to other modes of transport John Siraut
Clearing the air Figures from early July revealed that since non-essential shops re-opened pollution levels in town and city centres have started to rise. “One of the biggest changes we saw during lockdown, especially for anybody living in a major urban area, was a massive improvement in air quality. I live relatively close to central London and just being able to see a skyline completely clear, with no haze, was quite an impressive sight.” There is a real risk that pollution will return to pre-lockdown levels as we resume old habits, Siraut warned. “We shouldn’t forget that road traffic is a key source of emissions. It is a key pollutant that occurs in our cities and it is a situation that is slowly getting worse.” Siraut welcomed the shift to electric vehicles but also noted the enduring popularity of SUVS, “which are bigger, heavier vehicles using more fuel”. He added: “We shouldn’t forget that pollution caused by vehicles isn’t just to do with tailpipe emissions. There is also brake dust and tyre pollution.” He cited the congestion charge in Bergen, Norway, where previous exemptions for electric vehicles have now been removed because “actually the pollution had been caused by the congestion, and that includes electric vehicles”. Looking closer to home, Siraut said: “London is going the same way, with exemptions to be removed from low emission vehicles in due course. Having a lot of vehicles in our city centres is not a good thing from an air quality perspective.” But this poses a dilemma for local authorities: how do they attract people to town and city centres to support local economies, providing additional capacity for people to get there when they can no longer use public transport, without clogging the streets with cars? “We can’t get as many people into our cities in cars alone, they used to able to get there by all modes beforehand,” Siraut explained. “We are seeing a worldwide phenomenon where road space is being taken away from cars and given to other modes of transport, and this has been done very simply and very easily in many cities by putting down a load of traffic cones and segregating cars away from cyclists. There are lots of examples around the world of this occurring and this is why we have seen an uptake in cycling – people now regard it as a safer and easier way of getting around and by introducing segregation it has allowed people to move around more easily.” It is important that transferring space from motor vehicles to other modes of transport is properly executed, said Siraut. Installing swathes of barriers may actually increase “severance”, stopping pedestrians and cyclists from crossing a road. “It can also cause problems with how to deal with loading and unloading when parking spaces are taken out. A number of shops and retail activities are complaining about loss of trade, which is often the case whenever parking restrictions are introduced.”
Parklets for the people The challenge for towns and cities is how to create more attractive places while maintaining economic activity. One way to do this is to allow restaurants and cafes to turn road space into outdoor areas with tables and chairs. “This keeps ours cities vibrant while removing vehicles and improving the air quality.” The streetscape can be further enhanced by parklets taking over kerbspace. Parklets have been a popular feature at annual PARKing Day events around the world but are now increasingly becoming a permanent fixture. “Providing outdoor seating space has been a response to the pandemic, offering a way to allow our restaurants and cafes to function, with social distancing. The easiest way is to give them more outdoor space.” This might involve the removal of some parking spaces though some parking spaces should remain. Traditionally, people have gone to great lengths to avoid parking charges, but people are now willing to pay for the convenience to park as near to their location as possible, Siraut believes. “Hopefully, people will go back to using public transport, but in the meantime it makes sense to use parking spaces to support economic activity rather than just leaving a car sitting in a space for a few hours. I think the future is quite clear; do we want a place where everything is centred around cars, where cars are the dominant factor in the landscape, taking away space for pedestrians and the associated problems with air quality? Or do we want to see our cities as places where people can still get around by walking and cycling in a clean environment?” The ‘Clearer Roads, Cleaner Air’ webinar can be found on the Landor LINKS Live YouTube channel.
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The answer is clear With major CAZ schemes on hold, local authorities need to look at developing local low emission schemes that can be adapted quickly and readily, which are flexible to implement, do not require capital infrastructure, and can be tailored at a local level to restrict particular vehicle types and encourage greener vehicles. This is where concepts such as ‘Emissions Based Parking’ and ‘Net Zero Charging’ come in. These approaches can be delivered using smart phone parking systems, building on services that are already widely used. Because of the positive impact on local residents, they are also understood and generally accepted, by the public.
A flexible approach
Emissions Based Parking offers local authorities a flexible and effective means of locking in the cleaner air benefits experienced during lockdown, says Peter O’Driscoll
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n recent years poor air quality has become a matter of public concern, in particular the negative health impacts of high levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2). A number of national and local initiatives have been developed to address traffic generated air pollution, from local schemes aimed at reducing levels of polluting vehicles to projects rolling out Clean Air Zones (CAZs) in the worst affected urban centres. A taste of what could be achieved by reducing traffic levels has been one positive side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. The dramatic fall in road traffic during the lockdown saw people experience quieter roads and clearer air. People got used to that clean air and, as we enter the recovery phase, have now come to expect their environment to be a much better place than it was pre-COVID. One of the key changes we have experienced during the crisis is that health has been put at the forefront of people’s personal agendas, and increasingly that of government. However, we can already see, as the economy starts to recover and traffic volumes return to normal, pollutant levels are rising again. At a national level, the government has announced that, due to the need to support the High Street, any further expansion of the London Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) will be delayed until next year and cities such as Birmingham, Oxford and Glasgow, that were planning CAZs, have put these clean air schemes back. Local authorities need to do something about this, but the challenge they face is how to balance the economic necessity of restarting local economies and an increased choice of car use over public transport (due to public health concerns) against traffic management measures designed to make socially-distanced streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists too.
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The groundwork for Emissions Based Parking (EBP) has been laid by RingGo, which has worked with a number of councils over the last three years to deliver schemes that have delivered tangible benefits. An EBP scheme enables an authority to levy a surcharge on polluting vehicles and offer discounts to low or zero emission ones. When a driver wants to park in an EBP zone, RingGo carries out a real-time look-up of DVLA-based information, on the fuel and vehicle type. The adjusted price is calculated and levied. The system makes sure users are aware of any surcharge or discount applied, through a prompt in the app, and these messages engender change. Whenever the driver uses the phone line or app to pay, they are told they are paying to park a more polluting vehicle – each and every time they park. EBP is a flexible tool. The flavour of the specific emissions charging scheme can vary depending on the authority’s policy. For example, Westminster, Camden and Tower Hamlets, have opted for a percentage uplift, whereas Islington decided to levy a flat fee surcharge of £2 (subsequently moving up to £3) for diesel vehicles. The City of London Corporation has adopted a greener approach that sees it incentivise clean vehicles, while older petrol vehicles and more polluting diesels pay more.
