Parking Review Issue 364

Debt Recovery and Enforcement Specialists

Green ideas cure t he parking blues

Cars are useful, sometimes cool, but also very problematic. The automobile has been a transformative piece of technology. Since the first mass production models emerged in the early 20th Century, the car and truck have reshaped the world. They became the dominant mode of urban and inter-urban transport, driving economic growth and enabling individuals to experience previously undreamed of levels of personal mobility. But, at the same time, automobiles brought injury and death due to speeding, polluted the air, undermined public transport and smothered the landscape with tarmac and concrete. The carscape is one of gridlocked highways, vast parking lots and kerbsides blocked by cortege-like lines of stationary cars.

However, things are changing. Many towns and cities are starting to restrain the car, reducing its right to roam via vehicle bans, air quality rules and charging systems. A combination of legislation and technology mean the automobile is becoming a somewhat more benign mode of travel, most markedly via the transition from internal combustion engines to zero-emission powertrains.

The parking sector is playing a key role in encouraging the adoption of greener vehicles via emissions-based parking permits and charges, while car parks are a logical place in which to provide electric vehicle chargepoints. And car parks themselves are becoming greener. Energy saving lighting systems have long been common in multi-storeys, but we are now seeing sites that act as energy generators, with roof decks given over to solar panels. Meanwhile, on our streets there is interest in replacing parking bays with a new urban realm: parklets are paving the way for urban parks.

We should also get used to car parks, even green ones, becoming rarer as future residential and commercial developments become less car-dependent, or even car-free. The car parks with which we are left will be greener. Park & ride facilities have long enabled drivers to transfer to buses, trams and trains. Now a new generation of mobility hubs allow people to complete their journeys by using bikes, e-scooters or walking along well marked footpaths. Traditionally, parking has been indicated by a ‘P’ on a blue background. Maybe, one day the universal parking logo will be a white ‘P’ sitting on a field of green.

Mark Moran Editor

Sowing the seeds of change Singapore

17 Let’s cut the clutter Disability rights campaigner Christine Clarke speaks about the negative impact that street clutter has had on her family 18 British Parking Awards: The finalists The independent jury has selected the best of the entries, who now go to the 2022 finals at the Royal Lancaster London 22 Clean air: Education and communication Poor air quality is a health crisis for which the traffic and parking sector can deliver remedies, writes Ashley Bijster 24 Mobility hubs: What’s your type? Shared mobility charity CoMoUK has published an illustrated guide to spaces where people move between travel modes 26 Car park design and development A look at the new car park at Portsmouth’s Queen Alexandra Hospital and plans for a multi-storey in central Huddersfield 28 Transforming The Cut Parklets have helped transform a busy B-road in south London into a people-friendly place that’s better work and live in Plus… www.EVolutionMagazine.co.uk Meet the Generation Alpha family Predicting the future with parents, kids and Spot the dog 07 Britain needs to shift out of second gear reports PwC 08 Volkswagen is tracking the EV adoption curve 14 WiCET trial will see taxis go wireless in Nottingham 15 Self-driving cars could be road legal in UK by 2025 Powering the transition to electric and hydrogen road transport CENTRE SECTION The Finalists… page 18 COMOUK 29

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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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Oxford ’s journey to net zero

Workplace parking levy and traffic controls key to Central Oxfordshire Travel Plan’s net zero vision, reports Deniz Huseyin

Aworkplace parking levy, a zero-emission zone, safe cycling network and traffic filters all feature in the Central Oxfordshire Travel Plan (COTP) published last month. COTP forms part of the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan, which was approved by Oxfordshire County Council in July. The county is developing area travel plans across Oxfordshire, with the first being the COTP covering the urban area of Oxford, corridors to and from the city, as well as the villages on these corridors such as Kidlington, Eynsham, Botley, Cumnor, Kennington and Wheatley.

The COTP – which is out for public consultation until 3 October – comprises 22 actions. They include:

• A zero-emission bus network with new and improved routes, able to travel at the speed limit 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

• A safe cycle and footpath network for pedestrians and cyclists

• 20-minute neighbourhoods, where everything people need for their daily lives can be found within a 20-minute walk

• Improved safety through a Vision Zero approach to transport safety.

• An inclusive transport network that improves accessibility for all residents.

COTP’s targets include: reducing car trips by a quarter by 2030; increasing the number of cycle trips in Oxfordshire from 600,000 to 1 million cycle trips per week by 2030; delivering a net zero transport network by 2040 and having zero, or as close as possible, road fatalities or life-changing injuries by 2050.

Oxford has poor air quality, particularly in areas with high levels of road traffic, said the council. “The entire Oxford City area has been designated an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) due to exceedances of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) since

2010. The transport sector continues to be, by far, the largest contributor with 68% of total emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) across Oxford. Pollution hotspots are typically located where congestion and a dense urban form exists.”

To tackle this, the council, in partnership with Oxford City Council, is planning a charge-based Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ), which would extend a pilot scheme implemented on a select number of city centre streets in February 2022. The ZEZ pilot itself builds upon a bus-based Low Emission Zone (LEZ) that has been in place in central Oxford since 2014.

The county council is also pressing ahead with plans for a workplace parking levy to cover businesses with 11 or more staff parking spaces within the Oxford ring road. To ensure that commuter parking is not displaced locally, new controlled parking zones (CPZs) may be required. “Where implemented, CPZs have been extremely successful in managing on-street parking and removing commuter parking,” said the council

There are 43 CPZs across Oxford, and the county council plans to implement a further 13. “We also propose a review of eligibility and quantity of permits issued per property to ensure parking pressure is effectively managed,” the council said.

On-street public parking on routes identified as either being on active travel “Primary Routes (Quickways)” or on a core bus route will be reviewed. The county council said it will remove onstreet parking where it “compromises the functioning of these streets”.

More space will be allocated to electric motorcycles in some areas, such as at transport hubs. “Where this is appropriate, facilities such as electric motorcycle charging and ground anchor points will be considered.”

Secure cycle parking is essential to increasing cycling by “ensuring people can safely park their bike close to their destination”, the council said. “A key issue is where the demand for cycle parking, such as in the city centre and district centres, exceeds the formal provision.”

With transport interchanges such as Oxford Station, Gloucester

Green Bus and Coach Station, and the park & ride sites all in the process of being revamped, this represents an opportunity “to significantly expand the quality and quantity of cycle parking facilities available”.

A public cycle hire scheme will also be implemented at transport hubs. “With a high transient population of students and tourists, a scalable cycle hire scheme has significant potential, and is likely to attract interest from a number of operators.”

The county council said it is working with local planning authority partners and local people to develop liveable communities across the COTP area. “In developing district centres and liveable communities, the county council has a role to play in providing safe streets and attractive active travel options.”

This will involve developing a toolkit of potential “transport interventions”. This toolkit could include:

• A package of co-ordinated local traffic filters and/or vehicle movement restrictions

• Timed vehicle restriction measures around schools and on neighbourhood streets

• Schemes to encourage child play and active travel

• Traffic calming measures such as reduced speed limits to 20mph, speed cushions/ chicanes, raised tables etc.

• Local active travel infrastructure such as crossings, bridges, cycle parking, cycle hangers etc.

• Public realm measures such as parklets where on-street car parking space is repurposed as a social space with seating and planting.

Other proposals in the COTP include a network of cycle routes linking residential and employment areas. The routes would include a mix of “Primary Routes (Quickways), Secondary Routes (Quietways), and Connector Routes” which combined would form a network of over 70 routes across central Oxfordshire.

Funding for proposals in the COTP will come from a range of sources including the Department for Transport, council resources including parking income, community Infrastructure Levy and S106 developer funding contributions.

Duncan Enright, cabinet member for travel and development strategy, said: “We need to look at options that re-allocate the limited road space we have to create a place where buses are fast, affordable, and reliable; where people can walk and cycle in pleasant and safe environments; and where high polluting, unnecessary, individual car journeys take a back seat.”

Oxford to trial ANPR traffic filters

Proposals for a trial of six traffic filters in Oxford feature in the Central Oxfordshire Travel Plan (COTP), which is now out for consultation. Traffic filters are designed to reduce traffic, make bus journeys faster and make walking and cycling safer, said Oxfordshire County Council. During hours of operation, private cars will not be allowed through the traffic filters without a permit. All other vehicles including buses, coaches, taxis, vans, mopeds and HGVs will be allowed at all times. Permits will be available for Blue Badge holders, health workers and professional and non-professional care workers.

The scheme will be enforced using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras. Residents in Oxford and some areas just outside the city will be able to apply for a permit to drive through the traffic filters for up to 100 days per year.

The consultation on the proposed trial will run until 3 October 2022. If approved by Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet, the trial will start as an experimental traffic regulation order (ETRO) in summer 2023 for a minimum of six months. The county council said the ETRO will allow it to test the scheme and make any changes if needed. A second consultation will run alongside the trial period where people can submit their feedback based on their experience of the traffic filters.

Four traffic filters will be located on St Cross Road, Thames Street, St Clements and HytheBridge Street, operating seven days a week from 7am to 7pm. The remaining filters will be located on Marston Ferry Road and Hollow Way and will not operate on Sundays.

Charging ahead in Cambridge

Road user charge plan to fund transport improvements in Greater Cambridge

The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) is planning to introduce a road user charge to fund a host of transport improvements. Under the proposals, those who drive in a Sustainable Travel Zone (STZ) in Cambridge would pay a flat daily charge, unless exempt or eligible for a discount or rebate, between 7am and 7pm on weekdays.

GCP said the road user charge proposals reflect peoples’ feedback to its public consultations. The charge would help to cut the number of car trips in Cambridge by 50%, while raising the funding needed to provide a future bus network, said GCP.

Key features of GCP’s City Access package, published last month, includes new bus routes as well as orbital and express services, and better coverage in rural areas, with buses supported by Demand Responsive Transport (DRT).

The package also proposes longer bus operating hours – from 5am to 1am Monday to Saturday and 5am to midnight on Sunday – and six to eight buses every hour in Cambridge and from market towns, and hourly rural buses.

Flat fares would be introduced, with passengers paying £1 to travel in the city and £2 for journeys in the travel to work area.

New cross-city cycling routes across Greater Cambridge also feature in the package.

GCP said the package would result in 20,000 extra journeys made by bus and a further 60,000 additional trips by active travel every day to create a greener city region where people can travel easily and reliably on bus, bicycle and on foot.

The proposals will be put to a final statutory public consultation before any decisions are made, which would be held in the autumn if approved by the Executive Board on 28 September.

The GCP joint assembly has five local partners: Cambridge City Council; Cambridgeshire County Council; South Cambridgeshire District Council; University of Cambridge; and Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership.

Peter Blake, transport director of the Greater Cambridge Partnership, said: “This is a once in a generation opportunity to create a world-class transport network for Greater Cambridge and the wider area to drive a real step change in the way we travel.

“We’ve listened to the views of the public to create a future bus network with cheaper fares, more services to more locations –including rural areas – and faster, more frequent services with longer operating hours to make public transport a reliable and competitive choice for everyone.

“With the City Deal in place to forward-fund and accelerate the delivery of this transformative bus network – one of the largest ever investments in a UK bus network, alongside upgrades to active travel – we can build confidence in the service and encourage people to make the switch to public transport sooner.”

Bus operating hours will be extended

Truss names Trevelyan as transport secretary

vans by 2035 and new diesel and petrol heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) by 2040.

International trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan is new transport secretary, following the sacking of Grant Shapps by new prime minister Liz Truss.

Shapps, who became transport secretary in 2019, had backed Truss’s rival Rishi Sunak in the Conservative Party’s leadership election. On Twitter Shapps said: “It has been a privilege to serve as transport secretary; a job I loved. Now I look forward to being a strong, independent voice on the backbenches, developing policies that will further the Conservative cause and the interests of my constituents in Welwyn Hatfield.”

Trevelyan backed a rival candidate, Tom Tugendhat, in the Conservative leadership campaign, but switched to Truss when he was knocked out in the third ballot.

She said on Twitter: “I’m thrilled to have been appointed transport sec. Transport is crucial to our lives – bringing people together, creating jobs & connecting the UK with the world. Looking forward to getting to work on the many challenges & opportunities transport brings.”

Trevelyan, who has been Berwick-upon-Tweed’s MP since 2015, was appointed secretary of state for international development in 2020, and was presi-

dent of the Board of Trade from 2021 to 2022.

During his tenure as transport secretary, Shapps introduced a range of strategies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a bid to encourage cycling and walking, Shapps unveiled the £2bn Gear Change strategy, which included an initial £250m emergency active travel fund during the pandemic. The strategy led to the launch earlier this year of Active Travel England, the government’s new executive agency responsible for improving the standards of cycling and walking infrastructure.

In May 2021 he told local transport authorities in England (outside London) that a total of £3bn over a three-year period would be available under the National Bus Strategy and Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) Guidance.

In the arena of traffic and park-

ing, Shapps oversaw the extension of moving traffic enforcement powers to local authorities outside London. However, the longstanding problem of pavement parking remains unresolved despite roundtables with key stakeholders and public consultations.

His term also saw the publication of a new edition of the Highway Code which introduced a new hierarchy of the road which gave the most vulnerable road users – pedestrians and cyclists – priority over motor vehicles. However, in recent weeks, Shapps has been at the centre of a media debate around how to penalise dangerous cyclists.

An advocate of electric vehicles, Shapps pledged £2.8bn to support the motor industry and drivers to make the switch to cleaner vehicles. The transport decarbonisation plan set out the government’s intention to phase out the sale of polluting cars and

Parking enforcement statutory guidance updates

The Department for Transport (DfT) has updated its statutory guidance for local authorities in England on civil enforcement of parking contraventions. The document, which was first published in 2008, has been revised to reflect changes to statutory guidance that have taken place since it was last updated in 2020.

The revised guidance sets out the policy framework for civil parking enforcement and attempts to strike the balance between national consistency while allowing parking policies to suit local circumstances. It also seeks to strike a balance between a system that is fair to the motorist but also effective in enforcing parking regulations.

In the update, the DfT states: “Civil parking enforcement should contribute to the authority’s transport objectives. A good civil parking enforcement regime is one that uses quality-based standards that the public understands, and which are enforced fairly, accurately and expeditiously.

“Enforcement authorities should aim to increase compliance with parking restrictions through clear, well-designed, legal and enforced parking controls. Civil parking enforcement provides a means by which an authority can effectively deliver wider transport strategies and objectives. Enforcement authorities should not view it in isolation or as a way of raising revenue.

“Local authorities should ensure that

Last year Shapps unveiled the design of what was touted as being an ‘iconic’ British electric vehicle chargepoint during the COP26 global warming summit held in Glasgow.

In the rail arena, last year Shapps announced plans for Great British Railways (GBR), a centralised public body which is due to oversee rail transport in Great Britain from 2023.

In recent months, Shapps has clashed with unions who are taking industrial action over pay, jobs and conditions.

Shapps has been an advocate of all-lane running (ALR) smart motorways, where the hard shoulder is a permanent ‘live running’ lane of traffic except in emergencies. However, in January he agreed to pause their roll-out until there was five years’ worth of safety data available.

Speaking at the final hustings of the Conservative leadership campaign, Liz Truss said smart motorways should be reviewed and stopped if they were not working. She also said she would “look into” changing speed limits on motorways from mandatory to advisory.

