Parking stories in the News/media

Coupon-mad

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/plans-charge-parking-beauty-spot-34553148.amp

Plans to charge for parking at beauty spot gifted to the public for ‘free and uninterrupted enjoyment’ put on hold

United Utilities, who manage Lever Park said it will now ‘review and reshape' the controversial plans to introduce parking charges at a beloved tourist destination, now put on hold after a wave of opposition.

A petition titled ‘Stop United Utilities charging for parking at Rivington/Lever Park’ has gathered 4,492 signatures on change.org. The petition reads: “The essence of public right and legacy remains unchangeable: Lever Park should remain free for all."

The vast park, which welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the north west and further afield each year includes reservoirs, hillside walks, Rivington Pike and the ruins of Lord Leverhulme’s terraced gardens, known to locals as the Chinese Gardens.

The company has now withdrawn a series of planning applications to install ANPR cameras following ‘concerns raised by local people and recognise that further consultation is needed’.

Lever Park was gifted to the people of Boltonand surrounding areas by William Hesketh Lever, who became Lord Leverhulme. The founding gift was codified by Parliament in 1902 and reinforced by the Lever Park Act 1969, mandating that the parkland be maintained and managed to secure the public’s ‘free and uninterrupted enjoyment forever’.

Horwich borough and town councillor David Grant had objected to the proposals, saying that the park ‘was gifted to the people’.

He said:

“Introducing pay-and-display schemes, ANPR enforcement, and tariffs creates an unacceptable financial barrier to a protected public amenity and unlawfully attempts to transfer United Utilities’ internal land management costs onto the public.”

Just shows that some petitions and council opposition can work to stop parking forms in their tracks.

I do think the devolved powers to Councils could be used to stop ANPR where councils see fit, so they no longer feel their hands are tied like in the St Anthony's Bank (Haven) article above where the Council lamented that if they could "we would step in and stop them."

MrJenkinsEsq

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82127064#Comment_82127064

I'm not from the area but I left a comment anyway. One one hand they say it's for safety and access and on the other they complain parking revenue is down and businesses are losing money. They can't have it both ways. If it's genuinely to deter parking then less revenue is the expected outcome. The fact they call it a shortfall betrays the real motive. You can't implement a policy of deterrence then complain when people are deterred.

Coupon-mad

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82127131#Comment_82127131

Nice. Nothing to stop any of us giving BCP some feedback. I already did, too.

They need to hear that they are deterring people from visiting their city and that the increased penalties are the cause. This was an overreach and adversely affects tourists' and locals confidence in visiting by car:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c770rggzejeo

People are either boycotting the place or are not spending as much time or money there. That's a seriously unwanted result for a tourist city in a hot Summer.

They need to concentrate on providing more car park spaces at sites nearer the beaches, that visitors in cars can find easily.

Any MSE poster who wants to reply to the feedback link this month, I strongly encourage you do, but let's keep it on point, with no capital letter shouts or question marks and no political rants.

Entabeni_wanderer

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82127081#Comment_82127081

Our local council used to offer free parking on one car park for one day a week.

After a couple of years they stopped it saying that it was not being used enough! If that was the case then it was not costly to the council to retain it. The cynic in me suggests it was being used well (i always went into town and used it on the free day) and that they realised how much money they were not getting.

Coupon-mad

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-16107423/amp/Labour-stop-taxing-stores-oblivion-wants-save-High-Street.html

The effect of over-zealous PCN issuance by rabid "let's fine 'em high!" councils like BCP and those hell-bent on unwanted LTNs are highlighted in the above article.

"Often it is small changes, such as parking restrictions, that become a tipping point leading to a High Street business shutting down.

Each time a shopper gets a parking ticket, that’s one person who’ll try to avoid going into town and may order online instead. 

Take low-traffic neighbourhood schemes. The evidence is mixed but it seems clear that they have on balance hit retail trade…many retailers selling goods rather than services claim a serious loss of business."