Emissions Based Parking works The real world experiences of the councils that have adopted EBP prove this approach works. Having an EBP scheme leads to reduction in emissions borough-wide. In Westminster, Islington and Camden, diesel usage dropped by between 16-20% after RingGo EBP launched. Conversely, in London boroughs such as Barking & Dagenham and Lewisham, where no emission-based schemes exist, the number of vehicles parking has continued to rise. The impact on traffic is also significant, as can be seen by studying year-on-year data from the Mayor of London’s office. Prior to the introduction of the ULEZ in April 2019, traffic volumes in central London were flat, due to EBP having been offered in Westminster and Islington since January 2018. However, a more notable fall in traffic occurred in August 2019, when Westminster extended EBP citywide, leading to a yea-on-year fall in traffic volumes of 8%. A similar impact is seen when looking at quarterly emissions levels over time. The Westminster trial launched during Q3 of 2017 in one parking zone and rolled out citywide two years later. By February 2020 we can see the difference. Over the three years that all four schemes have been running in London there has been a 44% drop in NO2 emissions, showing a positive impact both pre- and post-ULEZ.
Information is powerful Operating councils now have a wealth of data supporting these impacts, and are able to cut that data by fuel and vehicle type, revenues and location, meaning they can map out the true parking landscape. Where authorities have a desire to move to full cashless
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provision, this helps them build a truly strategic picture of what is happening within their area. So when it comes to developing policy, they have real data with which to make informed decisions on what kind of vehicles they want to target. For instance, the City of London’s policy was not to reduce traffic overall, but to alter the make-up of vehicles driving within the City, encouraging greener cars over more polluting ones. RingGo’s data dashboards have enabled council staff to see how that make-up has changed over time and clearly demonstrate what the scheme has achieved. The heat maps RingGo provides, combined with vehicle type, also enable councils to prioritise and select areas most required for say, electric vehicle charging, further supporting this strategy.
People got used to clean air and, as we enter the recovery phase, expect their environment to be better than pre-COVID Peter O’Driscoll
Planning ahead The access to accurate revenue and usage data that phone parking systems generate means that local authorities can better understand and plan their budgets, and effectively offer dynamic pricing. In January 2018, Islington introduced a £2 per hour surcharge. Prior to this, the council had been doing almost 90,000 sessions a month and when the scheme was introduced, this dropped to 70,000 sessions per month. A year later, traffic levels were rising again. So the council decided to further target more polluting vehicles, and increased the surcharge by a further £1. This led to the overall number of sessions dropping once more. Whilst this might seem counterintuitive from a revenue point of view, the higher charges paid by diesel drivers, actually offset the impact of this autumn. From RingGo’s own experience, working closely with councils, there tends to be a 12-18-month drag before traffic starts rising again. Our account management team works very closely with each council’s team to monitor income levels and understand the vehicle types and sessions taking place. Over the past decade RingGo has seen so many changes in what our clients and end users want. Both as a service provider and as an organisation playing a role in helping local authorities and their residents live in a clean and pleasant environment. We believe Emissions Based Parking and its greener variant, Net Zero Parking, are vital parts of this future mission. Peter O’Driscoll is managing director of RingGo. He took part in the ‘Clearer Roads, Cleaner Air’ webinar on 7 July. You can view the webinar on the Landor LINKS Live YouTube channel.
Emissions Based Charging timeline • • • •
June 2017 ............................Westminster January 2018 .......................Islington July 2018..............................Camden August 2019 ........................City of London (Net zero: cheaper parking for electric vehicles) • April 2020 ............................Tower Hamlets
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The road to recovery Dynamic management tools have a key role to play in reducing the adverse impact of traffic emissions on air quality, writes Richard Walker
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OVID-19 and lockdown has offered us a glimpse of what less car-dependent streets could look like. Air quality levels significantly improved, with more people walking and cycling. Motorised traffic journeys fell by more than 60% and, with that, parking needs also changed, with the requirement for some parking controls to be suspended. The environmental benefits of these temporary mobility changes were significant, marking an opportunity to end our dependency on the car. Viewing the road ahead, advances in technology offer us a way of managing traffic and parking in a fairer, more transparent way, which is more acceptable to the communities that we serve. This, in turn, helps ensure freer flowing traffic, while helping to reduce emissions. We are seeing innovations that guide drivers to their nearest parking place, allow the quick booking of parking places (on and off-street) along with greater investment in the EV charging network. A range of solutions are being explored by the British Parking Association’s Positive Parking Agenda group, which is keen to change the conversation around parking through actions that bring more transparency and better standards to the operation.
Contaminated car parks As we come out of lockdown, one of the concerns around the operation of car parks is machine contamination and adequate social distancing on footways or corridors leading in and out for pedestrians, especially in multi-storey car parks.
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In common with highway works, it will be difficult to practice social distancing in order to patrol effectively in off-street car parks and other areas where crowds may gather such as schools. In order to avoid COVID-19 contamination – given that parking machines could be a harbour for contamination, especially with coin slots, buttons, and tickets being handled by prospectively hundreds of people per day – it is essential to find an alternative means of payment such as a phone payment system. Other systems include contactless payment machines, online accounts and ticketless systems.