Simon Clarke has been appointed as secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities. His department is overseeing the implementation of the new code of practice for parking on private land.

parking in town centres and other shopping areas is convenient, safe and secure, including appropriate provision for motorcycles and deliveries. Parking policies, including enforcement, should be proportionate and should not undermine the vitality of town centres.”

The revised guidance covers:

• Objectives of civil parking enforcement

• Issues to consider before starting to use civil parking enforcement powers

• Setting charges

• Communicating civil parking enforcement

• Appraising civil parking enforcement

• Training and professionalism in civil parking enforcement

• On-street activities

• Policy and administrative functions

• Considering challenges, representations and appeals

• Use of enforcement agents (previously known as bailiffs)

• Ensuring the effectiveness of civil parking enforcement.

DfT has new a boss as Shapps returns to the backbenches

In: Anne-Marie Trevelyan Out: Grant Shapps

Westminster seizes obstructive dockless bikes

Westminster City Council has begun seizing dockless bicycles left strewn on roads and pavements across central London. Dockless bikes are regularly found blocking pedestrian crossings and obstructing the pavement, forcing pedestrians and wheelchair-users to move into the road.

The council said it wants to end the current ‘free-for-all’ on dockless bikes and for dockless bike operators to take responsibility for their infrastructure.

The enforcement action follows a spike in bikes being dumped across the city throughout the summer. Westminster is seeing hundreds of dockless bikes abandoned in the middle of the pavement every day, creating a safety risk, particularly for disabled and elderly residents or visitors.

The council has attempted to engage with the major dockless bike operators and still hopes to find a solution which improves cycling in the city but has been inundated with complaints about blocking access to pavements and roads. The severity of the issue has grown throughout the year with people returning to

the city following the end of COVID restrictions.

The council’s city inspectors have been instructed to remove and seize any bikes which are causing dangerous obstructions to pavements and roads. The council is also looking at options

to charge operators the cost of removing the bikes, with the money being reinvested in cycling infrastructure.

Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg, cabinet member for city management and air quality, said: “The council has begun seizing dock-

Pedicab drivers fined in council crackdown

Six pedicab operators have been charged over £5,000 following enforcement action by Westminster City Council, in partnership with the Metropolitan Police, at City of London Magistrates Court under the Control of Pollution Act, 1974.

In this latest round of prosecutions on 27 July, fines, costs, and victim surcharges ranged between £350-£1,514 for the six pedicab drivers, with a total of £5,029 being imposed.

Cumbria rolls out yellow lines

Cumbria County Council is introducing an emergency temporary traffic regulation order (ETRO) across South Lakeland following several incidents and concerns raised due to severe congestion and inconsiderate parking.

The ETRO prohibits any vehicle to wait at any time, on any day and to load/unload at any time, on any day, including Blue Badge holders. This means drivers will no longer be able to stop, park, or even unload on some roads.

Tourists flock to the Cumbrian beauty spot every summer and with a surge in staycations since the start of the COVID pandemic, the problem has snowballed over the past two years. The large volume of visitors, who often illegally or poorly park on narrow roads, have often made it difficult for emergency vehicles to get past, prompting fury among councillors, police, fire and

ambulance chiefs.

The council’s parking ban includes Dungeon Ghyll at the head of Great Langdale, and a short section of road at Elterwater Common. It also covers a stretch of the A591 south of Waterhead, near Ambleside, and will affect Blue Badge holders.

Cllr Keith Little, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “There have been a number of issues on these routes in recent years, and our first priority must be public safety and ensuring our road network is safe, reliable and accessible for local people and for tourists visiting this beautiful area

“It is vital that we are able to identify solutions that ensure the accessibility of bus services and emergency vehicles, as well as promoting sustainable travel by prohibiting vehicles from parking on roadsides and causing mayhem for other road users.”

One pedicab driver was initially found to have provided a false name and address after being caught by city inspectors playing excessively loud music from a loudspeaker in the West End. During a subsequent operation, the same driver was caught again and their correct details were found. The court fined this individual £1019.

Since November 2021, over 50 pedicab drivers have been reported for prosecutions.

less bikes that we find blocking pavements and roads in Westminster. Trying to walk down some of our streets has become like attempting an obstacle course and we are fed up with finding these bikes dumped across the city. Anyone in town this summer will see these cycles abandoned. It’s a nuisance and potentially dangerous, especially for those with disabilities.

“We’ve contacted the major dockless bike operators and made it clear that if they don’t remove their bikes from the pavement the council will – and we’ll charge them for doing so. Any money we raise will go towards improving cycling infrastructure on our streets.

“Westminster City Council is supportive of cycling and the many benefits it brings, particularly when it comes to cleaning up air quality. We want to find a solution that works for everyone but, in the meantime, people living and visiting Westminster shouldn’t have to put up with this every day.”

Westminster City Council said it has worked to encourage cycling to improve the health and wellbeing of residents and to reduce carbon emissions. For example, the council currently offers free cycling training to anyone who lives, works or studies in Westminster.

Embassies owe £142m in C-Charges

Overseas embassies owe Transport for London (TfL) over £140m in unpaid Congestion Charge penalties. The latest list of outstanding charge payments owed by embassies has topped £142m, as of June 2022, having risen from £136m at the end of September 2021.

Although the Congestion Charge is applied to road vehicles entering the congestion zone, many embassies argue that it is not a charge but a tax, and embassies are exempt from paying domestic taxes under the terms of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

TfL disagrees and maintains a list of outstanding debts due on its website. The debt list is updated every six months. Many embassies accept the

charge is not a tax. By 2008 the majority of the 128 embassies based in London had agreed to pay the fees, although a number of them have since changed their minds. For example, in 2006, the UAE agreed to pay its outstanding fees, but in 2022, it had once more built up a fresh debt of £17,680.

The biggest non-payer is the USA, which has outstanding fees of £14.6m as of the end of June 2022. The US Embassy moved to Nine Elms in late 2017 and is now situated outside the Congestion Charge zone, but its drivers still head into town on a regular basis so they still generate unpaid bills.

TfL cannot sue a diplomatic mission to recover the fees as only central government can trigger proceedings against embassies.

Enforcement tackles rental bikes that pose a threat to pedestrians

Westminster city inspectors seize a dockless rental bike

Drop-off fees have increased at two-thirds of the UK’s major airports since 2019, an RAC investigation found. According to recent research 16 of the 21 airports analysed have introduced or raised charges for dropping off passengers in the past three years.

Eight airports charge £5 for dropping off passengers. They include the UK’s two busiest airports.

London’s Stansted Airport levies its most expensive ‘kiss and fly’ charges for dropping off someone as close to the terminal as possible. The airport’s initial fee is £7 for up to 15 minutes, an increase from £4 for 10 minutes in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.

Stansted offers free drop-off options in its mid-stay or longstay car parks that are connected to terminals by buses. A Stansted spokesperson said: “The charge

makes an important contribution to encouraging alternative, more sustainable transport options and reducing congestion on the airport and surrounding roads.”

London’s Heathrow and Gatwick introduced the charge last year. Gatwick’s drop-off fees allows 10 minutes at Gatwick while at Heathrow £5 buys an unspecified number of minutes.

Luton has increased its initial drop-off charges to £5 for 10 minutes (in 2019 the fee was £4 for 13 minutes).

Across other parts of the country, Manchester Airport gives drivers five minutes for dropping

off at a cost of £5 (an increase from £3 in 2019), while Liverpool John Lennon has raised its fees to £4 for 10 minutes (an increase from £3 for 20 minutes).

Bristol charges to £5 for 10 minutes and East Midlands Airport £5 for 15 minutes.

In Scotland Aberdeen and Glasgow Airports have all doubled their drop-off fees to £4 for 10 minutes.

Some airports have kept their fees the same since 2019 Birmingham International charges £3 for 15 minutes while Belfast asks £1 for 10 minutes.

Not everywhere charges. Drivers can still use free drop-

off areas near the terminal entrance at Cardiff, London City and Belfast City airports.

The Airport Operators Association said airports provide clear information about dropoff charges to ensure travellers are informed about the options.

A spokesman said: “Airports that operate drop-off charges directly outside the terminal do so for a number of different reasons, including to manage congestion in capacity-restricted areas and to limit the environmental and air quality impacts of ‘kiss and fly’ journeys.”

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “Anyone dropping a loved one off at the terminal this summer will be stunned by some of these skyhigh ‘kiss and drop’ charges. And for those using the UK’s two busiest airports, the luxury of free drop-offs outside the terminal building has been replaced by some pretty high fees.

“Minute for minute and pound for pound, some of these charges could almost be as high as the airfare itself.”

Councils face extra strain as costs soar

The cost of filling potholes, building new roads and street lighting has soared, putting pressure on council budgets and delaying works, according to joint analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Association for Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT).

Road maintenance costs have increased, with a number of councils seeing a 22% rise in the cost of repairing a pothole, relaying a road surface and other maintenance costs, the analysis found. Councils capital budgets, which support the building of new roads and other local infrastructure, have gone up 21%.

Meanwhile, councils have seen a 37.5% increase in the cost of running and repairing street lights over the last six months, with some reporting that their running costs have doubled.

Prior to the war in Ukraine, an estimated 60% of bitumen, which is used to repair roads, was sourced from Russia and sold onto the European market. Since the Russian invasion, councils have had to ration the

A financial hole?

supply of the material and source it from other markets, pushing up costs and delaying road repairs, said the LGA and ADEPT.

Councils are already facing a significant road repair backlog, with latest estimates suggesting it would take them 10 years and £12bn to bring local roads up to scratch, the study found.

Cllr David Renard, transport spokesperson for the LGA said: “As this stark new analysis shows, councils across the country are facing unprecedented increased costs to repair our local roads, keep our street lights switched on and invest in improved local infrastructure.

“Global pressures, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as increasing inflation and

a shortage of materials have all provided the perfect storm for councils and piled pressure on already stretched local budgets.

“To tackle this issue, the new government must cover these increased costs for councils or risk road conditions getting worse or reductions in other services.”

Mark Kemp, president of ADEPT said: “Current inflation rates are having a massive impact on major capital schemes. Local authorities are doing all we can to identify additional funding to meet rising costs, but without a change to funding allocations from government, the funding gap problems that lie with local councils will worsen dramatically, increasing the risk of some schemes

failing. Of course, it’s not just major schemes. We face the same risks and issues with other grant allocations such as Bus Service Improvement Plans and Active Travel Schemes, where allocations based on bids made last year will not cover the cost of delivery. Without government support, some local authorities will have to prioritise highways maintenance and call a halt to new schemes.”

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, said that the rising costs could have an adverse impact on road users.

“Roads maintenance is expensive and the price of materials is only making the situation worse,” he said. “Plagues of potholes, streets with worn out road markings and hedges covering important road signs seem to increase daily. Warnings over the price of salt will worry road users that a harsh winter could cut them and their communities off from accessing vital services.

“However, rising costs should not be an excuse for squeezing more money out of motorists to fill the financial hole. Estimates for council revenue during the current financial year (2022/2023) point to surpluses from parking, including fines, of more than £1bn from parking and approaching £95m from bus lane enforcement.”

The Department for Transport is to give Transport for London (TfL) £1.2bn in a funding settlement that runs up to March 2024. This follows four short-term emergency deals, totalling about £5bn, since the first COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020.

As a condition of the funding, then transport secretary Grant Shapps said that TfL must become “financially sustainable”, which encompasses operating expenditure, capital renewals, servicing and repaying debt, and capital enhancements.

TfL is required to maintain cash balances of no more than on average £1.2bn for each quarter up to the end of the funding period. A TfL spokesman told Parking Review: “This funding agreement means we are confident that we will be able to balance our budget and maintain our minimum cash balance. While we will need to progress with our plans to further modernise our organisation and make ourselves even more efficient, and we still face a series of tough choices in the future, but London will move away from the managed decline of the transport network.”

As part of the settlement, mayor of London Sadiq Khan has committed to generating between £500m and £1bn additional revenue a year through measures such as road user charging. This

would involve extending the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to cover all of Greater London by 2023.

TfL said the funding settlement leaves a gap in its budget of around £740m across 2022/2023 and 2023/2024. “In order to accept the agreement, we have had to identify measures which allow us to balance our budget,” said the spokesman. “These include holding our cash balance at £1.2bn, assuming benefit from the inflation mechanism built into the agreement, and the release of contingency from our budget.”

This leaves TfL with a target of further savings of around £90m in 2022/23 and £140m in 2023/24 beyond the £730m a year recurring savings programme it has already committed to.

The TfL spokesman said: “We are now working through what combination of levers enable us to deliver this, including additional potential sources of funding if the savings cannot be met.”

Under the settlement, TfL must allocate £80m every year to active travel schemes. TfL’s spokesman said: “This is up from around £30m per year on average under our current budget, but still lower than predicted levels before the pandemic. The £69m of direct borough funding

(per year) will also support more localised investment in walking and cycling schemes across the city.”

The new funding will fund upgrades such as the repair of Hammersmith Bridge, the extension of the Northern Line and improvements to Elephant and Castle station. It will also cover the cost of completing new Piccadilly line trains, as well as modernisations and upgrades across the District, Metropolitan, Hammersmith and City and Circle lines.

The government has pledged to finance the completion of the Elizabeth Line, on the condition that the mayor provides £48.5m additional funding to the Crossrail project. “We expect TfL to prioritise items essential for the completion of the line alongside the rest of its capital programme and manage any additional costs within the capital envelope,” said Shapps. “TfL will be at risk for any further overruns and no further government funding will be made available outside of this settlement.”

After the previous emergency package, TfL warned that without an adequate long-term funding settlement, bus services would be cut by 18% and Tube services by 9%. Sadiq Khan has also agreed to continue work on the introduction of driverless trains on London Underground.

Highways, active travel and transport budgets under pressure, reports Deniz Huseyin

TfL and DfT agree long-term £1.2bn settlement

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Parking permits are too cheap, says Possible

Calls for parking permit costs to reflect the societal impact of cars, reports Deniz Huseyin

New analysis of parking bay permits and suspensions has revealed how cities in the UK “heavily incentivise” the ownership of private vehicles, according to climate change charity Possible. It is 115 times more expensive to suspend a parking bay than pay for a parking permit, suggests research by Possible of parking in England’s 10 biggest cities.

Figures obtained from the local authorities show that the average cost to suspend a parking bay is £158.06 while the average cost of a parking permit is £1.38, said Possible.

Bradford, Leeds, and Nottingham had no weekly charge for a parking permit while parking bay suspension weekly costs were £70, £187.60, and £23.38, respectively. In Liverpool, the weekly cost of a parking permit is £0.04 while it costs £193 for a weekly parking bay suspension.

Possible found that the other six cities, including London, Birmingham and Manchester, charged more for parking permits, but there were still “considerable discrepancies” between those costs and the cost of a parking bay suspension.

Across these six cities, parking bay suspensions were between 33 and 353 times more expensive than a parking permit, the charity found.

The cost of a parking permit should be a truer reflection of the land being used, as well as

the societal costs of car ownership through pollution, road danger and loss of space, a Possible spokesperson said.

Local authorities should implement an “affordable and easy process” that allows residents to reclaim public space.

The spokesperson told Parking Review: “We think the main solution on residential streets are parklets. These mini-parks can be used to provide seating, cycle or micromobility storage and greenery. They can also become places for community interaction.

“It’s also essential that they’re accessible, made from sustainable, locally-resourced materials and include plants that are

City

drought-resistant so they’re robust for the impacts of climate change.”

