CCTV in ‘parking spy cars’ is a step too far, according to a Government minister.
The Coalition proposes to reform parking rules. The Government fears that aggressive parking policies are harming local high streets and local shops. Mary Portas’ independent review on high street policy for the government advised that town centre car parking is “significantly expensive” and inconvenient. Local authority revenue from parking in England rose from £608m in 1997 to £1.3 billion by 2010. Nine million parking fines are now issued every year by local authorities in England. There has been a rise in use of CCTV for on-street parking enforcement since legislation in 2004.
The Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Transport will publish details of further reforms, including stopping CCTV being used for on-street parking enforcement; and new open data on parking to allow the public to ‘go compare’.
Also proposed for consultation:
updating parking enforcement guidance to support local shops
tackling wrongly-issued fines
stopping unacceptable parking fine collection practices
reviewing unnecessary yellow lines and the scope for residents’ reviews
reviewing the grace period for parking offences
clamping down on anti-social driving and encouraging social responsibility
spreading best practice on supporting town centres and tackling illegal parking; and
analysis of the impact of different transport policies on town centre vitality.
Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said: “Excessive parking charges and unfair parking fines push up the cost of living, and undermine local high streets and shopping parades. We want to rein over-zealous parking enforcement, so it focuses on supporting high streets and motorists, not raising money. Parking spy cars are just one example of this and a step too far. Public confidence is strengthened in CCTV if it is used to tackle crime, not to raise money for council coffers.”
