If you were paying attention to the news on Friday, you may recall a story about government plans to clamp down on councils using CCTV to enforce parking restrictions.
Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, announced that he hoped to “rein in over-zealous and unfair rules”.
Keeping the roads clear
Responding to the Government announcement, Cllr Tony Ball, Vice Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Economy and Transport Board, said:
“Parking controls are not about revenue raising, they are absolutely essential for keeping the roads clear and making sure people can park near their homes and local shops.
“Camera cars have been instrumental in keeping children from being hurt or killed on the way to school, and CCTV plays an important role elsewhere in monitoring traffic flow and keeping cars moving.
“Nobody likes getting a parking fine but the fact that less than one per cent go to adjudication shows that in the vast majority of cases councils get it right.
“Income from on-street parking fines and charges is spent on parking services with any money left over spent on services like fixing potholes and providing subsidised bus travel to children and the elderly.”
The IWC’s position
We asked the Isle of Wight council (IWC) whether they use CCTV to enforce parking restrictions, to which we had a swift and concise response, “No”.
Other proposals
As well as the CCTV parking enforcement ban, the Conservatives will be hearing this week about plans to:
- Publish “open data” on parking
- Update guidelines to help people use local shops more easily
- Improve people’s “rights of redress” when fined inappropriately
- Stop “unacceptable and aggressive parking fine collection practices”
- Review “unnecessary” yellow lines
Image: flem007_uk under CC BY 2.0