More research is needed to understand the connection between parking policy and the climate crisis, said the charity. It has urged councils to take the following steps:

• Introduce CPZs (controlled parking zones) where there currently are none, and ensure that the cost of a parking permit is at least £150, with larger and more polluting vehicles charged more or refused permits. With exemptions for disabled people and for people with mobility difficulties.

• Implement an annuallydecreasing cap on the number

Comparison of suspension and parking permit costs

Birmingham £120.00 £3.63 3,205% Manchester £210.00 £4.33 4,749% Sheffield £72.15 £1.21 5,862% London £324.50 £3.28 9,793% Bristol £210.00 £0.82 25,509% Newcastle £170.00 £0.48 3,5316% Liverpool £193.00 £0.04 482,400% Leeds £187.60 £0.00 N/A Nottingham £23.38 £0.00 N/A Bradford £70.00 £0.00 N/A

Goodwin’s concern over growing car dimensions

Fifty years since the size of a standard parking space was established, there are plans to make them bigger to match the growing size of cars.

The Times has reported that ministers are supporting the change. But transport academic Professor Phil Goodwin has raised his own concerns at the increasing size of cars, alongside other pressures on the use of road space affecting a much wider community of interest and transport implications.

The new size specification would apply to all bays created in new car parks, with existing spaces encouraged to progressively upgrade when refurbishment takes place or

electric charging points are installed.

The current dimensions of 15.7ft by 7.5ft were set in guidance by the Institution of Structural Engineers in 1976.

Average popular car width has increased by an estimated 17% since 1998. The mini is now 6ft 3in wide compared with the original 4ft 7.5in.

Edmund King, president of the AA, said the change was “long, long overdue”. The current mismatch could not only cause damage to cars by scratching, but also lead to parking rage and congestion. Nicholas Lyes, head of roads policy at the RAC, said the extra width reflected the introduction of side impact protection.

of residential parking permits issued to private cars.

• Introduce road space re-allocation targets by 2030 to show how freed former parking space will be used better.

• Commit to “car-free as a starting point” for all new housing developments (with exceptions for people with mobility issues).

There is a lot of excess parking space in cities, the Possible spokesperson said. “You could argue that because cars are going unused 95% of the time, that even when they’re being used they’re taking up public space in an ‘excess’ way. The solution that we usually see in this is for car clubs to become more popular so a car can be shared more efficiently. Also, a lot of parking space that is reserved for cars is relatively useless when there aren’t cars parked there.”

Possible is calling on councils to reevaluate the costs of parking permits to fully reflect the costs of car ownership borne by the rest of society through pollution, road danger and loss of space; and implement an affordable and easy process by which residents can reclaim public space in ways that bring communities together, reduce car dominance and help the climate.

Hirra Khan Adeogun, head of car-free cities at Possible, said: “We’re letting private cars hold our public space hostage. The fact that some cities aren’t even charging for parking just goes to show how local politicians are missing opportunities to break cities free from car dominance. Most of the time private cars are going completely unused and taking up valuable public space.”

Professor Goodwin notes the increasing dimensions of cars, but in the context of growing pressure on road space that has changed the balance of advantage between different competing uses and users. He calls for an in-depth look at the “neglected area of concern”, saying: “My intuition is that the scale of reallocation of road capacity in recent years has been transformed much more – and maybe in the opposite direction – by other changes and claimants, compared with the modest policies to improve the public realm and address issues of personal space and safety. We need to find the evidence that might lead to the identification of some important, but hitherto unnoticed, policy implications.”

1 NOVEMBER 2022 MANCHESTER CONFERENCE CENTRE

Moving forward together

Traffic and parking management teams provide an essential service. They keep our towns and cities moving. They work to provide sufficient, equitable and safe access to the kerbside for residents, shoppers, businesses, people with disabilities and the emergency services.

Local authorities and their partners are focussed on reducing traffic congestion, ensuring the free movement of public transport and safety of pedestrians. They are increasingly key to enabling active travel, as well as implementing schemes that reduce vehicle-related pollution and delivering electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Key themes

Traffic + Parking 2022 will examine themes such as themes such as:

l Civil parking enforcement

l Moving traffic regulation

l Clean air schemes

l Parking payment services

l Kerbside management

l Signs, lines and TROs

l Low Traffic Neighbourhoods

l School streets

l Electric vehicle charging l Mobility hubs

l Pavement parking

l Residential and permit parking l Public consultation

l Blue Badges

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l Road user charges

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If you have an idea for a talk contact the event’s programmer Mark Moran, Editor, Parking Review E: mark.moran@landor.co.uk

Exhibition

Traffic + Parking 2022 provides your company with the perfect opportunity to carefully target the marketing of your products and services to those within the smart city planning, active travel, intelligent mobility and parking sectors.

To participate in this sector-defining event contact Jason Conboy T: 020 7091 7895 E: jason@landor.co.uk

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Supported by:

Uniting what’s next in tra c.

We are connecting the dots of a new mobility revolution that is transforming our towns and cities.

With the broadest end-to-end portfolio of intelligent traffic management solutions, we work with cities, highway authorities and mobility

operators to make their road networks and fleets intelligent, enhance road safety and improve air quality.

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Boston Dynamics’ Spot is a data collecting robot dog

The Space Age is here again

The Jetsons was an animated comedy series of the 1960s that followed the adventures of a (literally) nuclear family of the future. It was packed full of wondrous, but comically unreliable, Space Age gadgets such as flying cars and robots.

It seems the spirit of George, Jane, Judy and Elroy Jetson, and Astro the Dog, is alive and well among the children who make up Generation Alpha, the demographic cohort succeeding Generation Z. Born from the mid-2010s, these kids are now at school.

When it comes to predicting how we travel, Gen A appear to be very keen on ideas like teleportation, flying school buses and, of course, robots. This, at least, is what car company Hyundai discovered when it sought to understand how its future customers see the world.

Mark Moran Cub Reporter

www.landor.co.uk

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But is not just Gen A that appears to have a Jetsonian vision of the future. When asked about the technology they were most excited about, their parents would also like to live in a world of robots, flying and autonomous cars. It is reassuring that the grown-ups did have some more nuanced views, expressing a desire to see travel become environmentally friendly and an interest in exploring the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI).

Generations A to Z will soon have a chance to road test the Space Age dream. The government is planning legislation which will allow the roll-out of self-driving vehicles on UK roads by 2025. Let’s hope that real world experience of autonomous vehicles is more reliable than that imagined by Hanna-Barbera’s animators!

People like the idea of living in a world of flying cars and robots... it sounds like a cartoon

Boston Dynamics: Generation Alpha

New car market ends five months of decline ahead of plate change

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) made up a 14.5% market share of new car registrations in August, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) registrations fell by -23.1% to comprise 5.6% of monthly registrations. Plug-in vehicles accounted for one in five (20.2%) of August’s registrations. Hybrid electric vehicle registrations remained stable, falling by just -0.7%.

Overall, the UK’s new car market rose by 1.2% in August – ending five months of decline. The growth, albeit marginal, is the first seen since February, with some 68,858 new vehicles joining the road during what is typically the second quietest month of the year as many buyers choose to

wait for a ‘new’ numberplate in September.

Despite the growth, August volumes were still the weakest for the month, bar 2021, since 2013 as supply chain pressures continued to constrain the market. Large fleet registrations fell by -1.6%, although this was offset by a 3.2% increase in deliveries to private consumers. Business customers saw the largest increase of 26.6%, but the sector is small in volume and

subject to volatility.

Superminis remained the most popular vehicle class, growing market share to 34.0% as 7.4% more of them were delivered to customers than in August 2021. Multipurpose, luxury saloon and lower medium vehicles also recorded growth of 31.0%, 1.5% and 1.3% respectively, while registrations of all other segments declined.

For the year to date, registrations are down by

-10.7% on last year at 983,099 units – more than a third (35.3%) lower than during the first eight months of prepandemic 2019 –demonstrating the scale of the challenge ahead in terms of recovery.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said, “August’s new car market growth is welcome, but marginal during a low volume month. Spiralling energy costs and inflation on top of sustained supply chain challenges are piling even more pressure on the automotive industry’s postpandemic recovery, and we urgently need the new Prime Minister to tackle these challenges and restore confidence and sustainable growth. With September traditionally a bumper time for new car uptake, the next month will be the true barometer of industry recovery as it accelerates the transition to zero-emission mobility despite the myriad challenges.”

Legislation will cover provision of chargepoints for new buildings in Scotland

buildings with more than 10 parking spaces, one in every 10 would be expected to provide an EV chargepoint socket with a minimum 7kW rating. There are also requirements for residential and nonresidential buildings undergoing major renovation to provide chargepoints.

To update the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004, the Scottish Government will put forward secondary legislation for the consideration of the parliament by the end of the year.

zero transport system. This supports our ambition of phasing out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030 as part of our response to the global climate emergency.

“We’ve already seen private developers delivering EV chargepoints as part of new builds in Scotland. They recognise that chargepoints are an attractive feature to have and offer convenience as part of a wider charging mix. These changes will provide a minimum standard that developers will need to consider going forward.

The Scottish Government will legislate to ensure developers provide electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints in the construction of new residential and non-residential buildings.

The policy proposals have been published as part of a summary of responses to the consultation titled Scottish Building Regulations: Proposed Changes to Energy Standards Including Ventilation, Overheating and Electric Vehicle

Charging Provision consultation.

The proposals aim to support and encourage the growing uptake of electric vehicles by ensuring that all new homes, including flats, with a dedicated car parking space are built with an electric chargepoint.

The building regulations will mean that new residential buildings with a parking space have at least one EV chargepoint with a minimum 7kW rating. For new non-residential

To launch the proposals, the transport minister Jenny Gilruth joined East Lothian Council and Springfield Properties at Windygout South in Tranent to learn more about the work underway to provide chargepoints as part of a new housing development.

Gilruth said: “We know that it is important to make charging as easy as possible to help make the switch to EV. I’m pleased to confirm that we will introduce legislation to ensure all new buildings are EV enabled. This step will help future proof Scotland’s buildings as we transition to a net

“We also know that many households will not have access to dedicated parking spaces and that’s why earlier this year we announced our £60m EV Infrastructure Fund, to ensure that all households across Scotland can be confident that EV charging will be local, accessible and that they too can switch to zeroemission.

“We have not forgotten existing residents, and continue to improve access to public chargers so that East Lothian now has one of the highest numbers of chargers per head of population in the UK.”

Battery electric vehicle uptake continues to grow

Transport minister Jenny Gilruth at the Windygout South housing development

Source: SMMT

Funding boost for Northern Ireland

for electric vehicle chargers

Northern Ireland has received a £1.3m funding boost for electric vehicle chargepoints in residential areas from the UK Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV). The funding award of £1,348,370 and match-funding from Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure of £500,000 will be used to assist local councils across the north with the installation of on-street electric vehicle chargepoints for local residents in a number of residential areas wishing to charge their plug-in electric vehicles that lack access to private off-street charging.

NI infrastructure minister John O’Dowd said: “In order to tackle the decarbonisation of transport and address climate change we must seriously prioritise sustainable modes of transport. This offer of funding from OZEV and the match funding of £500,000 that I am making available to a local council consortium led by Derry City and Strabane District Council for 2021-22 applications, subject to public expenditure processes, is a further welcome boost to help accelerate the transition to zeroemission cars and vans.

“Having access to available and convenient chargepoints is another important step forward. My department

has set up an EV Infrastructure Task Force which brings together representatives from government, consumers, energy providers, industry and EV drivers to consider our EV Infrastructure requirements. The task force will help set out a clear action plan by autumn 2022 to deliver a fit for purpose, modern EV charging network.”

Cllr Sandra Duffy, Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, said:

£20m LEVI fund pilot unveiled

Around 1,000 new electric vehicle chargepoints will be rolled out across via a pilot backed by £20m of government and industry funding.

Working through the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot scheme, local authorities and industry will work to create commercial EV charging infrastructure for residents, from faster on-street chargepoints to larger petrol station-style charging hubs.

The winners of funding are:

• Barnet

• Dorset

• Durham

• Kent

• Midlands Connect (with Lincolnshire as lead body)

• North Yorkshire

• Nottinghamshire

• Suffolk

• Warrington.

The funding is expected to deliver over 1,000 public chargepoints across the areas.

The scheme will help residents without private driveways to have better access to EV chargers, as well as growing the charging network across the country, supporting the nation’s uptake of zero-emission vehicles and enabling more people to drive and charge without fear of being caught short, no matter where they are.

The pilot is backed by £10m of government funding shared among the nine winning local authorities in the first tranche of the planned £450m scheme, with winning pilot bids supported by an additional £9m in private funding.

A further £1.9m will come from public funds across local authorities.

“Derry City and Strabane District Council has been leading a consortium of local councils in the development of a funding bid for the OZEV On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS). We are delighted to have been successful in what is the first ORCS application for Northern Ireland. The scheme will see 124 EV chargepoints installed in residential areas that do not have access to private offstreet parking and charging.”

Government has funded 400k EV chargers

The UK government has funded the installation of around 400,000 electric vehicle chargers via three grant schemes.

Figures published by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) reveal that almost 370,000 of the chargers are in residential settings. These have been funded via the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) scheme.

Over 2,800 on-street residential chargers have been funded via the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS).

In addition, over 31,000 chargers in workplace settings have been backed via the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS).

Domestic Charging Devices

As of 1 July 2022:

• OZEV funded grant schemes (EVHS and DRS) have delivered 368,990 domestic charging devices since 2013

• the EVHS has funded the installation of 328,657 domestic charging devices

• the EVHS funded 132,955 device installations since 1 July 2021, this is an increase of 62% compared to the previous 12-month period

Workplace Charging Devices

As of 1 July 2022:

• the WCS has funded the installation of 31,239 sockets in workplace carparks since the scheme started in 2016

• the WCS funded 12,881 sockets installations since 1 July 2021, an increase of almost 52% compared to the previous 12-month period

On-Street Residential Devices

As of 1 July 2022:

• the ORCS has funded 2,869 public charging devices which have been installed across local authorities in the UK

• 228 on-street charging devices were installed after being claimed for by the local authorities in the previous 3 months

• funding has also been awarded for 9,543 additional ORCS charging devices to be installed in the future.

OZEV provides £1.3m

NI Infrastructure minister John O’Dowd and Mayor of Derry Cllr Sandra Duffy

Helping councils go low carbon

Local authorities trial energy infrastructure planning tool developed by SSEN

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution has established partnerships with Dundee City Council, Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council to trial novel tools that will help council planners locate energy assets by collaborating and sharing data with utility companies.

With the uptake of low carbon transport and heating, local authorities are finding themselves in the driving seat to plan the infrastructure that will support those choices. The Regional Energy System Optimisation Planning (RESOP) project is taking a ‘whole system’ approach, by drawing together data from multiple sources into a single tool that can be used to plan the roll-out of low carbon technologies (LCTs) such as charging points for electric vehicles. This will help local authorities by enabling LCTs to be sited in cost-effective locations whilst providing early warning to SSEN of additional demand on the network.

The RESOP project shows constraints on the network, allowing local authorities to make better informed decisions about the placement of new energy assets.

A constraint is where the electricity network is unable to transmit power from the point of generation, or to the location of demand, due to congestion at one or more parts of the network.