Contactless parking ANPR technology may be able to bring benefits to the customer as well as being able to automate processes to ensure payment. Automation in car parks would not require the same level of field maintenance as older technologies. There would be no need to provide and insure cash collections or protect machines from theft and vandalism. A change to electronic payment would avoid coin usage and avoid the need for cash collection. One of the main benefits could be ‘pay after parking’ systems, giving people longer to pay on account as with road tolls – for instance, by midnight the next day. ‘Pay after parking’ enables customers to spend the time they want in the town centre without having to rush back to the car park to avoid penalty. They pay for the time they have used as opposed to having to guess what time they may need at the start of their visit. For the parking service, evidence suggests that pay after parking technology can increase the dwell time from a car park on average by as much as 15%. The digitisation of car parks has been ongoing for several years. There are many operators offering cashless parking payments either through machines offering contactless payments, smartphone
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TRAFFIC & PARKING
Charging for parking should be seen as an environmental charge that can be part of a move towards ‘Parking as a Service’ Richard Walker
apps or payment online. Existing access control methods have their place, and are likely for the foreseeable future. However, we are now looking at how car parks can offer more flexible payment services that require little interaction from the customer.
Dynamic pricing Automated, frictionless methods of car park payment could offer several benefits for both customers and authorities alike. By offering customers a one-time registration to a digital system, such as MiPermit, this could enable them to have their parking stays charged for automatically. This means that determining in advance which tariff a customer needs to purchase is less important and would remove the need to manually extend a parking stay – which may be overlooked or forgotten. Customers are simply charged the best tariff according to the exact time they have parked for, based on entry and exit times. Such a system would also help support dynamic pricing, based on time bands, per-minute, congestion, environmental conditions, or other charging methodology. This would help customers to only pay for what they have used, for the environmental impact caused, or enable other possible charges based on air quality, congestion or vehicle emissions data. ANPR systems can help to achieve this, as has been shown in some urban location car parks where this type of solution has been trialled against the stay time metric. The North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) is looking to trial this system, alongside all existing payment methods, and some innovative environmental metrics, in urban and multi-storey car parks in Colchester. It is anticipated that following the COVID-19 pandemic, customers may choose to move away from using manual pay & display machines, as they are possible virus transmission sites. Simple, contactless payment methods are perhaps likely to become more in-demand for our customers as a result. A switch to cashless parking through the use of an app could bring about a change in the way local authorities communicate with customers. Service messages could be sent directly to customers, perhaps on arrival or at other times and further benefits when linked to a parking account could be realised. Research has shown the role of parking provision in reducing the adverse impact of vehicle emissions is not widely understood. Further consideration needs to be given when either setting or reviewing the parking tariffs as to whether the asset is located within an air quality management area. Charging for parking should be seen as an environmental charge, especially if it can be combined with benefits to the customer, less emphasis on patrolling and penalties and a move towards ‘Parking as a Service’. Richard Walker is parking partnership group manager at the North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP). He took part in the ‘Digital Services & Touchless Transactions’ webinar which took place on 16 July. You can view the webinar on the Landor LINKS Live YouTube channel.
NEPP uses striking graphics to communicate its ‘Parking as a Service’ message (clockwise from top left): A downloadable colouring sheet; a Twitter graphic promoting app use; a poster promoting safe payment during the pandemic
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TRAFFIC & PARKING
Change is coming to us all, so let’s embrace the challenge Paul Moorby OBE
Restart, recover, renew Cashless payment makes more sense than ever in a post-COVID world, writes Paul Moorby OBE
A
t the risk of repeating the obvious, the world is facing a crisis that is unprecedented in modern times. Seven billion people across planet have been subjected to direct restrictions on their lives in one form of another. Projections are that COVID19 could lead to a reduction in population of some 350 million worldwide. The virus has not respected borders, national or regional governments. It has no time for digital transformation or other plans we mere humans had pre-2020. In the UK, 99% of our businesses are SMEs, some 5.6 million entrepreneurs, looking after 60% of the jobs in our economy. And those businesses, in the main, saw their markets shrink overnight. The first priority during March was to get people fed. Despite the headlines, what we saw was not so much panic buying as people returning to buying patterns last seen in the 1980s. Once people had stocked up on provisions, lockdown came into effect and the priority was to protect people’s income, as far as possible, so that we can power out of the crisis with confidence. We are now in the early days of recovery. But what should that look like? We have all had a taste of green air, of traffic-free towns and villages. It seems clear that the discussion over ‘Industrial Revolution 4.0’ is now over – it has been kick-started in the most brutal fashion. The future is most definitely green. Investment in low carbon and environmentally-sensitive projects, business and technologies will increase as the UK moves towards a net neutral economy by 2050. National strategic projects will focus on this priority, but so will the actions of companies, councils, households and individuals. Current projections are that our service economy could see a 40% reduction in GDP. Local authorities, so successful at generating income from trading activities, have seen income levels return to 2008 levels. The Local Government Association has suggested that some £9bn of service income – badly needed cash to fund our local government services – has been lost during lockdown Over the next few years we will see a radical change in the way
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Here comes the revolution • The First Industrial Revolution used water and steam power to mechanize production. • The Second Industrial Revolution used electric power to create mass production. • The Third Industrial Revolution used electronics and information technology to automate production. • The Fourth Industrial Revolution is the digital revolution – a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres. in which public services are funded. In the transport sector, there has been move away from fuel duty as the growth of low emission vehicles means carbons are eradicated, which will result in a possible £14bn loss to the Exchequer. Taxation, meanwhile, will have to move away from fuel duties, from taxes on finished goods, business rates and the like, and towards generating income from world class digital services. The UK recently announced a 2% digital services tax as its first step in this direction. At the moment, it appears clear that global trade is under pressure. ‘Global Britain’ is open for business and inward investment in our economy is vital. The UK’s status as a worldleading base for research & development will be the bedrock on which economic recovery is made, as is the imagination of entrepreneurs and the enterprising nature of businesses exporting technology and services to the rest of the world. The global is important, but, so is buying locally, as this supports local businesses of all kinds. Buying local should extend beyond the weekly shop and be a starting point for spending and investment decisions by businesses, local authorities and the national governments alike. Change is coming to us all. Let’s embrace the challenges it brings as an opportunity to be creative as well as productive. Paul Moorby OBE is chief executive and founder of Chipside. He spoke at the ‘Digital Services & Touchless Transactions’ webinar on 16 July. You can view the webinar on the Landor LINKS Live YouTube channel.
