Civil parking enforcement

Parking changes on the way

Major changes to the way councils enforce parking are on the way as the Government’s long awaited Civil Parking Enforcement Regulations are to come into effect on 31 March 2008.

The new regulations, which form Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 will be the most radical shake up of parking enforcement in England and Wales for many years.

Under the new regulations this activity will become known as civil parking enforcement and Parking Attendants will become known as Civil Enforcement Officers.

There will be two levels of penalty charges depending on the severity of the contravention. In certain exceptional circumstances (the Civil Enforcement Officer threatened or subjected to violence or the vehicle being driven away) there will no longer be a need for a penalty charge notice (PCN) to be placed on a vehicle, or handed to a driver in order for it to be properly served. The new rules in such circumstances allow the penalty charge notice to be posted to the registered keeper of the vehicle.

To find out more about civil parking enforcement, please see the documents table below.

Policies

The following policy guidance is a basis for applying fairness and discretion in the enforcement and cancellation of penalty charge notices.

The policy guidelines cover:

• Observation times (carried out before the issue of some penalty charge notices)
• The statutory grounds upon which representations may be made to the Council
• Mitigating circumstances
• The acceptance or rejection of representations

These guidelines are used in considering parking appeals and representations, although each case is considered on its own merits and these policy guidelines are continually reviewed and revised if necessary.

New tariff's for penalty charge notices

• Higher tariff for more serious contraventions - £70
• Lower tariff for less serious contraventions - £50
• Discount rate if paid within 14 days - £35/£25

Plymouth City Council’s Executive agreed the charges on Friday 14 March 2008.

Councillor Kevin Wigens, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: "We must implement these national changes because of the Traffic Management Act 2004, but I think it will be a fairer system as a result. The fine will fit the offence. If someone parks in a disabled bay or on double yellow lines, then they will pay the higher fine. If someone’s ticket runs out in a car park, they will pay the lower fine. That seems like a much fairer system to me."

The new regulations, which apply to both on street and off street parking, aim to make parking fairer and more transparent and provide motorists with a consistent service across the country.

Preparation for and implementation of the new regulations is expected to cost Plymouth City Council around £30,000, which was budgeted for in financial year 2007 to 2008.

Preparations include a full review of local parking orders, road markings and traffic signs to ensure they comply with the new regulations, changes to IT systems, uniforms, printed stationery and staff training.

Documents

To view these documents you might need to download some software. Visit our downloads page for more information.

	Civil parking enforcement leaflet - leaflet outlining new Traffic Management Act powers. File format Adobe Acrobat (pdf) - 822KB
	Cancellation policy - guidance policies for the enforcement and cancellation of penalty charge notices. File format Adobe Acrobat (pdf) - 314KB

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