RESOP is developing the intuitive LAEP+ tool which will use a straightforward traffic light system in response to a ‘click and drag’ operation by the planning team in a local authority, to show whether a new energy asset could be accommodated on the existing network.

The LAEP+ tool is currently being trialled by Dundee City Council, Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council, through the county council’s spatial mapping work in Project LEO (Local Energy Oxfordshire). LEO is SSEN’s flagship innovation project, seeking to accelerate the UK’s transition to a zerocarbon electricity system.

Rhys Williams, innovation project manager for RESOP, said: “The RESOP project is the first of its kind, showcasing the benefits of data sharing and collaboration between utilities and local councils to produce cost-effective energy solutions that will help pave the way to net zero. As the operator of electricity distribution infrastructure, our work sits at the heart of the transition to net zero. SSEN is focussed on sharing the data that allows the best ‘whole system’ solution to be identified that supports local communities in their transition to net zero.”

Midlands councils develop EV planning tool

Midlands Connect has launched a new electric vehicle planning tool set to improve the process of deploying public charging points.

The tool, which has been developed for local authorities across the Midlands, analyses data about local residents, their lives and behaviours to pinpoint sites where new chargers should be located.

The factors examined include how likely local people are to make the switch to an electric vehicle, accessibility to public transport, current electric vehicle uptake, levels of deprivation and the proportion of households with no access to off-

road parking. With this information in hand, the tool selects areas where public points are most needed.

Ideal sites will likely be in areas with lower levels of off-road parking, where fewer people can charge electric vehicles at home. It’s also hoped that more chargers can be installed in areas where patchy public transport limits other sustainable transport options and in areas with higher levels of deprivation – where a lack of commercially-viable sites holds back private sector investment.

By having access to this planning tool, it is anticipated that local

Inga Doherty,

said: “We’re delighted to be working with SSEN to develop the LAEP+ tool in Project LEO. The whole system approach will help us make the most cost-effective decisions to support the local transition to net zero.”

Bryan Harris, sustainability and climate change manager at Dundee City Council, said: “The City of Dundee continues to take a leading role in the transition to net zero. Ensuring that the right low carbon investment decisions we make today will put us on the best footing for this challenge. We’re delighted to be working in partnership with SSEN to develop the RESOP tool which will take a ‘whole systems’ overview of the energy networks in our city and underpin the new Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy.”

RESOP is funded from £343,000 provided by Ofgem’s Network Innovation Allowance (NIA).

authorities can more easily identify the most suitable sites for development and make a more compelling case for government funding.

Previous analysis by Midlands Connect suggests that the Midlands needs 17,461 new public EV chargepoints by 2025 to keep pace with growing demand. By the end of the decade, it is predicted that one in every four cars will be electric. The sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be outlawed from 2030.

Matt Pain, who developed the tool, said: “It’s really important that we support local authorities as they ramp up the installation of public electric vehicle chargers. This tool will

make it easier for councils to identify sites where investment is needed most and will have the biggest positive impact.

“Public chargepoints don’t just belong in the most affluent areas, or those places where electric vehicle take up is already booming, we need to ensure that no part of the Midlands region is left behind, and that councils are able to step in and deliver in communities where the private sector is unlikely to intervene.

“With this data in hand, I hope that the Midlands’ local authorities can make an even more compelling case to government for support as we look to speed up the decarbonisation of our transport network.”

project LEO lead for Oxfordshire County Council,

The LAEP+ tool will assist in the planning of electric vehicle charging assets

UK must shift out of second gear to realise e-mobility potential

PwC eReadiness survey looks at consumer attitudes

The UK shows a high level of demand for electric vehicles, but more rapid progress is constrained by lack of incentives and concerns over vehicle cost and charging availability, warns a report by consultants at PwC.

PwC’s eReadiness study shows that EVs are currently seen as a status symbol in the UK, meaning breaking out of the luxury bubble will be key to rapidly accelerating adoption of EVs. The opinion survey underpinning the report indicates 83% of UK respondents would buy a used EV, second only to Spain at 87%.

The UK is an emerging power in e-mobility with significant potential for growth but, according to PwC’s eReadiness survey, it needs to shift up a gear if it is to ever match the top-ranking performance of Norway.

The survey shows that 55% of consumers are looking to purchase an electric vehicle within the next two years, with lower operating costs, environmental impact and convenience cited as major motives to buy. The survey took place across seven European countries including Norway, Italy and Germany.

But lingering perceptions still need to be addressed if the industry is to win consumers’ hearts, minds and cash. While UK respondents were the most aware of the lower maintenance costs associated with EVs, they also came out top in perceiving EVs as a status symbol, an attitude that unless addressed could put the brakes on growth rates.

The analysis also reveals the challenges facing the UK government and manufacturers in their bid to accelerate adoption and reduce dependency on petrol/diesel vehicles as part of the wider transition to zero tailpipe emissions. Consumers are still being put off by higher up front purchase costs, for example, a factor that will only be exacerbated by the current cost of living crisis, suggests PwC.

While the government and the private sector continue to invest heavily in charging infrastructure, reductions in EV purchase incentives leading to the grant scheme closing in June 2022, could stall wider scale adoption. The report reveals that purchase incentive packages and extensive charging options, including wide penetration of public fast charging points, currently play a significant role in

Source: PwC

Key findings

• The ability to charge at home was identified as a major blocker, as around 7 million households in the UK do not have the space to park or charge off-street. This highlights the importance of a range of reliable, accessible and affordable public charging solutions to meet the needs of all consumer segments.

• Charging times, price and convenience stand out as concerns amongst UK consumers, presenting an opportunity for manufacturers in terms of product design and better communication of the options.

• Government and private sector also have a unique opportunity to provide charging infrastructure that fits around drivers’ behaviour, whether at home, at work, or on the move.

• Satisfaction with the customer buying experience is declining in the UK. While word of mouth is driving people’s interest in EV options. 43% said their buying decisions were influenced by recommendations from family and friends. People need test drives and in-person dealerships to clinch the deal. There is also limited consumer trust in making a purchase of this size online.

• 80% of people are interested in buying a used EV. PwC’s Leading the Charge research revealed the potential for fleet electrification to feed the used car market with more affordable options as they renew fleets every two to four years.

securing Norway’s top ranking eReadiness performance.

Mark Couttie, PwC consulting automotive leader, said: “There is huge potential for growth across the UK EV market but challenges around perception, cost and charging continue to linger. Manufacturers and government need to work together to smash the perception that EVs are the preserve of the affluent middle class. The private sector, for example, could go further in developing mass appeal consumer offers that don’t require such a large initial cash outlay.

“Assumptions around needing to have off-street parking also play into this ‘middle class’ view and it’s crucial that infrastructure development, led by government, utilities and private sector players, is firmly focussed on the needs of the charging masses of the future.”

Cara Haffey, PwC automotive leader, said: “Despite continuing investment in electric vehicles by manufacturers and the launch of new and diverse ranges of battery and hybrid products, consumers are still being constrained by concerns around cost, a lack of choice and performance. Understanding the trends that are both driving and holding back demand in the UK – and in comparison to other Western European markets – will certainly help manufacturers shape their

strategies more effectively and grow market share as they view an increasingly electrified future within a highly competitive environment.”

Matt Alabaster, PwC strategy partner, commented on the implications for charging infrastructure.

“The private sector is stepping up to the challenge of providing the charging infrastructure that the UK needs,” he said. “From ultra-rapid chargers in motorway service areas, to chargers that will top us up while we shop or eat, the UK’s charging infrastructure is growing faster than ever. Over 800 public chargers are being added every month, and this rate is set to increase further as big ticket investors start to fund major national roll outs.

“We forecast that an average of 1,100 public chargers will be installed every month in 2023, rising to over 2,200 every month by the end of the decade. The segments we need even more progress on are solutions focussed on commercial fleet operators, and affordable on-street parking in residential areas.”

The eReadiness study from PwC Strategy& examines markets across much of Western Europe to provide valuable insights on the consumer, commercial and broader factors that are influencing the adoption of EVs. www.pwc.co.uk

Tracking the adoption curve

Uneven chargepoint infrastructure roll-out could cause EV sales to stall in the UK, warns Mike Todd of Volkswagen Financial Services

The roll-out public charging infrastructure across the UK must keep pace with growing demands or there is a risk that electric vehicle take-up will stall. This is a warning made by Volkswagen Financial Services UK based on the results of its new EV tracking survey. Volkswagen Financial Services UK (VWFS) released its first quarterly electric vehicle (EV) Tracker Report in spring 2022. Its aim was to evaluate the progress being made as the nation moves towards mainstream adoption of electric vehicles and greener transport solutions that will help achieve the UK government’s net zero target.

The first report set out statistical evidence that tracks EV uptake against the required adoption curve, as well as highlighting challenges and concerns around the current public charging infrastructure and the key factors influencing consumer and business sentiment when it comes to switching to electric.

The second VWFS tracker report uses a combination of the latest available data from reputable sources and exclusively commissioned consumer research, to look at how EV adoption is progressing, how consumers and organisations are feeling and acting and the primary factors that may influence future decisionmaking. Our second EV tracker highlights how the market continues to evolve and the influences that impact decision making. It’s encouraging to see that EV adoption remains strong and that the UK is currently tracking ahead of the required Climate Change Committee adoption curve by over 100,000 vehicles. However, future progress must be closely monitored to assess the short-term and long-term impact of two primary areas of concern.

First is the general worry about the robustness of the public charging infrastructure and the speed at which charging points are being installed equally around the country. This must keep pace with growing demands or risk stalling EV take-up momentum. The regional variances in charging infrastructure

installation must also be addressed to underpin more equitable nationwide EV adoption. The latest Department for Transport (DfT) charging point figures clearly illustrate that more needs to be done in this critical area.

The second issue is associated with the current cost of living crisis and how it will influence potential purchasers, certainly in the short term. Although 31% of consumers are now ‘seriously considering’ buying an electric vehicle for the first time due to the rapid rise in petrol and diesel prices, nonetheless as household budgets come under pressure, other priorities may prevail which could potentially affect EV sale impetus and limit the surge in EV adoption witnessed over the past few years. Our role as a finance provider is to help consumers with these affordability issues, which is why we continue to develop propositions to assist customers make the transition to electric cars.

The EV adoption curve

The positive momentum seen in the first EV tracker report, as consumers and businesses make the switch to more environmentally friendly transport solutions, continues in this second quarterly report. According to the latest statistics from the DfT, more battery electric (BEV) cars (64,000) were registered for the first time in the UK during Q1 2022 (January to March) than diesel cars (34,000), following a 102% annual increase in BEV cars compared to Q1 2021. By contrast, over the same period, there were falls of 11% and 52% for petrol and diesel cars respectively, whilst average CO2 emissions for cars registered for the first time in the UK decreased by 13% in Q1 2022 versus Q1 2021.

Even more up-to-date figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) show that BEVs continued their growth streak in June, with a 14.6% increase in volume, as market share continued to grow, reaching 16.1%, up from 10.7% a year before. Over the same period, diesel and petrol vehicles fell 46.7% and 28.2% respectively.

Volkswagen has been working with Tesco and Pod Point to roll out a network of public chargepoints

The Climate Change Committee has set out an EV adoption curve until 2032. Data compiled by Volkswagen Financial Services UK shows that the UK is 101,840 EVs ahead of the curve. At the end of March 2022, there were 833,000 licensed ultra-low emission vehicles in the UK – the equivalent of 1 in 50 of all vehicles on UK roads. To put this market dynamic acceleration into context, this was an increase of 71% compared to the end of March 2021. These numbers depict a steeper-than-needed adoption rate, which is to be welcomed if the Climate Change Committee’s ultimate target of 55% of all light duty vehicles being battery powered by 2032 is to be met.

The public charging infrastructure challenge

Whilst EV sales continue to experience excellent levels of growth, it contrasts with ongoing concerns about the public charging infrastructure needed to support the mass move to sustainable transport. Increasingly, would-be EV purchasers are expressing reluctance to switch until they have confidence that an adequate charging infrastructure is in place in the UK.

Currently, only 24% of consumers are confident that sufficient charging infrastructure is in place to support wider adoption of electric vehicles. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) suggests that the nation will need 480,000 public charging points by 2030. But current progress remains slow.

In the year to July 2022, just 7,637 additional charging points were installed, bringing the overall total across the UK to 32,011. The European Commission recommends a ratio of one charger per every 10 EVs. However, Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) EV grant data shows that approximately 300,000 home chargepoints have been installed across the UK and a further circa 200,000 workplace chargers have been fitted as part of the Workplace Charging Scheme. Therefore, the conundrum of a lack of public chargepoints is a common misconception. The bigger issue is ensuring that the nation’s public charging network becomes more accessible.

Public chargepoints need to be easily compatible with a uniform contactless payment method, are reliable and deliver the advertised power (particularly relevant for ultra-rapid chargers); a potential solution could see providers bound by industry standard service level agreements regulated by Ofgem. Clearly, chargepoints must also be evenly spread in sufficient numbers across the UK.

Where public charging installation has occurred, a postcode lottery remains in place. Based on public charging points per 100,000 people the data shows that London (116), Scotland (55), the South East (44) and the South West (39) continue to see the highest level of charging points, whilst Yorkshire and the Humber (29), the North West (27) and Northern Ireland (17) show the lowest level.

However, the positive news is that between April and June 2022, all regions across the UK, apart from Northern Ireland, saw an increase in total charging devices. The North East had the greatest increase at 14.2%, whilst London had the greatest increase in absolute number of devices at 462 devices, contributing to 27% of the increase in devices across the UK in this period. Interestingly, Scotland has the highest rate of rapid device provision with 14.2 rapid devices per 100,000, with the average provision in the UK being 8.9 per 100,000. It is no coincidence that adoption of EVs is happening more quickly across the South of England, where charging infrastructure enhancements are taking place at a far swifter rate than other areas of the UK. Such inequality needs to be addressed without delay to ensure that the EV adoption rate is both maintained and distributed more equally across the whole of the nation.

Consumer sentiment and influences

As alluded to in the first VWFS EV tracker report, predicted economic headwinds have become a reality and, with it, a clear influence on consumer-driven larger discretionary purchases, including electric vehicles. New consumer research conducted in

June 2022, which has tracked consumer confidence since 2018, shows that net confidence in the UK economy and net confidence in household finances are at their lowest levels for four years.

As costs soar, driven by significant energy, fuel and food price hikes, the cost-of-living crisis is affecting all households and some consumers are now being forced to dip into savings to fund their daily lives. This is limiting disposable incomes and driving caution when buying bigger ticket items.

Some 38% of consumers say they plan to delay the purchase of a new car because of the current economic outlook, whilst over a third say they have cut back on the amount of driving they undertake due to the cost of fuel at the pump. However, for those considering the purchase of an EV, issues such as better access to quality charging points (37%), the high price of petrol (36%) and longer ranges on a single charge (35%), are viewed as the most important factors swaying their thinking.

In the short term, consumers and businesses will be looking to tighten belts and ride out the economic storm in the hope the heightened inflation rate and price hikes will begin to subside in due course. It will be interesting to monitor the effect a financial squeeze will have on the positive momentum previously seen in the number of EV sales, and whether the excellent adoption curve status can be maintained during and after a period of fiscal pressure and turbulence.

Educating the potential EV market

The EV marketplace remains beset by consumer preconceptions, misunderstandings, and overall lack of detailed knowledge. These include key issues such as existing model options, EV pricing, environmental perceptions, and information complexity. By proactively addressing these salient consumer-held opinions through communication and education initiatives, the automotive sector may be in a stronger position to persuade reluctant EVs considerers in the future.