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TRAFFIC & PARKING
Mapping paths to a greener world Digital systems and dynamic pricing offer councils an effective way of managing air pollution in urban areas, writes Paul Moorby
We are one of the very few companies in the market that do not force people to register to use our service – this saves time for someone that is parking on a one-off basis. We also provide a fully functioning call support centre for our customers should they wish to take advantage of it. We understand that parking is an important part of the relationship between a resident and their local authority. Digital services enable local authorities to reduce administration and increase efficiencies in parking. But if things go wrong, there needs to be help at hand. At Chipside we invest in the design and roll-out of our permitting solutions to deliver not only a seamless solution but the support you need when things go wrong.
Go cashless and go green
A
s we come out of lockdown, we are likely to see further applications of digital technology to enable smarter, touchless and more efficient parking and traffic management. COVID-19 means that many are nervous about using public transport, so it’s likely more journeys will be made by car. This will have an adverse impact on air quality. Local authorities, therefore, must urgently step up efforts to manage traffic and parking in towns and cities. Digital parking and permit platforms, such as Chipside’s MiPermit platform, are now widely used by councils across the UK. This is only the first step on a journey to deploy digital technology that drives improved visibility and transparency over parking for residents and visitors alike. The average motorist in the UK spends almost four days per year, a total of 91 hours, looking for parking spaces. If this can be reduced there is a clear and obvious immediate win: cities become less polluted; drivers less frustrated and the volume of fuel and emissions wasted reduces significantly. This can not only drive a cleaner urban environment but also help reduce greenhouse gases.
Dynamic and digital A digital platform enables dynamic pricing and permitting to best satisfy a range of demands on prime parking spots in a town. Dynamic pricing means the cost of parking changes depending on the availability of space. Today car parks that are nearer the centre of a town or city tend to charge more than those on the outskirts or park & ride schemes. Dynamic parking can implement this in realtime, assessing the number of free spaces available and the level of air pollution and setting parking costs to reflect this. For example, on a quiet Wednesday afternoon a shopper might be able to park at a low cost in a central car park, whereas on a busy Saturday afternoon they may find the same space is more expensive. Dynamic pricing can also help councils manage air pollution: if pollution is high in a town or city, drivers may be encouraged to head to out-of-town parking by offering a very attractive price to a less convenient car park. We will see more of these developments as we adjust to life after COVID-19, with an increase in the deployment of digital tools, to drive healthier and more positive environmental outcomes for towns and cities.
Customer experience Creating a vision of future parking is relatively simple. Technology enables us to create and deliver seamless experiences. Chipside’s digital parking and permitting solutions are designed from the ground up to deliver effective and engaging experiences for users.
Digital transformation can bring huge benefits for residents, visitors, local authorities, and the environment. Take congestion, for example: 30% of inner-city traffic is caused by people looking for a parking space, which pushes up vehicle emissions. With cashless parking, payments can be made in a matter of minutes from the comfort of a car rather than the driver having to struggle with a ticket machine just as the heavens have opened up. If we can speed up the parking process, not only will it improve motorists’ parking experience, but can also help to reduce vehicle emissions. With connected-vehicle technology continuing to evolve, drivers will be able to pay for parking through their dashboard and be directed to free parking spaces across towns and cities. This contributes further to a reduction in traffic and makes parking even more seamless.
Touchless is within our grasp As the nation comes out of lockdown, touchless solutions for parking payment offer clear environmental, social and economic benefits. The benefits of cashless parking have been amplified by lockdown. Indeed, as we adapt to the ‘new normal’ and social distancing, the case for quick, cashless and touchless payment systems is all the more compelling. Besides which, there appears to be a growing discrepancy between motorists’ behaviours and perceptions. Some 70% of drivers are less likely to use a car park if it only allows payment by mobile phone, according to an AA survey. And yet the same survey found that two-thirds of the respondents complain that it is a challenge to have the right change for parking.
Reinvesting in the future Rushing to a meeting and worried it will overrun? Stuck in a queue at a checkout with two minutes left on your parking? One of the main benefits of mobile payment is that motorists are able to extend their parking without having to rush back to the machine and top up. This improves the overall customer experience. Across the country, pay & display machines are being targeted by opportunist criminals. By removing pay & display machines, councils can save money on the maintenance and operating costs associated such as cash collection and counting. Earlier this year, Chelmsford City Council made the decision to go cashless across all council-owned car parks due to a spate of vandalism and theft of pay & display machines. Motorists in Chelmsford now pay using the MiPermit app or over the phone – removing the need to carry cash or display a ticket on dashboards. With the MiPermit app, there is no need to even register.
Data driving decisions Cashless parking payments can also be used to help councils analyse information such as which car parks are being used most. They can then use that data to inform future planning, build more car parks or remove unnecessary cash machines. MiPermit has more than three million loyal customers in the UK, showing a willingness for society to take the leap to cashless.
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NISSAN
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Step into tomorrow today Japanese electric car owners can pay for parking by discharging energy at the new Nissan Pavilion
N
issan is giving customers the ability to pay for parking with electricity at a technology showcase created near the company’s global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. Electric vehicle drivers will be able to discharge power from their car’s battery pack to pay for parking while visiting the Nissan Pavilion exhibition space in Yokohama. The novel payment system is one of several innovations customers can experience at the Nissan Pavilion, which opened to the public on 1 August. Visitors can eat at the Nissan Chaya Café, which operates on power supplied by Nissan LEAF electric cars and solar energy. In a theatre space, visitors can also enjoy virtual experiences that allow them to feel the thrill of Formula E electric street racing or go for a ride in the new Nissan Ariya EV crossover. In front of the pavilion, a Mobility Hub offers services including electric vehicle (EV) car-sharing and rental bicycles, and even an electric ice cream van. The 10,000m2 pavilion has been designed to be a zero emission building. Besides showcasing vehicle-to-grid (V2G) it has been outfitted with solar panels and is also supplied with renewable hydroelectric power. “The Pavilion is a place where customers can see, feel, and be inspired by our near-future vision for society and mobility,” said Nissan chief executive Makoto Uchida. “As the world shifts to electric mobility, EVs will be integrated into society in ways that go beyond just transportation.”
