Non-standard appeal to IAS - advice welcome

Umkomaas

@OP - you can really cause the school (and hopefully the PPC) a whole pile of agony and to show that not only are you not low-hanging fruit, but you have a bite and maybe just too hot to handle.

They really do need to be fully aware of the consequences if they set these parking schemes up and give license to a private company to penalise members of the school's community - with eye watering levels of charges.

xilverhawk

@LOC, that's amazing. Do you think the LEA/council would be able to process this request as the school is a private one?

Loadsofchildren123

My clever idea isn't so clever then, a private school is independent of the LEA so won't be subject to the FOI

xilverhawk

Thanks anyway, LOC! I like the idea Umkomass outlined - Letting the school know that their charming facilities manager is a hazard to their public perception and that his obstinacy and lack of community spirit (my MIL is the school's neighbour, !!!!!!) could cost them a day or two in court may very well bear fruit.. Not the low hanging kind


Just a thought - while we're pursuing things with the school, is there anything we could send to PPC to stall them? They did give a 3 week window for a response to IAS, but we know that's a joke. What I don't want is for them to be able to tick the box that says 'no appeal received, let's do court!' before we've been able to thrash things out with the school...

Half_way

As mentioned previously i would certainly chase up on the land registry query.
Also if not alerady asked, do you have any written confirmation that you could park there? you said there was a verbal agreement is this written anywhere?

xilverhawk

@half_way, the FM at the school has already confirmed to me that he is the one managing the parking contract, so would the land registry investigation still help in that case? it would seem as though the school are the contractee.. also, the agreement would have been with the MIL and the (possibly previous?) caretaker - almost certainly casual as that's how she rolls. It certainly is worth following up on if the school's representative (at the time) is still present or available...:T

Loadsofchildren123

I think halfway means that you should check if the school actually owns the land. It may not be registered, or may be someone else's land, in which case they can't show they own it and can't therefore grant a contract to the PPC in relation to it.
Getting the documents (official copy register entries and title plan) costs £6. LR is very helpful, phone them. It may be a very well spent £6. Keep the receipt in case this goes anywhere as you'll be able to claim it as a recoverable expense.

xilverhawk

Ok - did the Land Registry query online, took about 5 minutes The school are NOT THE LAND OWNERS. Curiouser and curiouser. I wonder if that means it's time for a patented MSE drafted letter to UK CPM requesting confirmation of who the contractee actually is? It's entirely possible that the school is liaising with the PPC (i.e. taking & forwarding photos) on the landlord's behalf, isn't it?

DoaM

Did it tell you WHO are the landowners?

Are the school LEASING the land from the owners? (If yes then the lease may grant them sub-contract rights for managing the land, thus allowing them to engage the PPC).

nigelbb

It's appears to be this school in Croydon
http://www.oldpalace.croydon.sch.uk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Palace_School

The Google Street View images were taken in June 2016 so I doubt that the woeful signage has improved. There is just one forbidding sign from UKCPM.

It may be some consolation to know that UKCPM rarely take cases to court. In 2016 they issued 58027 tickets & took just 10 motorists to court. http://www.bmpa.eu/companydata/UK_Car_Park_Management.html

I am intrigued to know who owns the land. Where is the highway boundary? Is the bricked area the pavement? On the face of it the three cars on the right of the school entrance might be liable to be ticketed by the council.