Key findings in recent consumer research found that:

• 56% of consumers think that electric cars are better for the environment

• Just 24% of consumers are ‘confident’ that there is charging infrastructure in place to support electric vehicles

• 58% of consumers currently think that the cost of a product is ‘more important’ than how sustainable it is

• The cost of petrol and diesel has prompted 31% of consumers to seriously consider an electric car for the first time.

• When it comes to considering the purchase of an EV, 74% of consumers believe that electric and hybrid cars remain too expensive and only 32% think there is plenty of EV choice.

The last point contrasts with figures from the SMMT. It states that there is currently more than 140 diverse types of plug-in vehicles to choose from, with more on the cusp of being launched by a number of large manufacturers. There has been a 15-fold increase in the choice of electric vehicles since 2011, but this evolution still does not resonate with a proportion of consumers.

eLCV status

Reflecting the positive progress of EV car adoption, figures for eLCV (vans) also shows tangible promise. As of March 2022, the UK eLCV fleet size stood at 32,000, accounting for 4% of the UK’s licensed plug-in vehicles. It’s predicted that this growth momentum will continue through 2022 as more vans are launched, with new options from both Volkswagen and Ford, among others. This delivers increased choice to businesses looking for greener transport options. It also removes the time and resources needed to retrofit and alter existing petrol and diesel powered LCVs which has been the preferred route for many business owners until now, and who have been put off by eLCV choice, availability, and cost.

Mike Todd is chief executive of Volkswagen Financial Services UK

Generation Alpha wants self-charging electric cars, space buses and robots

for adults, while renewables and AI were also high on the agenda.

The study explored attitudes towards Hyundai, as the brand looks to understand how adults and children perceive mobility solutions such as electric cars and flying taxis. More than a third imagined inventions like autonomous flying taxis would not be available for at least another 20 years.

Boston Dynamics’ Spot the robot dog checks out the Hyundai IONIQ 5 EV

Self-charging electric cars and public transport to space are the top of the future mobility wish list, according to youngsters who make up Generation Alpha. Over seven in 10 children aged 6-10 (72%) said self-charging electric cars were an invention they would like to see, while over half would like a flying car (51%). And almost two in 10 (17%) want to go to space via public transport.

When asked about other inventions for their future tech wish list, the transport theme continued with teleportation and a flying school bus, as well as robots.

Generation Alpha is the demographic cohort succeeding Generation Z. Researchers and the media use the early to mid 2010s as starting birth years and the mid 2020s as ending birth years.

According to the poll of 1,000 children aged 6-10, 65% think technology can make the world a better place, for making and building things (59%) and learning (56%).

Over half of their adult counterparts (51%) also believe that technological developments are essential for driving progress in society.

According to a poll of 2,000 UK adults, scientific research, healthcare, business and education are all areas where people believe technology holds the key to success.

When considering the impact of technology on their day-to-day lives and its benefits, almost two-thirds of Britons (62%) said they recognised the role technology has played in their personal mobility. Meanwhile, transport was also a key area for tech developments, with 23% saying it would benefit from technological advances.

Participants also had the chance to see the Hyundai IONIQ 5 electric vehicle, which offers vehicle-to-load (V2L), enabling other vehicles and personal electronics to be charged from its charging port. Three-quarters did not know some modern electric cars can be used as charging points, to charge other electric vehicles around them, and indeed other essential personal tech.

Following the findings in the OnePoll research, people were asked how they feel about welcoming technology into their lives. While expressing their thoughts in a video, participants got to experience the opportunity robotics presents for the future, with Spot the robotic dog from Boston Dynamics making a surprise appearance.

The field of robotics is an important area of business development for Hyundai Motor Group, which it has bolstered by the acquisition of Boston Dynamics.

Nearly four in 10 adults have come to terms with the idea of interacting with robots in their daily life, and 31% feel excited at the prospect. Almost half (47%) said they believe robots to be useful, especially in the fields of scientific research, healthcare and transportation, and cited the abilities to learn, endure climate extremes and harsh terrain as important abilities.

Perhaps not surprisingly for Generation Alpha (children under 12), the key robot capabilities were the ability to do chores (55%) and homework (47%). For social progress, adults rate robots higher than children. Almost a third of adults (32%) said they’d be willing to befriend one, while only 24% of children agreed.

There appears to be an appetite for mobility to be more sustainable, as 38% of people said they felt technology could be deployed to improve transport and mobility’s environmental credentials.

Echoing their younger counterparts, when asked about the technology they were most excited about, robots, flying and autonomous cars all featured heavily

Ashley Andrew, managing director of Hyundai Motor UK, said: “It’s clear from our research that society is eager to embrace technology on a range of levels such as helping efforts to clean up the environment and offer clean mobility solutions, ultimately driving progress in the way we travel. Many of us are also intrigued by the potential capacities of robotics, and how this will determine the future of technology.”

Hyundai reveals the mobility wishes of children under 10 (and checks what their parents want too)

Three-quarters of people did not know some modern electric cars can be used as charging points

England’s most popular public EV charging spots

England’s most popular public electric vehicle (EV) charging locations have been revealed by the Zap-Map EV charging app. The rankings reflect the second quarter of 2022 and cover around 70% of the UK’s public EV charging network.

Based on analysis of the more than 1.6 million charging sessions tracked by Zap-Map over the second quarter of 2022, the top five charging locations are:

1. Gridserve Electric Super Hub – Moto Rugby

Infracapital invests £200m in Gridserve

Gridserve has secured an initial £200m investment from Infracapital, the infrastructure equity investment arm of M&G.

Moto opened its Rugby site in April last year, complete with a flagship, Gridserve Electric Super Hub just off the M6. It has 12 high-power charging devices, which have both CCS and CHAdeMO connectors.

2. Gridserve Electric Super Hub – Moto Exeter

This Electric Super Hub at Moto’s Exeter site has some 17 charging devices. The hub features two fast Type 2 AC chargers, three medium-power, and twelve 350 kW-capable devices with CCS and CHAdeMO connectors.

3. MFG EV Power

– Newington, London

MFG EV Power, the ultra-rapid charging network belonging to Motor Fuel Group, makes it into the UK’s most popular charging locations with its ultra-rapid charging hub at Newington in south London.

4. BP pulse – BP Hammersmith, London

This charging hub is just off the A4, between Hammersmith and Barons Court tube stations. With one rapid charging device and four ultra-rapid devices.

5. Gridserve Electric Forecourt

– Braintree, Essex

Located just off the A131, adjacent to Great Notley, Gridserve’s first Electric Forecourt at Braintree in Essex opened in late 2020. It features 30 charging devices.

The funding will accelerate Gridserve’s plans to further the company’s ‘Sun-to-Wheel’ business model which encompasses generating energy through hybrid solar farms, distributing energy through a national charging network of Electric Forecourts and Electric Hubs, while leasing a wide range of the latest electric vehicles.

Toddington Harper, chief executive of Gridserve, said: “Through this investment partnership with Infracapital, we’re excited that our plans can accelerate, and it’s evident we now have the momentum we require. They are the perfect partners to join our business as we move to the next level as a company. Their

A Gridserve Electric Forecourt

commitment to clean tech, infrastructure, and environmentally sustainable growth (ESG) gives our collective organisations deeprooted synergies around a shared mission. Investment in the future of our planet has never been so important and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest dire warnings solidify the reality that we are in last chance territory, and we therefore need to take action as quickly as possible. This investment partnership will enable Gridserve to continue to rise to this challenge and deliver

maximum impact without delay.”

Andy Matthews, head of greenfield at Infracapital, said: “We are delighted to have invested in Gridserve, as part of our ongoing drive to enable positive change and to make a meaningful contribution to the energy transition while delivering value to our investors. Gridserve is leading the charge in the decarbonisation of the UK’s transport system and is led by an experienced management team that has already made great progress in expanding the Gridserve platform.”

UK Power Networks connects up Moto Medway

Electricity network operator UK Power Networks is upgrading power capacity for new electric vehicle charging station at Moto Medway services near Junction 4 of the M2 in Kent.

The company is installing 4km of new electrical cabling from a nearby substation to EV charging points located in the car parks of the Moto Medway east and westbound motorway services.

The work will enable the connection of 48 planned Gridserve high-power chargepoints (24 westbound and 24 eastbound) to support the growth in electric vehicles, reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality.

The project is being delivered as part of the

company’s £66m Green Recovery Fund, which is fasttracking low carbon energy projects that will help achieve the government’s Ten Point Plan towards net zero by 2050.

A total of 86 schemes are being fast-tracked by the electricity company across a range of sites including electric vehicle charging hubs at motorway service stations, fleets of electric buses, community energy schemes and heat pumps.

Adam Lakey, leading the projects for UK Power Networks, said: “These projects are about providing the infrastructure that gives businesses and the public the confidence to decarbonise their activities and we hope it will encourage more to make

the switch to EVs. As we all strive to meet the government’s targets for a net zero economy, it is vital that we all reduce our emissions and push towards a cleaner environment.”

Ken McMeikan, chief executive at Moto Hospitality, added: “UK Power Networks’ investment in new grid infrastructure for Moto Medway is an important step in allowing Moto to deliver game changing new highpower chargers to EV motorists in the South East.

“This partnership will help Moto in that mission and help us to deliver well above and beyond the government target of a minimum six rapid chargers at each motorway service site by 2023.”

Funding will boost work on creating a national network

Metrocentre taps into solar power

Solar panels installed on roof decks of retail car parks

The Metrocentre Gateshead shopping centre in Tyneside has announced that stage two of its solar panel project is underway, with installation expected to be completed by December 2022.

The second phase of the development, which aims to ensure a more sustainable future for Metrocentre, sees the installation of solar PV car ports and 46 new EV charging ports in the Green and Blue Mall car parks, following the recent installation of its new solar PV rooftop panels covering an area equivalent in size to 88 tennis courts.

With the 46 new EV charging bays delivered and the solar panels fitted above each parking bay, this will allow the retail and leisure destination to provide emissions-free ‘fuel’ for 7,230 electric car miles by the end of the year.

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) provided support for 50% of the £2.8m total cost of the project.

Green energy generated by the solar panels at Metrocentre will be enough to power 600 electric cars for a year. It’s estimated that the electricity generated from the solar panel installation will result in a reduction of 315 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year, equal to planting 32,500 trees over the system’s 25-year lifetime.

Switching to solar energy will also reduce Metrocentre’s grid dependency by 30%, offsetting more than 37% of its total annual electricity use with its own low

carbon supply.

Ben Cox of Sovereign Centros, senior asset manager for Metrocentre, said: “This is a really important milestone for us as we head into the next phase of our solar panel project with Syzygy. A solar panel and car port installation of this size has never been seen before in a UK shopping centre and upon completion of the project later this year, Metrocentre will have the largest solar panel installation of any UK shopping centre.

“We know Gateshead has an ambitious plan to go zero carbon by 2030, so we are proud to be actively working towards this common goal to bring renewable energy to the local community. The project plays a large role in our long-term business

strategy for the centre which focusses on sustainability and our place in the region.”

Metrocentre is working with renewable energy consultant Syzygy. John Macdonald Brown, chief executive of Syzygy, said: “Achieving this scale of solar panel and car port installation is the result of significant client and partner collaboration. Thank you to Sovereign Centros, European Commission (ERDF Fund), and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for all their support in delivering this project and for their steadfast commitment to sustainable real estate development. The sheer size and magnitude of this development should provide impetus for others in the industry.”

Ubitricity plans to fund Scottish EV charging expansion

Dedicated funding and resources are to be part of Ubitricity’s next phase of growth in Scotland.

With over 5,500 kerbside charging points, Ubitricity claims to operate the largest public charging network in the UK, reflecting its “mission is to accelerate the public’s transition to e-mobility,” by installing public charging where drivers need it most.

Ubitricity UK managing director Toby Butler told the Electric Vehicle Association (EVA) Scotland: “We have big ambitions for Scotland. Transport Scotland has done a brilliant job on kickstarting their EV charging infrastructure strategy, and we want to dedicate funding and resource to be part of this next phase of growth in Scotland. We believe that no one should be left behind in the transition to e-mobility. Those residents who can’t have a home charger or don’t have access

to a private parking space or garage should be able to easily access public charging infrastructure close to home.

“Our plans for the next year are to work closely with Scottish local authorities to help develop their EV strategy, from funding through to chargepoint deployment, and make

sure that their residents have access to the best network they possibly could have.”

Ubitricity has pledged to install 50,000 on-street EV chargers across the UK by the end of 2025. The company is now putting particular focus on Scotland and the north of England over the coming 12 months.

“For the UK to truly transition to e-mobility, charging infrastructure needs to be easily accessible everywhere and currently there is an imbalance in charging infrastructure between the north and south of the UK,” Butler said.

“The most exciting development for us in Scotland is that we are already in contact with 24 Scottish local authorities and aim to be in contact with all 32 of them by the end of the year. The next step for us is to develop a deeper understanding on what each local

authority needs.

“We want to bring our data and mapping capabilities to the local authorities of Scotland to put together the best tailored EV charging infrastructure approach for their residents.”

Ubitricity provides slow on-street chargers close to homes on residential streets. Its solution is to turn lampposts into chargepoints by using existing street light infrastructure to provide help to local authorities in the rapid expansion of public charging infrastructure.

Lamppost charging points allow residents without access to off-street parking to easily charge their electric vehicle, close to home using a standard type-2 cable.

When lampposts are deep set and not situated near to the edge of the kerb, Ubitricity deploys its satellite bollard chargepoints solution, so that users can enjoy the same charging experience without the risk of trailing cables across pavements.

Solar panel canopies being erected on a car park a the Metrocentre

Toby Butler

Nottingham trials wireless charging

WiCET project works with taxi drivers

Nottingham City Council are constructing a new wireless charging area for electric taxis.

Wireless Charging of Electric Taxis (WiCET) is a £3.4m project funded by Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) through Innovate UK to assess the commercial and technical viability of deploying wireless charging for electric Hackney Carriages.

Construction has begun on Trent Street to trial the wireless charging in a taxi rank near Nottingham Station.

The WiCET project is a UK first involving both London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) and Nissan Dynamo electric taxis, placing Nottingham at the forefront of green technology innovation.

The project is led by Cenex, with partners Coventry University, Hangar-19, Nottingham City Council, Shell Research, Sprint Power and Transport for London, with Lumen Freedom

supplying the hardware.

Five wireless charging ground pads are being installed, whilst nine electric and hybrid taxis have been fitted with wireless charging equipment.

Connected Kerb selected for New York pilot

Connected Kerb, a UK-based electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure specialist, has been selected to deliver on-street EV chargers for a demonstration project in New York. The project forms part of the DOT Studio, a collaboration between the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT), and Newlab. The partnership is focussed on applying emerging technologies to advance planning, policy, operations, and real-time management of transportation across New York City in line with the City’s Vision Zero and sustainability goals.

The findings from the pilot will inform wider EV charging rollouts across New York City, helping to realise its goal of installing 10,000 kerbside chargers by 2030 and electrifying 20% of municipal parking bays by 2025.