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Nissan introduced what is regarded the world’s first mass-market electric car, the zero-emission LEAF, in 2010. Since then, the company has also developed Nissan Energy Share and Nissan Energy Storage technologies that allow electricity from EV batteries to be stored, shared and re-purposed, for instance by powering homes or businesses, such as the off-grid café in the Nissan Pavilion. In Japan, Nissan has entered agreements with local governments to use LEAF cars as mobile batteries that can supply energy during natural disasters. In another partnership, the company is repurposing used EV batteries to power streetlights. As part of the Nissan NEXT transformation plan, the company plans to expand its global line-up of electric cars and goods vehicles. Nissan aims to sell more than 1 million electrified vehicles a year by the end of fiscal 2023. Besides Nissan Energy technologies, guests at the Nissan Pavilion can also experience a range innovations. These include the ProPILOT advanced driver assistance system as well as Nissan’s Invisible-toVisible (I2V) technology, which combines information from the real and virtual worlds to assist drivers. By playing a virtual tennis match with Grand Slam champion and Nissan brand ambassador Naomi Osaka in the Pavilion theatre, children and adults can learn about I2V and get a feel for how the technology will change driving in the near future. The Nissan Pavilion is open between 1 August-23 October www.thenissannext.com
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Films depict a future world
Nissan EVs
An interactive display
An electric ice cream van
A Formula E driver’s eye-view
A LEAF feeds power to the pavilion
E-bikes
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES
V2G chargers at Nissan’s Cranfield campus
Parking up to power business Innovate UK backs V2G scheme launched by E.ON and Nissan at car-makers technology centre Power company E.ON and car-maker Nissan have deployed 20 vehicle-to-grid (V2G) chargers as part of a trial involving electric vans and cars belonging to business fleets. The installation at Nissan’s European Technical Centre in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, is the first in a large-scale V2G trial being co-funded by Innovate UK. The project will test and demonstrate how storing and sharing electricity in fleet vehicles’ batteries can generate additional revenue for participating companies as well as supporting the power grid. Having validated the technology, the project is now recruiting further participants for the trial and plans to deploy V2G chargers for organisations across the UK. V2G technology allows electricity to flow in both directions to and from electric vehicle batteries, allowing energy stored in the battery to be sold back to the grid when demand for power is high. Vehicles can then charge when demand is lower or renewable generation is high, reducing reliance on fossil-fuelled generation, giving V2G a role in carbon reduction efforts. The technology can also release capacity on the electricity networks that distribute power around the country. In collaboration with UK Power Networks, the trial will explore opportunities for customers to earn revenues from V2G as a service. Luke Ellis, V2G programme manager with E.ON UK, said: “Fleet vehicles that sit
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idle overnight, or even during the working day, could see their batteries charged when demand is low, with the energy exported when demand is high, but still be charged and ready for use when required. “Now that we’ve proven the technology’s capabilities with these 20 installs, we’re a step closer to bringing it to market. This is about commercialising a vehicle’s bi-directional charging capabilities, with clear advantages for businesses either already with a fleet of electric vehicles or those that are ready to make the transition to electric. “Operating an electric fleet means already contributing to the net zero emissions target and saving money through local clean air zone exemptions; integrating a fleet with V2G technology brings greater cost savings
The system uses CHAdeMO ports
and the chance to earn extra revenue. “V2G technology brings with it wider environmental benefits for society as a whole. It can be considered ‘carbon negative’ for its potential to reduce or even remove the need for fossil-fuelled generation to be fired up at times of peak electricity demand.” The V2G platform used on the trial utilises a combination of E.ON’s existing Virtual Power Plant software as well as a charger operating system provided by E.ON’s e-mobility partner Virta. The project is part of the V2G programme, funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), in partnership with Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency investing in science and research. As well as E.ON and Nissan the V2G project consortium (known as e4Future) includes Newcastle University, Imperial College London, Northern Powergrid, UK Power Networks and National Grid ESO. The V2G package for participants will be offered at a heavily subsidised price through grant funding made available through Innovate UK. Vehicles compatible with the technology being used in this project are currently the Nissan e-NV200 and the Nissan LEAF. E.ON energy customers who enter the V2G trial stand to benefit from savings of up to an equivalent of 10,000 miles per annum, estimated to be worth £308. Peter McDonald, fleet director at Nissan Motor GB, said: “We know many fleets are not just looking at electric vehicle acquisition, they are also reviewing their energy infrastructure for a world where electric vehicles are fast becoming the norm.”
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Amey wins Manchester EV charging deal GMEV network will be relaunched as a paid service called Be.EV Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has awarded infrastructure services firm Amey a contract to expand and maintain the conurbation’s electric vehicle (EV) charging network. The deal will see the GMEV network rebranded as Be.EV. Amey has teamed up with chargepoint provider SWARCO and Octopus Energy for the contract, which was previously held by Charge Your Car. The new Be.EV charging network, when installed and fully operational, will move from a ‘free-as-you-charge’ to a ‘pay-asyou-charge’ system. It will also use renewable electricity. The development of the EV charging network, under Amey’s new Be.EV brand, is part of the city-region’s 2040 Transport Strategy which sets out a vision for an integrated and sustainable transport system. The Be.EV network will span all 10 councils in Greater Manchester, serving 2.8 million people. Simon Warburton, TfGM transport strategy director, said: “The modernisation and expan-
An existing GMEV charger sion of Greater Manchester’s publicly owned EV charging network is another step in realising our vision for clean, green, sustainable transport across our region. It will support Greater Manchester’s vision to ‘build back better’ as we work to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and is an important step in helping to make our city-region one of the best places in the world in which to live and work.” For the last six years EV owners have been able to charge for free, either via the Charge Your Car app or its membership card, the latter costing £20 annually. The cost of electricity has been
SWARCO to run Stoke EV network Technology company SWARCO has won a ten-year contract to install and operate 35 rapid electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints for the unitary authority of Stoke-on-Trent, and the neighbouring Staffordshire borough councils of Newcastle under Lyme and Stafford. The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) has awarded the councils £787,500 as a maximum 75% contribution towards provision of 30 rapid charging points (ten per authority). These will be primarily for use by the taxi trade, but also available to the general public. SWARCO’s bid offered match funding of £460,569, taking the total investment to £1,248,069 and ensuring a 37/63% funding split between SWARCO and OLEV. The budget should pay for 35 charging points. Under the concession contract, the councils will help select chargepoint locations and SWARCO will retain ownership of the chargepoints. A revenue sharing scheme will operate on any return
on investment above about 120%. The ten-year contract could be extended by three years. The councils procured off Kent County Council’s EV charging points framework. Bids were received from three of the four suppliers: EB Charging (Electric Blue); Engie; and SWARCO. Features of the successful winning SWARCO offer include: • a discount for taxi drivers of 2p/kWh for the first 24 months of operation • a revenue sharing agreement with the councils of 4.5p per 30p/kWh charge to the customer, once the agreed usage threshold is reached • open access chargepoints on both a pay-as-you-go or contract basis. Not-for-profit organisation Midlands Energy Hub will be the councils’ delivery partner, and will identify suitable sites. Midlands Energy Hub advised on the contract specification and tender evaluation.
