POPLA appeal St Michael’s Retail Park Basingstoke

mezzyd

I am preparing a POPLA appeal against an alleged overstay in the 30 minute car park brought by Premier Park.

I have obtained the Title Deed from the Land Registry Portal & the land is now owned by Glasgow City Council, which I think may place this outside the umbrella of POFA 2012, but I find the wording of paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 a bit confusing concerning the definition of “relevant land”.

May I please ask for some advice about how to word this argument in my appeal?

Thanks in advance.

Coupon-mad

I see the title says the place is in Basingstoke but you say owned by Glasgow Council?

Yes - ONLY IF YOU'VE EXHAUSTED LANDOWNER COMPLAINT - you could try the tactic you suggest at POPLA. Very much secondary to landowner complaint though.

mezzyd

Thanks, landowner complaint went nowhere unfortunately & actually the short stay parking is part of the agreement with Basingstoke Council connected with planning permission, so perhaps they don’t have much leeway.

Yes I was a bit surprised to see Glasgow City Council but definitely correct.

ballhelmet

@mezzyd - I too am preparing to appeal an alleged overstay in this same car park. If you would be able to share contact details for the landowner (to save me buying the land registry details) I would be very much obliged.

I am not sure if still useful to you given the timescale of your appeal, but per the planning permission for the short-stay car park (Basingstoke and Deane, 19/00883/FUL, PA_Decision Notice, condition 6) the planning permission is contingent on operating the enforcement of the car park per a Technical Note dated September 2019.

From the Technical Note (section 2.13):

An initial offence would result in a warning letter being issued to the vehicle keeper through the DVLA database to which the car park management will be linked. Should a further offence be committed, a fixed price penalty, to be determined by the operating company, will be charged for overstaying the maximum time period, again issued through the DVLA database. 

From my understanding, as I (the registered keeper) have not received such a warning in the past, the landowner (or their agent in this case) is directly contravening the planning permission on which the short-stay car park is authorised by issuing me a 'Parking Charge Notice'.

I would very much appreciate any thoughts from the community on whether this is likely a strong point.

NB: I am planning on appealing to Premier Park (and, if necessary, POPLA) using the template on this forum / available on MSE.

Coupon-mad

I am not sure if still useful to you given the timescale of your appeal, but per the planning permission for the short-stay car park (Basingstoke and Deane, 19/00883/FUL, PA_Decision Notice, condition 6) the planning permission is contingent on operating the enforcement of the car park per a Technical Note dated September 2019.

From the Technical Note (section 2.13):
An initial offence would result in a warning letter being issued to the vehicle keeper through the DVLA database to which the car park management will be linked. Should a further offence be committed, a fixed price penalty, to be determined by the operating company, will be charged for overstaying the maximum time period, again issued through the DVLA database.

Very interesting Planning Permission.

It would be VERY good if the MHCLG could include that requirement as mandatory in housing estates and high street car parks (retail parks, shops, supermarkets, hotels, pubs, cinemas, gyms and GP surgeries especially) to act as part of the deterrent without unfairly penalising drivers.

Residents, shoppers and patrons of gyms and GP surgeries need fair warning and especially protecting from charges.

ballhelmet

I agree. I remember once getting a warning for missing a toll section of road - I haven't missed it again, so maybe a similar thing can work with parking.

I have appealed on the basis of incorrect enforcement of charges. Let's see.

I will try to identify the landowner and lodge a complaint with the planning authority for breach of planning consent.

mezzyd

Apologies for the delay in responding - here is a screenshot from the title deed & hope this helps.

ballhelmet

Thank you. Much appreciated! From a Google search it looked like "DTZ Investors" owns the site (news article from 2022) and I've emailed but no response. I will try Glasgow City Council too...

@mezzyd did you have any luck appealing to POPLA?

ballhelmet

Just to update this thread - the appeal to Premier Park was upheld, which I assume was on the basis of the planning permission. Thank you @mezzyd and @Coupon-mad for the help and advice!

Coupon-mad

That's very good news!

Please show us the appeal that won. It might help others later on, who find your thread.

ballhelmet

Dear [Parking Company Name / Parking Operator Name],

I am the registered keeper of vehicle [REGISTRATION / VRM], and I am writing to formally appeal the Parking Charge Notice [Insert Reference] issued in relation to an alleged parking incident on [Date of Parking Event] at St Michael’s Retail Park, Basingstoke.

Grounds for Appeal:
Breach of Planning Permission and Enforcement Procedures. The Parking Charge Notice was issued in breach of the site’s planning permission (Basingstoke and Deane application 19/00883/FUL), specifically Condition 6, which mandates that the ANPR operation and enforcement of the 30-minute dwell time be carried out according to the Technical Note (September 2019) and the British Parking Association's Code of Practice.

According to paragraph 2.13 of the Technical Note, an initial offence should result in a warning letter issued to the vehicle keeper via the DVLA database before any penalty charge is applied

I confirm that no such warning letter was received prior to this Parking Charge Notice. Therefore, the Notice was issued in breach of the approved enforcement procedure.

Action Requested:
I request that this Parking Charge Notice be cancelled immediately.

If you reject this appeal, please provide a POPLA code so I may escalate this matter to the independent appeals service. Additionally, please be advised that I am referring this breach of planning permission to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s Planning Enforcement team for their attention.

Yours faithfully,
[Your Full Name]
[Your Address – optional unless posting appeal]
[Date]