Connected Kerb will receive funding to install its EV charging points. It is currently exploring locations at the Brooklyn Navy Yard to deliver a ‘living lab’ that will demonstrate Connected Kerb’s ‘smart city’ infrastructure. This involves using the company’s chargers – which also support a number of IoT (Internet of Things) and telecommunication applications – to showcase how EV charging can support the rollout of other public access technology in urban environments.

Pilot planning and design is underway now, with the goal of launching by autumn 2022.

Steve Richardson and Nick Dobie, co-founders of Connected Kerb, said: “There are around two million light duty vehicles in New York City, accounting for 80% of transport emissions. New York City DOT has established ambitious goals to eliminate these emissions by boosting electric vehicle adoption, and the DOT Studio project will provide a crucial blueprint for how to deliver world-leading charging infrastructure to support that goal – supercharging EV uptake, cutting emissions and improving public health.

“We’re incredibly excited to be working with New York City’s DOT and Newlab to support the decarbonisation of the city’s transport system. We’re confident that this pilot will not only fast track New York’s EV charging roll-out, but also prove our technology in America, and provide a springboard for growth into the future.”

Connected Kerb has selected Charge Infrastructure, a division of Charge Enterprises as its preferred installation provider for the project. Charge Infrastructure offers end-to-end services for EV charging ecosystems, from project management to installation and maintenance.

EV ownership in New York is rapidly expanding. In 2021, around 15,000 EVs were registered in the city, with over 5,000 of these sold in 2020 alone. The Biden administration is targeting 50% of all new

Local drivers will be able to use these vehicles to charge wirelessly and provide feedback to the project team to help understand the realworld feasibility of wireless charging and to help develop the technology further.

Local Hackney cab drivers who wish to take part in the trial will receive a free loan of a wireless charging taxi for 30-60 days.

It is hoped that taxi drivers will top up their charge throughout the day while they wait for customers. This will significantly reduce down time spent away from the rank using plug-in chargers whilst encouraging the shift to electric taxi adoption to improve local air quality, reduce noise pollution and carbon emissions in the city.

The trial is set to start in late summer 2022.

vehicle sales to be electric across the US by 2030. Publicly accessible EV charging infrastructure is, however, slowing New York’s EV transition, a city where about 50% of private cars are parked on the street. Prospective electric vehicle buyers report that convenient access to charging is a major barrier to purchasing EVs.

The Newlab pilot project will provide a testbed to solve this challenge by proving that accessible and reliable charging infrastructure can be deployed in some of New York’s most densely populated urban areas, where space is at a premium. It will also show that charging infrastructure can be adapted to local requirements like electrical standards and certifications.

The pilot is part of DOT’s ambition to steer the EV charging market before there is enough EV demand for the private sector to take over fully. This will help ensure that chargers are distributed equitably around the city rather than concentrated in highincome areas.

“Enabling greater EV adoption is critical to achieving New York City’s net zero goals, and we are pleased to collaborate with NYC DOT and Connected Kerb through the DOT Studio to help realize the vision for a more sustainable, resilient and equitable city,” said Shaina Horowitz, vice president of product and programmes at Newlab.

“We expect the pilot to provide invaluable data on how to most effectively deploy EV charging infrastructure in densely populated areas and make scalable EV use possible, with potential implications for both NYC and cities around the world.”

Three chargepoint providers – Connected Kerb, Char.gy, and Voltpost – are participating and collaborating in the project.

Connected Kerb was selected for the project in June 2022 due to the flexibility of its charger infrastructure, which can be integrated into street furniture such as bollards, as well as the capability to integrate other smart technologies, such as 5G, IoT and air quality sensors.

The WiCET installation on Trent Street

A Connected Kerb Gekko unit

Self-driving cars will be legal by 2025

Government plans to enable autonomous vehicles

The government has set out plans for legislation which will allow the wider rollout of self-driving vehicles on UK roads by 2025. And some vehicles, including cars, coaches and lorries with self-driving features could be operating on motorways in the next year.

The UK government has promised new funding totalling £100m, including £34m for research to support safety developments and inform more detailed legislation. The research could include studying the performance of self-driving cars in poor weather conditions and how they interact with pedestrians, other vehicles and cyclists.

The government has also confirmed £20m to help kick-start commercial selfdriving services and enable businesses to grow and create jobs in the UK, following an existing £40m investment. Successful projects could see groceries delivered to customers by self-driving vehicles, or shuttle pods assisting passengers when moving through airports.

Some £6m will be used for further market research and to support commercialisation of the technology.

The government argues self-driving vehicles could transform public transport and passenger travel, especially for those who do not drive, better connect rural communities and reduce road collisions

caused by human error.

Self-driving services, for example, provide tailored on-demand links from rural towns and villages to existing public transport options nearby. They could also provide more direct and timely services that enable people to better access vital services such as schools and medical appointments.

Vehicles that can drive themselves on motorways could be available to purchase within the next year, which users would need a valid driving licence for, so they can drive on other roads. Other selfdriving vehicles, for example used for public transport or delivery, expected on the roads by 2025, would not need anyone onboard with a driving licence because they would be able to drive themselves for the whole journey.

The government is also consulting on a ‘safety ambition’ for self-driving vehicles to be as safe as a competent and careful

human driver. The ambition would inform standards that vehicles need to meet to be allowed to ‘self-drive’ on the roads, and organisations, such as manufacturers, could face sanctions if standards are not met. The new laws for the safe roll-out of self-driving vehicles by 2025 will be brought forward when parliamentary time allows. The legislation will build on existing laws, and state that manufacturers are responsible for the vehicle’s actions when self-driving, meaning a human driver would not be liable for incidents related to driving while the vehicle is in control of driving.

AA president, Edmund King OBE, said: “The automotive world is changing rapidly and so the government is right to embrace the positive changes offered by this new technology and back it by funding research and putting forward legislation.

“Assisted driving systems, for example, autonomous emergency braking and adaptive cruise control, are already helping millions of drivers stay safe on the roads. It is still quite a big leap from assisted driving, where the driver is still in control, to self-driving, where the car takes control. It is important that the government does study how these vehicles would interact with other road users on different roads and changing weather conditions. However the ultimate prize, in terms of saving thousands of lives and improving the mobility of the elderly and the less mobile, is well worth pursuing.”

Setting out ethical rules for autonomous vehicles

Self-driving cars are currently not allowed on UK roads, but the government has announced that the first such vehicles could be on UK roads by 2025. It is even possible cars, coaches and lorries with selfdriving features could be operating on motorways in the next year.

The government says it will publish policy paper setting out planned laws ready for the introduction of selfdriving vehicles. The legislation is expected to state that manufacturers are responsible for the vehicle’s actions when self-driving, something the Law Commission recommended earlier this year. Proposed updates to the Highway Code have been announced that would allow drivers to watch entertainment on a car’s screen while the vehicle was selfdriving. Initially this would likely be whilst the vehicle was driving at slow speed on a motorway, such as in congested traffic.

It might not be enough for selfdriving cars to be safer than normal cars, suggests a report from the

Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI), a government expert body that leads work on trustworthy innovation using data and artificial intelligence (AI). The CDEI report aims to support the Department for Transport in delivering Connected & Automated Mobility 2025: realising the benefits of self-driving vehicles, a roadmap which commits the UK to developing a new legislative framework that builds trust in self-driving vehicles while enabling innovation.

The question of how safe autonomous vehicles should be is not one science alone can answer, advises the CDEI. The centre suggests that the public may have little tolerance for crashes that are seen as the fault of technology companies or lax regulation even if on average driverless cars are safer than humans. The CDEI says there is a need to consider how risk is distributed between different groups.

Even if there are improvements in overall safety. “Some groups may see substantial safety improvements while

others see none or even face new hazards,” it writes. “Self-driving vehicles have the potential to radically transform the UK’s roads. They offer the opportunity to deliver significant improvements to road safety and efficiency by reducing driver error, can improve accessibility by enhancing mobility for people unable to drive, and have the potential to reduce emissions.

“There is also a significant economic opportunity: the automotive and digital sectors are already important contributors to the UK economy and self-driving vehicles could grow this considerably. Recent research commissioned by the Department for Transport has shown that by 2035, the UK connected and automated vehicles market could be worth £41.7bn.”

However, to enable these benefits, connected and automated vehicles manufacturers need clarity about the regulatory landscape they are operating in.

“The general public also needs to

have confidence in the safety, fairness and trustworthiness of these vehicles,” says the report. “To provide this clarity and confidence, the legal and regulatory frameworks that govern conventional vehicles and their drivers will need to be updated. Under our current legal and regulatory systems, we licence drivers as competent to drive and then hold them accountable for their actions.

“In the context of vehicles that are self-driving, we will need new mechanisms to ensure that the systems these vehicles use, and the organisations that develop and deploy them, are similarly held accountable for performing in a safe and ethical manner.”

One potential problem CDEI identifies is the for bias in algorithms controlling the cars. It warns that some groups, such as wheelchair users, may be underrepresented in data used to train the software algorithms which control the cars, potentially causing bias. The CDEI also says self-driving cars should be clearly identified. “People have a right to know what sort of agents they are sharing the road with.”

Self-driving technology is evolving

In partnership with:

20 s Plenty – the new norm

20 October 2022 | Oxfordshire County Hall

The world is changing its perspective on what is an appropriate speed for motor vehicles wherever they share public spaces with people. 30km/h or 20mph is becoming the new global norm for urban and village streets shared between motors and people.

Gone are the days of designing our streets around cars and instead there is a recognition that a healthy city, town or village needs a far better balance in risk and convenience between the people inside and those outside motor vehicles.

With most of the larger urban authorities having already set a 20mph limit as a norm, it is increasingly clear that what is good for residents in cities is also good for residents in towns and villages.

Already thousands of parish councils have called on their county council to set a 20mph limit as a norm. Some counties have already done so.

This conference will feature speakers from several counties who have already or are saying 20 s Plenty for our places.

We will also feature a session where the Welsh Government will outline its plans to replace the national 30mph limit with a 20mph default with exceptions.

The conference will provide an indepth perspective of the challenges and opportunities for 20mph in shire counties and rural communities. It will reveal not only how it may be done successfully, but also demonstrate the outcomes from such a change.

Speakers include:

Exhibition Opportunities

By exhibiting at this year's 20 s Plenty event you will meet with highways officers, transport planners, road safety and road danger reduction professionals, local councillors, public health officers and key service providers who are tasked with improving road safety, reducing emissions, traffic reduction, and implementing and enforcing 20mph zones across the UK.

Deborah Sims Senior Vice President, Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation

Liz Leffman Leader, Oxfordshire County Council

Lee Waters AM Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Welsh Government

Ian Bradfield Principal Policy LeadRoads, Welsh Government

Jason Williams Gwent Police

Kaarina Ruta Transport Assistant, Welsh Local Government Association

Danny Dorling Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography, School of Geography and the Environment of the University of Oxford

PC Mark Hodson West Midlands Police

Rod King MBE Founder and Campaign Director, 20's Plenty for Us

Andrew Gant Cabinet Member for Highway Management, Oxfordshire County Council

Pete Sudbury Cabinet Member for Climate Change Delivery and Environment, Oxfordshire County Council

Philippa Gilhooly Team Leader, Traffic and Road Safety, Scottish Borders Council

Philip Desmonde Cabinet MemberTransport Portfolio, Cornwall Council

Anna Semlyen Campaign Manager, 20's Plenty for Us

Adrian Berendt Campaign ManagerSouth East, 20's Plenty for Us

Disability rights campaigner

Street clutter, such as cars on pavements and badly placed bins and signs, clogs up pavements and makes it difficult – and dangerous – for people to get around.

Christine Clarke is a pillar of the community in Llanelli where she lives, and frequently speaks out to make changes to improve her local area. She has, for example, been interviewed as a witness for the Welsh Government Cross Party Group as part of its active travel act review.

Clarke and her daughter have formed a local Living Streets group after hearing about the Cut The Clutter campaign. Both Clarke and her daughter are increasingly frustrated by the number of inaccessible pavements in the area. During the pandemic, when outdoor dining allowed restaurants and cafes to open to the public, it became impossible to get around tables, chairs and A-boards set out on pavements, also many disabled parking places were closed off.

Clarke talked to staff and thankfully many of them were happy to move the furniture, having not even considered that it could cause a problem for some people.

“I don’t like to see people discriminated against,” she says.

Clarke became a disability rights advocate after her daughter became disabled following a car accident many years ago.

She recognises that for many people who experience the privilege of being nondisabled they do not always see how hard it can be to get from A to B. “If you’re not disabled, you don’t see it. You have to understand the problems many disabled people have to navigate,” she says.

Clarke notices issues on a near daily basis and reports them to her local authority. For example, a one-way street sign has been placed in the middle of a pavement in the town centre. Also, during the storms earlier this year, when slates fell off the roof of a building in the town centre, the barricades put up by the council obstructed pedestrian access and were constantly being knocked over by children, creating a fall hazard for blind or poorly sighted people.

Street clutter and furniture is not only inconvenient for people who use wheelchairs and other mobility aids, are partially sighted or have babies and small children; it is nearly always dangerous as well. Cluttered pavements affect people’s independence, impact on their time, and make relatively short journeys frustrating and hazardous.

Clutter: ‘If you are not disabled you don’t see it’

Pavement parking is another huge problem in Llanelli, as elsewhere, and needs legislation to stop it happening. “People should not have to walk in the road while cars are parked on the pavements,” says Clarke.

pavement. The man very nearly ended up falling out of the chair and into oncoming traffic. Following the incident, Clarke and her local Living Streets group complained to the council (she had routinely reported the issue for over five years) and it was fixed within a week.

Clarke says she’s very concerned about safety and inclusivity for people who are ‘not included in life’ and wants to use her role as coordinator of Llanelli Living Streets Group to work with the council and local residents to make Llanelli’s streets more accessible for everyone.

Llanelli Living Streets Group

On one occasion she saw a woman pushing a man in a wheelchair across the road where a large dip had filled with water. The wheelchair almost tipped over but thankfully, with her help, they managed to push it up and onto the

She is now talking to staff at the council about the improvements she’d like to see and is inviting members of the community to join her Living Streets group or start their own locally.

Via the #CutTheClutter campaign, Living Streets is calling for local authorities to prioritise clearing footways and pavements of clutter like badly placed tables and chairs, bollards, bins, signs and advertising boards. www.livingstreets.org.uk

People should not have to walk in the road while cars are parked on the pavement

Christine Clarke

Christine Clarke describes how the impact street clutter has had on her family and how she’s fighting for change

Keeping streets and paths free of obstructions helps all members of society

R e c o g n i s i n g e x c e l l e n c e

The British Parking Awards has celebrated the best the sector has to offer for 20 years, says Mark Moran

The British Parking Awards is a showcase for innovative thinking, excellent management and personal achievements. And there is much to celebrate. This year saw over 120 entries compete for recognition in the British Parking Awards 2022.

The nature of the parking sector, which encompasses both the street and car parks, means the entries spanned the worlds of traffic management, technology, training, architecture and construction.

There were entries from local authorities, trade associations, charities and companies – often the submissions explore how public and private sector organisations work closely together.

In parallel to entries that describe policies, buildings, terminals and software, there are those that tell the stories of individuals and teams who work in the sector.

The competition was launched by Parking Review in 2002 to celebrate excellence and achievement in a sector that provides an essential public service. This is not an over statement. It is the provision of parking that keeps towns and cities moving. Every car journey starts and ends with a parking manoeuvre, as do deliveries to shops and businesses. Effective parking management ensures roads are kept free of obstructions, reducing both traffic congestion and hazards to pedestrians.