paid by the local authorities. Under the new arrangements, the proposed pay-as-you-charge fee will be up to £0.25 per kWh if using a fast charger and up to £0.35 per kWh using a rapid charger. In future, Be.EV members will be eligible for reduced fees. Details will be announced when the new membership scheme is launched later this year. SWARCO will provide EV charging equipment, back office and chargepoint management services. Over the summer, almost 120 existing fast chargers (up to 7kW) will be replaced and 24 new rapid chargers (up to 50kW)
installed. Some existing charging points will be removed due to low usage and technical issues. Fast chargers will be installed at locations with longer dwell times, such as retail parks, shopping centres, park & ride facilities and train stations. The average time for a full charge is 2.5 hours. Rapid chargers will be installed at locations at some fast charger sites and at short dwell sites, such as. taxi ranks, fast food establishments, coffee shops and short-stay car parks. The average time for a full charge on a rapid is one hour – most public, rapid chargers are used for top up charging, which on average takes 12 minutes. Octopus Energy will provide 100% green energy certified by the Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origins (REGO) scheme to all charging points on public land. John Faulkner, group strategy and development director of Amey, said: “Amey is keen to work with TfGM to roll out green infrastructure across the region. Our aim is to enable Greater Manchester to develop into one of the largest and greenest regional economies in Europe.”
West Berks rules out EV-only bays West Berkshire Council has ruled out creating electric vehicle-only parking bays beside electric vehicle chargepoints on residential streets. The council has installed 36 chargepoints on streets in Newbury and Hungerford with the help of funding from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles. But West Berkshire says usage data shows that most are infrequently used. In March, a motion calling for EV-only parking bays beside chargepoints was presented to the full council. The council’s executive rejected the idea, but did agree for an experimental traffic regulation order to create a trial bay for an onstreet chargepoint that sees frequent use. The trial will inform the council’s future policy. Neil Stacey, West Berkshire’s network manager (highways) told councillors: “Dedicated bays should not be introduced too soon or before there are at least a small number of local electric vehicle owners that might make use of them, otherwise the bay risks creating resentment
amongst local residents about removal of a parking space.” The streets with chargepoints do not have marked paying bays. Stacey said a space would have to be about six metres long to allow vehicles to manoeuvre in and out. “Residents often park much closer to each other on congested roads than a formal individual parking bay would allow and by leaving such space it could create conflict from non-EV owners.” Stacey said creating EV-only bays would also require changed working practices for parking enforcement officers. “Given that the majority of the usage of the chargepoints will be overnight, the issuing of penalty charge notices to non-EVs parked in an EV-only space would require a change to the working practices of the team of civil enforcement officers, who do not normally work in the evenings or into the night. Without regular enforcement, there would be no deterrent to parking a non-EV in an EV-only space.”
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CASHLESS PAYMENT
The fall and rise of parking payments Parking payments are on the re-routed road to recovery, predicts Peter Alcock
M
any sectors have been hard-hit in the last few months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As businesses were forced to shut and people urged to work from home, the parking sector has been among those seeing a huge drop in revenue. However, the good news is that the sector is now showing signs of recovery. But, as we see parking payments rise, we can expect to see a change in how those payments are made. Revenue across many sectors understandably took a nose-dive in late March owing to lockdown. The e-commerce sector was one of the few exceptions – seeing extraordinary buoyancy during the pandemic, with e-commerce sales reaching a record high in March as extensive shop closures meant customers had no choice but to shop online. As face-to-face retail dropped, there was a correspondingly rapid fall in parking revenue from March through April and into early May. According to NMI transaction data, this drop was around 60% overall, with the majority of that fall happening suddenly at the end of March. But, as lockdown started to ease later in May, card transactions through the NMI platform for parking payments began to show a glimmer of hope, with some sure and steady growth. As you would expect, this went hand-in-hand with a small uplift in face-to-face retail transactions, particularly during the early to mid-part of June when a range of stores were allowed to open their doors again. We expect to see this trend pick up further still as the figures come in for the end of June and July. With retail stores starting to thrive again and the longawaited reopening of pubs and restaurants, more people will be coming into town centres and paid parking areas, including both staff and customers.
The ‘new normal’ During the pandemic, many businesses and individuals have had to support a more digital way of conducting day-to-day transactions of various kinds. Many of us have had very little reason to carry cash in recent times and with concerns around the potential infection risk of handling cash, it’s unlikely consumers will be rushing back to using physical money anytime soon. Over the coming months, drivers and shoppers will likely be looking for ways to continue protecting themselves from infection as they venture out again. In the
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Contactless and cashless payments are spreading across the retail sector and travel networks
The surge in contactless use in retail is unlikely to be a temporary trend Peter Alcock
retail sector, many stores are insisting on card or contactless payments in order to avoid the risk of handling cash. As lockdown is progressively lifted, pay-byphone, apps and contactless payments on parking meters and paystations, will similarly help in the drive to reduce touch and minimise the spread of viral infection.