The rise and rise of unrestricted ANPR and CCTV in the hands of private parking operators has an even worse effect because many regimes should NEVER involve intrusive camera surveillance (e.g. residential car parks and GP surgeries) and literally everywhere, we know that most PCNs are plain unfair with poor practices, unremarkable & covert camera placement, dirty/faded signs, small print, flaky apps and broken payment machines & hidden VRM tablets inside premises on a desk/wall and easily missed.

At supermarkets and retail parks, as we've seen, the petty rules and tight free parking periods are invariably made up or changed by the PPCs themselves and they persuade their clients to go along with it and even tell them what to say if there's any press noise.

#excessive ANPR - ruining the high street for businesses and consumers alike.

Coupon-mad

Wrong priorities from the DFT again, IMHO:

https://www.hellorayo.co.uk/hits-radio-00s/uk/news/new-roads-policing-team-launched-tackle-illegal-number-plates

"The National Roads Policing Coordination Centre (NRPCC) will work with police forces across England to improve the sharing of intelligence, technology and data".

So, the DFT has funded a whole new policing/data team. Sigh..

I'm not saying it's totally unnecessary, I'm just completely fed up with the DFT's priorities.

This comes after they:

• specially made efforts last year to change the POFA sch4 to make it easier for parking firms to pursue spurious charges against genuine users of railway car parks and drop off areas beside stations but failed to even look at whether - as part of the amendments - Sch4's drafting could have been clarified & improved in the interests of motorists;
• encouraged the over-zealous highways & parking team at BCP Council to have another go at trying to massage a PCN outcome (after last year's abject failure and extreme overreach) to justify higher penalties where they aren't at all justified and simply drive away visitors who would be happy to use car parks to visit beaches, if only they could find them;
• let Excel set up Warburton toll with no checks & balances whatsoever. No code of practice, no 'real' (impartial) appeals system and no probationary period, enabling Excel to potentially leech c£37 million in the first year of that farce 'toll' before someone finally gets off their bum to investigate the legality (and that'll fall to the CMA and ICO I think);
• let the DVLA carry on dishing out c18 million keeper data files to rogue parking firms, and (apart from the toothless GIAA audits which have precisely no repercussions on red-rated operators) continuing to pass the buck of 'checks' to the self-serving BPA and IPC;
• were behind the clearly lunatic idea of 'smart motorways' which led to public anger & fatal accidents, and was finally cancelled after pressure from MPs in 2022. But we are left with unsafe roadways as a result.

What do the DFT actually do for motorists? Thank God they aren't in charge of off-street private parking stuff.

patient_dream

The DfT HAS BEEN USELESS FOR YEARS

Motorway signs .. "TAKE A BREAK" and drive into a scammers paradise"

Just like the DVLA PROVIDE PERSONAL DATA TO MONEY SCAMMERS AND ROGUE TRADERS

Nellymoser

Q-Park app has caused "utter chaos" and "distress" for users at busy Nunns Road car park

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/app-only-parking-busy-colchester-144737300.html

Issues reported were the app freezing, no parking rates displayed at the gate, and drivers being told how much they owed only when they tried to leave — with a £100 fine if it went unpaid.

"Confusing signage and open barriers make it difficult for customers to know how to pay."

Q-Park has apologised and blamed a "transitional period" as it takes over the former NCP site.

"Our engineers are working to restore the parking equipment as quickly as possible, after which customers will once again have access to additional payment options."

Umkomaas

Speak as I find, I’ve used Q-Park car parks numerous times. They have been clean, well laid out, with pay at exit machines installed - card or cash. They rarely crop up here. I’m inclined to believe that there are some teething issues taking over an ex-NCP site. I guess the proof in this case will be whether they cancel/refund erroneously issued tickets.

I’d be much more confident in parking at a Q-Park car park than one operated by Excel!

Switcher_Sam

Agree with the above. There are two cities I regularly park in and I consciously use the Q-Park sites for the above reasons plus I find them secure.
I didn't know Q-Park were taking on ex-NCP sites until this post, however, so thank you for posting. When visiting a new location, seems like I'll need to check if a site is a "real" Q-Park or an ex-NCP..