And it is not just cars, vans and lorries that need parking – cycles and new mobility modes such as electric scooters require places to stop and be stored.

The importance of parking as a public utility became very evident during the pandemic, when it was parking teams who were vital to delivering the permit schemes for NHS and key workers, implementing cycling and walking schemes that enabled social distancing, and keeping business and retail deliveries running.

Parking teams are also helping resolve another health crisis. Parking professionals and technologies are playing a key role in delivering clean air schemes across the UK.

The role of parking teams in improving the street scene and delivering a better world will be reflected at the ceremony in the presentation of ‘Parking Rosettes’.

Moving forward, car parks and the kerbside are key to the transition to zero-emission vehicles via the provision of electric vehicle chargepoints. This trend is recognised in an award created by our sister magazine EVolution.

The jury of independent-minded experts drawn from across the parking and traffic sectors has assessed and discussed the entries to devise the short lists of finalists who will compete for the coveted trophies at a ceremony hosted by the talented comedian Kerry Godliman at the Royal Lancaster London on 19 October.

Mark Moran is editor of Parking Review magazine and co-founder of the annual British Parking Awards

www.britishparkingawards.co.uk

Parking Person of the Year

Sponsored by: RingGo

John Galsworthy, assistant director for parking services, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

Dan Hubert, founder and chief executive officer, AppyWay Barry Johnson, senior technical director, Taranto Systems

Jade Neville, head of user experience, Conduent Transportation

Sarah Randall, assistant director, London Borough of Newham

Parking Operator of the Year Award

Sponsored by: Solutionlabs

B4 Parking

EF International Parking Services

Q-Park

YourParkingSpace

Parking Team of the Year

Sponsored by: CDER Group

Parking service, City of Lincoln Parking team, London Borough of Newham

Parking, fleet and transport operations, Nottingham City Council Parking services, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Team Comet, Landside Operations, Stansted Airport

ZatPark client services, Unity5

Liveable Places traffic order team, WSP

Best New Car Park

Sponsored by: Compleo Charging Solutions UK

The Glass Works MSCP, Barnsley – Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, Henry Boot Construction and StructureCare

Q-Park City Hospital, Birmingham – Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust and Q-Park

Stourton Park & Ride, Leeds – Leeds City Council and BAM Nutall Northwick Park, London – London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, APCOA Parking and HUBER Car Park Systems

Luton & Dunstable University Hospital Car Park, Luton –Luton & Dunstable University Hospital and HUBER Car Park Systems

Broad Marsh Bus Station & Car Park, Nottingham – Nottingham City Council and Galliford Try Construction

Watford Riverwell Car Park, Watford – West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust and HUBER Car Park Systems

Car Park Renovation Award

Grand Central, Birmingham – Vinci Construction, Cemplas and Sika Middlesbrough MSCP, Colchester – Anglo Scandinavian Estate and Makers Construction

The Outstanding Car Park Award

The Glass Works MSCP, Barnsley – Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, Henry Boot Construction and StructureCare

B4 Car Park, Birmingham

Regent’s Park Car Park, London – YourParkingSpace

Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City – EF International Parking International

Broad Marsh Bus Station & Car Park, Nottingham – Nottingham City Council and Galliford Try Construction

Watford Riverwell Car Park, Watford – West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust and HUBER Car Park Systems

Car Park Design Award

Sponsored by:YourParkingSpace

The Car Park Design Award recognises innovative practices and craftsmanship

The finalists #britishparkingawards

Special Awards

The British Parking Awards ceremony will reveal the recipients of set of special trophies.

The Inspiration Award

Presented by MiPermit

The MiPermit Inspiration Award recognises individuals and organisations that have made a significant contribution to improving parking. Inspiration Award recipients are exemplars of excellent practice that have inspired colleagues, clients and the wider parking community.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Sponsored by The British Parking Association

The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to a parking professional who has made an outstanding contribution to the sector over the course of their career.

Special Jury Prize

Presented by Parking Review

The Special Jury Prize will be presented to an exceptional scheme, project, policy or person that the jury feels will have a positive impact on the parking sector.

Parking in the Community Award

Sponsored by: The International Parking Community Persistent evaders and nuisance vehicles research programme – Just and TJA

JustCharge community charging network – JustPark Parking Fraud Forum and ‘The Lambeth Way’ –London Borough of Lambeth Lewisham School Streets – Lewisham Council and Videalert The Hub, Stockton-on-Tees – Sustrans

Communication Award

Sponsored by: ZatPark

Annual Parking Report – East Sussex County Council Communications strategy – North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) Introduction of Special Enforcement Areas (SEAs) – Oxfordshire County Council

Parking Technology Award

Sponsored by: Go2Sim

AppyWay – AppyWay Platform AppyWay – Traffic Suite: TROs in Haringey

APT Skidata – Mobile Pay

Barbour Logic – Challenge Writer

Compleo Charging Solutions UK – EV and parking payments

Conduent Transportation – Oxford Zero Emission Zone systems

Marston Holdings and Videalert – ANPR controls at Stansted Airport North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) – Park and Charge RingGo and Q-Park – RingGo AutoPay

Taranto Systems – Taranto integration with London Council’s Electronic Data Interchange

Taranto Systems – Taranto Platform as a Service

Twin – A payment solution for parking and EV charging

More finalists on next page

The finalists

Parking Rosettes

The Parking Rosettes will be presented to projects that have a positive impact on the wider world.

The Parking Futures Award

Sponsored by Bristow & Sutor and Debt Recovery Plus

Parking is an essential urban service without which towns and cities would cease to function. The award will be presented to a person, organisation or project in the UK or internationally that is fundamentally rethinking and reinventing the way in which parking is planned, designed, provided, experienced and marketed.

Reinventing the street

Rising Star Award

Sponsored by: StructureCare

Laura Bailey, business and compliance apprentice, International Parking Community

Jake England, group operating manager, North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP)

Dominik Webster, project manager and head of quality, HUBER Car Park Systems

James West, business development executive, Unity5

Lauren Winfield, data protection and compliance manager, TRACE Enforcement Group

The Front Line Award

Sponsored by: PayByPhone

Conduent Transportation team, Oxfordshire County Council

Carol Gibson, senior parking operations officer, Lewisham Council Parking attendant team, Parking Control Management (UK)

Team Comet, Landside Operations, Stansted Airport

Hannah Olaitan, senior PCN specialist, YourParkingSpace

The Back Office Award

Sponsored by: JTR Collections Welfare Team, CDER Group

Single Contact Centre, Marston Holdings

The business unit, North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP)

Transfer 360 ZZPS

Parking Partnerships Award

Sponsored by: APT Skidata

Transforming EV parking in Dundee – AppyWay with MILL and Clean Streets

Safe Haven Outside Schools (SHOS) – Derby City Council and Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council

Joint special operations – London Borough of Waltham Forest, NSL and the Metropolitan Police

Great North Run parking – Newcastle City Council and the Great North Run Company

North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP)

Launching landmark payment technology – RingGo and Q-Park

Residents’ parking permits during Commonwealth Games –Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and Chipside

Developing Parking as a Service – Taranto Systems and Capita

Transitioning residents towards electric vehicle take-up in Westminster – Westminster City Council, Siemens and Ubitricity

Entries correct at the time of going to press

Sponsored by Conduent Transportation

Reinventing the Street is a special award that recognises innovative approaches to managing the kerbside and wider street scene in a way that creates vibrant and healthy town and city centres.

Parking for a Better World

Sponsored by DCBL

This category recognises the many ways in which parking policy, design and management practice can help improve the quality of the environment and encourage a sense of wellbeing.

BREAK OUT AWARD

The British Parking Awards 2022 will see the launch of a new award

The EVolution Award

Presented by EVolution Magazine

The parking sector is playing a key role in enabling the transition to zeroemission vehicles by planning, providing and managing electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in car parks and at the kerbside.

Parking Review has marked this trend by launching a website and sister magazine called EVolution. The winning EV charging initiative will be drawn from the finalists at this year’s British Parking Awards and the recipients will be announced at the ceremony.

www.britishparkingawards.co.uk

Headline sponsor Category sponsors

Switch Off Your Engine for cleaner, healthier streets

birmingham.gov.uk/cleanair

Clean Air

Our journey starts with education and communication

It is increasingly clear that we have failed in the communication and education relating to air quality and wider climate concerns, as evidenced by the challenges experienced in the implementation of clean air initiatives. Public opposition is high amid accusations that such schemes are merely a way to tax motorists. Meanwhile, the NHS struggles under the burden of a ballooning air quality crisis. The UK recently experienced a heatwave which included wildfires that destroyed 41 properties in London.

If we are to address this situation, we must get on the same page in terms of how to proceed. I believe the journey starts with education and communication.

The new air quality crisis

How can we still be talking about this, seven years after the UK Supreme Court ruled that the government must take immediate action to cut air pollution? Or to put it into more human terms, it is nine years since the tragic death of nine-year-old Ella AdooKissi-Debrah.

Yet still the issues mount. Poor air quality is the UK’s largest environmental health threat, with outdoor pollutants estimated to contribute 40,000 excess premature deaths and cause an additional 20,000 hospital admissions per year – a vast burden for our already fragile NHS.

Meanwhile, the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants has concluded that air pollution is likely to increase the risk of dementia; and evidence from Italy suggests an association between nitrogen dioxide and COVID-19 mortality.

As if the above weren’t enough, climate scientists warn that recent unprecedented heatwaves are a mere taster of what is to come. Despite this, car journeys have largely returned to preCOVID levels, while the move towards clean air has stalled in the most depressing way: stuck in a political ‘tug of war’ while the residents that local and central governments are elected to serve suffer the health consequences.

We have legislation and we have proven technology solutions. We must be allowed to use them.

Managing the conversation

We know that Clean Air Zones work: you only need to look at examples such as London, Birmingham or Oxford. And having worked closely on the implementation in Birmingham, I have seen first-hand the importance of preparation and communication.

The Birmingham Clean Air Zone was supported by a major public consultation – and not only consultation of residents; it covered those entering the city to work as well, thereby including a greater proportion of those affected. This consultation was followed by a major, highly visible communications campaign, Brum Breathes, which educated the community regarding the changes that were being made, the reasons for doing so, and the expected outcomes.

The Birmingham implementation was a great example of thinking through and addressing potential issues – and as a result highly effective in terms of preparing the public for incoming changes, including vehicle upgrades.

Brum Breathes is ongoing today, more than a year after the Clean Air Zone went live, most notably with the publishing of an

Switch Off School Streets

Poor air quality is a health crisis for which the traffic and parking sector can deliver effective remedies, writes Ashley Bijster at Imperial Civil Enforcement Solutions

A toolkit for schools

A city-wide approach to tackling air pollution

interim report showing that air quality is already starting to improve, with an average 13% reduction of NO2 levels within the zone.

Clean air implementations and challenges

There are a couple of issues here, though. Firstly, it is worth noting the differences between Clean Air Zones as they are being implemented in England and Low Emissions Zones in Scotland.

Scotland’s model is arguably more effective because it doesn’t just charge motorists for using polluting vehicles; it prevents them from entering the zone. This model has a greater impact on air quality and avoids accusations and perceptions that Clean Air Zones are simply revenue generating schemes for local authorities.

But perhaps the greater issue is the fact that exhaust emissions are only part of the problem. Emissions Analytics has reported that tyre and break wear emissions can be 1,000 times worse than those from the exhaust pipe – and are of course not addressed by a Clean Air or Low Emission Zone.

Admittedly such zones are rather blunt tools for the job. It is therefore important to not deliver them in isolation, but as part of a wider range of support mechanisms. Central to this should be public transport and mobility hubs.

Clean air and public transport: A holistic solution

Clean Air Zones and Low Emission Zones should be implemented alongside a wider transition towards public transport and shared mobility services – and indeed, I have previously written about the potential in mobility hubs, which I believe could be transformational. But public transport also remains fundamental to the changes we need to make.

Driven by rising fuel costs and concerns over air quality and carbon emissions, there are currently incredibly interesting developments in the public transport space, especially in relation to heavily subsidised or even completely free public transport.

Luxembourg has offered free public transport for some time, while Spain, Germany and Austria are now operating heavily subsidised services. Meanwhile, New Zealand discounted or removed public transport fares for a three-month period in response to the fuel cost crisis.

Perhaps investment in public transport services and infrastructure would have been a more effective response than the UK’s 5p per litre fuel duty cut, which barely registered given the continual rise in prices.

Technology: potential and limitations

As the managing director at Imperial, I of course believe that technology has a major role to play in the journey towards clean air and lower carbon emissions. As we have proved in Birmingham and other towns and cities, technology already exists to support this transition.

Birmingham showed the importance of permits solutions, managing exemptions for exempt and low emission vehicles, and for residents or exceptional circumstances – for example, visitors to a hospital located in the zone.

But technology isn’t only about Clean Air Zones; we can monitor air quality, manage School Streets, Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and more. And by working in collaboration with the supply chain, authorities can take advantage of the full range of existing solutions, delivering maximum impact with minimum risk and cost. And yet technology can do so much more. I recently met with an organisation that harnesses real-time air quality data; there is huge potential in this kind of information – we can use it to proactively direct people towards safe and healthy travel choices, all while increasing the education and awareness of this critical issue. Local authorities should embrace this kind of information because they have a direct liability for the health of citizens, and it’s not currently being addressed.

Conclusion

I am proud to lead a business which is active in this space. I know the power of the technology we provide, both in terms of what we have achieved and what we can do in the future. But at

The author

Ashley Bijster is managing director at Imperial Civil Enforcement Solutions. With over 20 years’ experience in outsourcing, enforcement and smart city technologies she is a widely respected figure within the industry. She was elected president of the British Parking Association in 2014 and is a regular speaker at industry conferences and seminars. With her knowledge of the enforcement, environmental and traffic management sectors, she has helped to consolidate the company’s position as one of the most progressive, innovative and responsive operations in its field.

the same time, it is clear that we cannot just ‘tech our way out’ of this crisis. For too long we have watched as governments working in silos make decisions that don’t solve the issue: implementing road closures that only move a problem elsewhere; creating traffic choke points of slow-moving vehicles which we know is worse in terms of air quality.

We need better education and communication from central and local government. We should celebrate our successes locally and nationally; and our local press should be highlighting issues, healthy choices we can all make, and outlining what the community can do together to improve the situation.

We are all in this crisis together and we need holistic solutions with genuine joined-up thinking. Success here requires communication and education of the public. Technology will help, but first we must come together.

Imperial Civil Enforcement Solutions is a UK-based provider of parking, environmental and traffic management systems with over 30 years’ experience in providing fully-integrated business processing and IT solutions to public authorities, universities, hospitals and private enforcement contractors. The Imperial team brings a combination of sector insight, technology skills and the experience of a number of successful service partnerships; providing the capacity, experience and expertise needed to deliver integrated enforcement solutions. www.imperial.co.uk

This article was produced in partnership with Imperial Civil Enforcement Solutions

We are all in the clean air crisis together and we need holistic solutions with genuine joined-up thinking

Ashley Bijster

Mobility hubs: What’s your type?

Mobility hubs are spaces where public, shared and active travel modes are co-located alongside improvements to the public realm. They enable travellers to make smooth and safe transfers between different modes, swapping private cars for bikes, buses, trains, scooters or walking. The hub concept is a broad one, encompassing major transport interchanges and park & ride sites at one end, and bus stops and town centre kerbsides at the other. This means mobility hubs can take different forms, ranging from large city centre hubs to suburban mini stations, from those tailored to rural contexts to those centred on tourism.