Driven by more than COVID-19 Beyond the pandemic, there is, of course, a broader move away from cash across all sectors, in favour of faster, simpler, more convenient payment options. In fact, cash only accounted for 28% of all payments in 2018 and is forecast to plummet to 9% by 2028, according to UK Finance. The surge in contactless use in retail is unlikely to be a temporary trend, with two-thirds of UK adults already using contactless payments before the pandemic – the adoption and regular use of contactless is certain to grow and endure. For parking payments, there are also now a growing number of mobile payment options, some based on mobile apps, which both allow drivers to pay for their parking without having to physically interact with an external touchpad or payment machine. These have seen steady rises in adoption rates over the last few years, powered by strong smartphone ownership – currently estimated at around
86% of the UK population. However, there has been some attrition among mobile payment schemes that lack ease and simplicity. The solutions that have the slickest interface and require the fewest screenpresses to park will be those that win out. Those that remain popular are in-app payments where the driver’s card details are tokenised by the operator or payment gateway so the customer only has to enter their details once, when they set up the app. Mobile parking apps that offer additional convenience, such as those that allow remote extension of the parking duration, are also likely to endure. Of course, our youngest drivers are also part of a digital generation of mobile natives who are already confident using cashless payments and transacting through mobile, so the demand for these payment capabilities will undoubtedly continue to grow.
A change in direction It is encouraging to see that parking revenue appears to be recovering slowly, but surely. NMI is optimistic that uplift will be bolstered significantly over the coming months, as more places re-open and town centres come back to life. But, just as sure as we are of this, we equally expect parking payments to return in a different way – with a growing popularity in contactless and mobile payment options. This trend will undoubtedly last long beyond the immediate issues of infection control and be continued by the upcoming generations of digitally savvy drivers who prefer their journeys to embrace mobile and move away from cash. Peter Alcock is head of product management at NMI www.nmi.com
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CASHLESS PAYMENT
Life’s a beach with pre-booked parking West Wittering Estate uses JustPark booking system for daytrippers Pre-booked parking has been introduced at a popular West Sussex beach car park in order to manage visitor numbers. The West Wittering Estate is only allowing a limited number of visitors at its beach each day so that social distancing guidelines can be followed. The estate’s surface car park is operating at just 50% of its usual capacity. All visitors now have to prepay for parking using the JustPark cashless parking system. Anyone without a prebooked parking ticket should not visit the beach, as there is no other parking in the village. James Crespi, chief operating officer at West Wittering Estate, said: “It’s the only way we can control the numbers here at the beach. Obviously there is a very, very high demand. Our real key message is for people not to come if they don’t have a ticket. They will be turned away.” Set in an Area of Outstanding
The West Wittering Beach website Natural Beauty, West Wittering is a large, sandy beach with rolling sand dunes, grassy hills, beach café and dedicated car park. The beach is a popular spot for locals and visitors all year round. When the government announced lockdown, they too had to close the car park to discourage people from coming to the beach and minimise the spread of COVID-19. But when restrictions started to lift and people could visit outdoor spaces again, the estate wanted to open the beach responsibly, keeping
its staff, the public and local community safe. With no other parking in the village or nearby, the estate decided to limit the number of vehicles in their car park and as a result, the people on the beach. Within days of consulting JustPark, the company was able to help the estate with a solution that allows visitors to choose a date and time and pre-book parking in advance. The estate also introduced daily caps on the number of sessions during the day and in the evenings.
Within 30 minutes of the prebooking system going live online, drivers bought over 1,000 sessions. After that, sessions quickly sold out and in the first seven days the council had received over 15,000 bookings for the coming weeks and months. To book a space drivers open the JustPark app or visit the company’s website and select West Wittering from the choice of locations. The driver then choose the day and time of their visit, reserve a space and pay in advance. Once the daily limit is reached, other drivers will not be able to buy tickets. Once the driver has paid, they receive a confirmation text or email notification to show to council staff who man the entrance gate of the car park. James Crespi said: “This new strategy is set to stay. It’ll help us to continue to manage the beach safely for all to enjoy in a more sustainable manner.” JustPark has integrated the pre-book service into its product offering and hopes to see other tourist destinations and towns adopt it in the coming months.
RingGo transfers three councils Cashless parking provider RingGo has expanded its nationwide footprint with the addition of the London Borough of Havering, Devon County Council and Salford Council. All three councils transferred their phone parking provision from alternative providers during the first week of August. Havering, which went live on 3 August, is providing motorists with a 20% discount in all its car parks when they use RingGo to pay for parking. Also launching on 3 August, Devon County Council joined nine other Devon councils that have transferred to, or are relaunching with, RingGo. The county is removing the convenience fee for those using the app. Salford Council is the first Council to utilise the new RingGo start:stop solution. The service, launched on 4 August, matches Salford’s previous offering and acts as an equivalent to pay-on-foot parking. RingGo start:stop enables motorists to pay just for the time they are parking
without having to guess how long they may need to stay. One challenge facing the RingGo team was that Salford went into local lockdown just 96 hours before launch. Peter O’Driscoll, UK managing director of RingGo, said: “It’s in circumstances like these that we’re so grateful to our internal professional services team. Rolling out three new offerings in two days, including completely new services, would be hard enough. But when you also consider the distance between locations, geographic areas to be covered, and additional issues, such as COVID-19 risks and lockdowns, it provides some context for how well this team works.” Throughout the pandemic, RingGo has been working with local authorities and parking operators to ensure they can safely support the needs of motorists and employees. RingGo has provided tailored signage, adjusted apps, increased cashless options and helped with the removal of parking machines.