Shared mobility charity CoMoUK has developed a guide called The Design Proces: Mobility Hubs Realised to help further understanding of what a mobility hub is, how it is designed, what it may cost and the elements that make up a hub. The guide sets out five types of hub:

1. Large interchange or city centre hub

2. Transport corridor hub

3. Business park or new housing development hub

4. Suburbs or mini-hub

5. Small market town or village/tourism hub.

CoMoUK says that its guide marks the first time that a thorough design process has been undertaken on mobility hubs in the UK. Mark Dowey, senior development officer, built environment, at CoMoUK says: “The good news is that mobility hubs are here to stay. But we at CoMoUK feel they need a little extra push to keep the momentum going. CoMoUK has been at the forefront of promoting mobility hubs as a sustainable, practical solution to ‘first & last-mile’ transport here in the UK.

“Mobility hubs are infrastructure-based shared transport solutions connecting existing public transport interchanges, town centres and suburban interchanges to a population on the move. However, we continually get asked what a mobility hub might look like and what would it cost? What is in it and why shared mobility? The work undertaken in our new document – The Design Process: Mobility Hubs Realised; Process, illustrations and costings – addresses that question for five mobility hub types. This work has allowed us to carry out a thorough design process on mobility hubs in the UK.

“The document describes the design and delivery process that can be used by built-environment professionals to further their understanding of what a mobility hub is, how it is designed, what it may cost and the elements that make up a mobility hub.”

CoMoUK believes mobility hubs can deliver widespread benefits, as already shown in countries such as the Netherlands, USA, Germany, and Belgium. “The UK government has given backing to the concept using funding from the Transforming Cities Fund and Future Transport Zones to create demonstration schemes that show how the benefits mobility hubs can bring,” says Dowey.

CoMoUK says there are three key questions that need to be asked of a mobility hub:

• What does it look like?

• How much does it cost?

• What is in it and why shared mobility?

“Our document seeks to provide an answer to each of these questions,” says Dowey. “The journey to deliver a successful, ambitious and effective hubs is never going to be a straightforward one; very few built environment infrastructure projects are. However, if we are to reduce car dependency in the UK and offer genuinely alternative ways to move around our towns, cities, and rural areas we must seek different ways of delivering transport. Mobility hubs can help improve both our transport options and the public realm in which they sit.”

CoMoUK creates an illustrated guide to spaces where people change travel mode

Inspired by the real world

The authors of The Design Process: Mobility Hubs

Realised used real places in Scotland to create fictional but plausible settings for each of the five typologies:

• City centre hub was based on Trongate, Glasgow

• Transport corridor hub was based on Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow

• Business park/housing development hub was based on Castle Business Park, Stirling

• Suburbs/mini-hub was based on Milngavie train station

• Market town/tourism hub was based on Stonehaven train station.

The typologies were scaled by size and are designed to be part of a network of hubs.

Sharing an inclusive approach

CoMoUK believes that shared transport should be an inclusive experience for all regardless of age, ability, or background.

CoMoUK says that mobility hub providers should promote inclusion as a central tenet of the hub’s offering. It explains: “Accessibility involves designing places and services to optimise access, whereas being inclusive is about giving equal access and opportunities to all users of the hub regardless of age, ability, or background. Inclusive shared transport modes should be within the hub’s offering.”

CoMoUK advises that to maximise the inclusivity of a hub, schemes should go through a process of community consultation and engagement with local accessibility and disability groups.

CoMoUK’s accreditation process

CoMoUK has developed a cohesive set of standards for assessing the quality of mobility hubs. The standards incorporate six factors which should be considered for successful mobility hub design:

Visibility and accessibility

Hubs need to be part of the clearly identifiable transport network with services which are easily accessible by all

Choice of sustainable modes

These should include public and shared modes as well as consideration of pedestrians

Ease of switching between modes. This applies in both physical and digital terms, linking the use of different modes. The CoMoUK accreditation guidance is available at: https://como.org.uk/mobility-hubs/accreditation

Small market town or village/tourism hub

Large interchange or city centre hub

Transport corridor hub Business park or new housing development hub

Suburbs or mini-hub

Portsmouth hospital car park opens

A multi-storey car park has been opened at Portsmouth’s Queen Alexandra Hospital. The structure will provide spaces for patients, their families and staff working at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust.

The multi-storey has been fully funded and developed by Noviniti. It has been built on the northern side of the hospital site in Cosham. The structure was designed and engineered by Stripe Consulting and built by Ballast Nedam.

The car park features 541 parking spaces, including 31 disabled bays.

There are eight fast electric vehicle chargers and a further 30 spaces future-proofed for EV installation as demand grows.

Cladding panels on the façade have been used to match the design of the existing hospital buildings, whilst ensuring high fire performance standards are maintained.

There is a link bridge to the new ward block which also provides an emergency escape route from the upper-level ward.

The car park features one-way vehicle routes and paperless automatic number plate recognition

(ANPR) ticketing to improve traffic flow.

Mark Orchard, chief financial Officer at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, said: “This is a fantastic new development which will help improve the expe-

rience of those visiting our hospital site. Over the next few years, we are planning a number of significant improvements to the Queen Alexandra site to ensure we can continue to deliver highquality services in efficient, wellmaintained and well-designed buildings.

“We have extensive plans to improve the ‘biodiversity’ on site: creating green spaces, planting trees, shrubs, and other plants to improve the environment for our patients, local community and colleagues.”

Jonathan Houlston, chief operating officer of Noviniti, said: “We are delighted to have reached practical completion of the multistorey car park which will help ease the traffic congestion around the hospital site. This has been a complex project delivered in collaboration with Noviniti, the NHS trust and its PFI partners, which demonstrates that public/private partnerships do work.”

Noviniti develops a multi-storey at Queen Alexandra Hospital for Portsmouth NHS trust

Queen Alexandra Hospital’s new car park

The car park development team

Kirklees Cultural Heart takes shape

A public consultation is underway on proposals for Kirklees Cultural Heart, the £210m development scheme to transform Huddersfield town centre. The Kirklees Cultural Heart scheme aims to breathe new life and activity into the area between Queensgate, King Street and Victoria Lane – currently known as the Piazza.

The plan involves refurbishing the historic Queensgate Market and Huddersfield Library buildings to house a new food hall and a dedicated museum space respectively. A new library will be developed within a modern extension to the market building, while an art gallery will be built on Queen Street.

A multi-purpose entertainment venue, which will have a capacity of up to 2,200 people, is being designed to host major concerts, live shows, business conferences, trade shows and more. Next to the venue will be a multi-storey car park with around 350 spaces.

The redevelopment plan has

been split into two distinct contracts, which will be let as preconstruction services agreements initially to refine designs before moving to full design and build contracts.

Zone One, valued at £60m, is the smaller of the two projects and will include the new multipurpose entertainment venue.

Zone Two, valued at £105m, will involve refurbishing the historic Queensgate Market and Huddersfield Library buildings for the food hall and dedicated museum space, respectively.

The new community-focussed library would be developed within a modern extension to the market building, while the art gallery would be built on Queen Street.

Kirklees Council’s development partners include Turner and Townsend, Queensberry, Feilden Clegg Bradley, Pegasus and Arup.

Bolton car park to become flats

A multi-storey car park in Bolton is to be converted into 116 flats with town houses built on its roof.

Developer Myko Holdings has been granted permission to create The Link Building on the corner of Bow Street and Crown Street.

The plans include a mix of one, two and three bedroom apartments, 23 ground-floor town houses and 18 rooftop dwellings.

There are also three retails units and 93 parking spaces planned for the development, which was inspired by a similar one in France.

A design and access report in support of the plans said: “The architects used a traditional Bordeaux housing complex to inspire the layout of the roof extension. We have taken a similar approach aiming to imitate a row of town houses with a contemporary appearance We have integrated a glass atrium into the design to try and achieve the same feel and appearance in the central part of the building.”

350-space car park will be central element of Huddersfield project

Kirklees Cultural Heart masterplan features a car park (above and below)

Parklets boost business on The Cut

A busy B-road in south London has been transformed into a people-friendly space

A Lambeth Council scheme to provide safe, low traffic routes for cyclists has seen five new parklets created at The Cut in Waterloo, south London. Running between Waterloo Road and Blackfriars Road, The Cut is home to The Old Vic and Young Vic theatres as well as pubs, restaurants, businesses and Lewisham and Southwark Colleges.

Local residents, visitors and businesses are now benefitting from the provision of new cycle parking, public seating, additional space and green planters. The scheme is part of Lambeth’s vision to create safe spaces for cyclists and pedestrians. The pocket parks along The Cut help promote active travel, support the reopening of local businesses and align with the borough’s efforts to reduce road danger, enable sustainable travel and respond to the climate crisis.

The scheme was designed and installed by Cyclehoop. Anthony Lau, founder of Cyclehoop, said: “By extending the pavement, the parklets offer additional space for pedestrians with a safety barrier protecting users from road traffic. This means the main pavement thoroughfare is not disrupted and visitors can relax and enjoy the outdoors. By providing 24 cycle parking spaces on the carriageway this frees up even more space for pedestrians.”

The project features two ‘Business Parklets’ which local establishments can use to offer outdoor dining, extending their usable space. Studies have shown that food and beverage businesses see an annual uplift in turnover of up to 30% after installing a parklet; per square metre cycle parking delivers five times higher retail spend than the same area of car parking.

A modular design means the parklets can be configured to make the most efficient use of the available space and reconfigured as requirements change over time.

Parklets: A focus on flowers

The flowers that have been chosen for the planters are hardy, drought resistant and planned to perform well in the summer. They are bee friendly varieties, including lavender, hebe and rosemary. Watering and care for planters is being managed by WeAreWaterloo, the local business improvement district (BID). Harrie Notton, head of marketing and strategy at WeAreWaterloo, said: “Additional and enhanced outdoor customer seating has become a key area of focus for our food and beverage businesses, post-pandemic; we are therefore pleased that the parklets on The Cut support the needs of our members, whilst also aligning with the BID’s overarching aim of making Waterloo a cleaner, greener and more inviting neighbourhood to work and visit.”

Four of the parklets on The Cut each take up the space of one parked vehicle on the road, with one larger unit slightly less than the space of two parked vehicles.

The design creates a greener, more pleasant and usable environment for residents, businesses and visitors, says Anthony Lau: “Cyclehoop’s parklet is a modular design built using the framework of the Mobility Corral. The flexible design allows clients to configure seating, planters and cycle parking to meet community requirements while addressing important design and safety

standards and moving parked cycles onto the carriageway and off the pavement.”

Cllr Chowdhury, cabinet member for sustainable Lambeth and clean air, said: “I thank Cyclehoop for their great work here on our behalf and look forward to meeting local residents and businesses on site to get their feedback on the new parklets. That visit will also be an important opportunity for us to discuss next steps as we continue building a borough that is fit for the future by addressing the climate emergency, improving air quality and reducing inequalities.”

Locations include council owned car parks in Rose Street in Wokingham and Station Road in Earley, as well as supermarkets and other businesses in towns and villages across the borough.

lockers have been strategically chosen to make them accessible for people whilst out and about, or within walking and cycling distance, meaning shoppers don’t need to use a car to collect their packages.”

Parcel collection lockers have been rolled out across Wokingham in Berkshire. The Amazon and InPost lockers

have been installed in busy locations to help reduce the amount of carbon emissions made from last-mile deliveries.

Cllr Paul Fishwick, executive member for active travel, transport and highways at Wokingham Borough Council, said: “We want to be able to empower more people to make environmentally sound choices. The CO2 savings from just one parcel locker is evidence of how the changes that we all make as individuals contributes to a much larger outcome collectively. The locations of the

The lockers have been installed by Flowbird Smart City UK working in partnership with Infinium Logistics Services.

Danny Hassett, Flowbird Smart City UK’s managing director, said: “As UK e-commerce is set to account for 32% of all retail purchases by 2024, delivery lockers are essential in reducing traffic congestion and CO2 emissions.”

InPost lockers

A parklet on The Cut

Singapore is sowing the seeds of change

Singapore is a densely populated island nation were space is scarce, meaning it has some of the world’s most expensive property.

The South East Asian country of 5.5m people currently imports more than 90% of its food. The issue of food security came into focus when several countries in the region banned or limited exports of key foods as the Ukraine war and the pandemic pushed up the cost of everything from staple foods to crude oil.

By 2030, Singapore aims to produce 30% of the food it consumes itself – more than three times the current amount. This ambition to increase local food production led to the government leasing out car park roofs as farmland from 2020.

There are now around at least a dozen rooftop farms in operation. One is run by Eyleen Goh, who grows, bags and delivers choy sum, a leafy green vegetable,

to local retailers every day.

“Singapore is quite small but we have many car parks. It is pretty much the dream to have farms to meet the needs of residents in the community,” she told the BBC. “We are harvesting every day. Depending on the vegetables we are growing, it can range from 100kg to 200kg to 400kg per day.”

Goh said starting the farm cost around S$1m (£597,720), with much of the money being spent

on equipment to help speed up harvesting.

She pays a rent of around S$90,000 a year for the space and another car park site, which is still being set up. Although she receives subsidies, Goh says her business is not profitable yet. “Giving up is not an option,” she said. “The more challenging it is, the more rewarding it will be.”

Another rooftop farmer, Nicholas Goh, told the BBC he has managed to turn a profit by

charging people a monthly fee to harvest vegetables at his urban farm. This option is popular with families who live nearby as it is a community kind of approach, rather than a commercial approach.

The economics do not work for everyone. Farmer Mark Lee told the BBC that the high cost of his first car park plot meant that he had to give it up and move to a cheaper industrial building that charges a lower rent. Lee said: “Vegetables are ultimately just vegetables. You can get it at the freshest and best quality but there is limitation to how much one would pay. We’re not talking about truffles here.”

While car park farms are an interesting idea, most of Singapore’s home-grown produce comes from high-tech facilities that are heavily subsidised by the government.

The country had 238 licensed farms in 2020. Some of these farms are already profitable and are set to expand their production, said the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).

£4k bill for dumping a mouldy car

A man who abandoned a mouldy car has been ordered by a court to pay more than £4,000 to Wiltshire Council. The local authority prosecuted the owner of an Volkswagen Passat ditched on Silverless Street in Marlborough.

Simon Bell of Marlborough was ordered to pay over £4,250 in fines, costs and victim surcharge at Swindon Magistrates Court in May.

The car was eight months out of tax, had no MOT and no valid insurance and was covered with mould inside and out.

The vehicle was served with a seven-day removal notice affixed to the windscreen. Environmental enforcement officers traced the vehicle owner via the DVLA system.

Written notifications were sent to

Bell, giving him seven days to remove the vehicle. Bell did not respond to the letters or notices attached to the vehicle, which resulted in a fixed penalty notice (FPN) of £200 being issued. Bell then ignored the FPN and failed to turn up in court. The court heard how Bell also parked a significantly out of tax BMW directly behind the Volkswagen Passat, which obstructed its removal by council contractors. The untaxed BMW was itself seized by Wiltshire Police using devolved DVLA untaxed vehicle powers, as part of a joint visit by council officers and Wiltshire Police.

He was found guilty in his absence under the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 at Swindon Magistrates Court.