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ADEPT
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Building a living laboratory ADEPT Live Labs SIMULATE programme will pilot systems in Staffordshire
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op-up electric vehicle chargers, green walls and electric scooters are among the systems to be piloted in Staffordshire as part of a project exploring how the transport hub of the future could look and function. SIMULATE (Smart, Infrastructure & Mobility Urban Laboratory and Test Environment) has announced the ten successful small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) chosen to enter the incubator programme and receive funding to trial their innovative air quality and mobility solutions in Staffordshire. A short list of ten SMEs was selected from over 130 applications. They were assessed by a judging panel that included representatives from across the project. SIMULATE, which is part of the ADEPT SMART Places Live Labs project, brings together Staffordshire County Council, Amey, Keele University and the Connected Places Catapult. Live Labs programme director Giles Perkins, said: “This exciting group of smart mobility and air quality interventions illustrates the breadth of innovation that can now be harnessed in our local communities. We look forward to seeing these being deployed and learnings shared right across the local roads sector for the benefit of all.” Each SME selected to take part will be delivering a key element of Staffordshire’s new vision of multi-modal mobility hubs. David Ogden, business director at Amey, said: “Innovation is vital in addressing air quality and mobility challenges that the transportation sector and local communities will face in the coming years. Working with innovative SMEs from different business backgrounds enables our sector to learn from the best and implement technologies we might not have usually considered, and exploring the environmental and mobility benefits to the communities in Staffordshire, through creating a network of multimodal mobility hubs – developing a new platform for the way innovation is brought to life.” Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport Helen Fisher, said: “The SIMULATE project has reached an exciting stage where we now have all of the SMEs on board to start their challenges. We’re pleased to be working with our partners in bringing in industry expertise to find and apply innovative sustainable
The SIMULATE systems • ZWINGS is a micro-mobility operator will deploy a mix of 50 e-bikes and e-scooters to facilitate car-free movement. • Liftango will deliver detailed research into local mobility requirements and formulate a blueprint for demand responsive transport across the area. • Ginger Town is a UK-based micro-mobility fleet operator with a focus on the use of e-scooter trials and e-bikes. • Urban Electric (UE) and MEV are a joint bid comprising of ‘pop-up’ electric charging points that integrate back into the pavement when not being used (UE), while MEV will be trialling electric car share alongside the charging points in miniaturised ‘hubs’. • FortyTwo in partnership with Oxfordshire County Council will be building a self-regulating moss wall installation to clean the air and act as a carbon basin to combat climate change. • Now Wireless will be using artificial intelligence to predict pollution an hour ahead and use that information to change the parameters that can affect it. • Fotech will be using fibre cables to detect vibrations from vehicles and to analyse traffic volumes and dynamically change signal junctions to relieve congestion. • Biotecture will install an active green wall to act as a barrier against pollution and actively remove air pollutants and deliver a clean air zone. • IsCleanAir will deploy their water-based, filterless air filtration technology to actively cleanse pollution in areas of poor air quality. transport and clean air solutions which will bring real long-term benefits to communities and businesses in Staffordshire and across the UK.” The ADEPT SMART Places Live Labs programme is a two-year £22.9m project funded by the Department for Transport and supported by project partners EY, Kier, O2, Ringway, WSP and SNC-Lavalin’s Atkins business. The Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT) represents local authority county, unitary and metropolitan place directors. The ADEPT SMART Places Programme is a five-year project examining and developing innovation to enable the adoption of innovative and digital technology across the local highway network.
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POTTER, CHURCH & HOLMES ARCHITECTS
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Cirencester car park postponed Cotswold District Council delays Waterloo project to explore post-COVID transport options The development of a multi-storey car park in Cirencester has been postponed for 12 months to allow Cotswold District Council to assess the impact of coronavirus on the Gloucestershire town. The council said it will use the delay to understand the post-COVID-19 demand for parking in the town and explore sustainable transport options for Cirencester and the wider district. The council’s cabinet voted to postpone development of the car park at the Waterloo in Cirencester for 12 months. Leader of the council, Cllr Joe Harris, said: “The pandemic and resulting lockdown have commanded a significant amount of the council’s time and resources in recent months, and as we move into the recovery phase it is important that we take time to review and challenge all plans and decisions we’ve previously made and the potential opportunities that the post-coronavirus world brings. This is especially the case with respect to parking in Cirencester. “We have therefore taken the considered decision to postpone our development of the Waterloo car park for the next 12 months. So much of our normal way of life has changed since lockdown began in March – car use is down, home-working has increased exponentially and people are making far fewer journeys than before.
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“We want to make the most of this opportunity to review the challenges we face around parking and travel within our district, and how we get more people visiting and shopping in our towns, all with our firm commitment to protecting our climate for future generations in mind.” The Waterloo car park has been the subject of extensive consultation on account of its location in the historic town. The council ran an architectural design competition that resulted in architectural practice Potter Church & Holmes being selected to create the structure’s façade on the theme ‘Aluminium and Stone’. The Waterloo park is being engineered by Stripe Consulting with Willmott Dixon acting as the main contractor. Cllr Harris said the council was ensuring there is sufficient parking capacity to support business recovery in the town. “I am obviously acutely aware of the need to support business recovery in the town, the recently completed Sheep Street car park has added additional town centre parking and the rugby club development will provide new spaces for season ticket parking. That will free up spaces in the town centre for shortterm parking by shoppers.” The decision to delay the car park was welcomed by Cllr Rachel Coxcoon, cabinet member for climate change. “I’m incredibly
pleased that we’ve made the decision to rethink parking provision in Cirencester,” she said. “It is really important that we look to provide more sustainable and active forms of travel, particularly with the potential impacts COVID-19 will have on the way we travel. “We urgently want to look at a number of initiatives from safe cycling and walking infrastructure to e-bike provisions and changing facilities for active forms of travel. There is also potential to significantly increase EV charging infrastructure and to modernise public transport provision through hyperlocal on-demand bus loops. “Our aim is to do the right research to gather evidence on what the district needs so that we are in a much better position to bid for government funding and deliver a wide range of sustainable transport solutions for the Cotswolds.” The decision to delay was criticised by Cllr Richard Morgan, leader of the opposition Conservative group, who said it left businesses and residents in limbo. “The news the Lib Dems have decided to conduct yet another review of transport will mean more money being spent on London-based consultants and another wasted year for business owners. They have wasted £500,000 of taxpayers’ money on this multi-storey car park so far.”
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