Changes to parking enforcement regulations March 2008 : Cumbria County Council

From 31 March 2008, new parking regulations together with national guidance were introduced. they cover both on and off-street parking and aim to make enforcement fairer and more transparent. They also seek to focus local authorities on tackling road safety and congestion. Regular reviews will be carried out to ensure the intended results are being achieved.

Cumbria's six district council's; Carlisle, Eden, South Lakeland, Barrow, Copeland and Allerdale act on behalf of Cumbria County Council (the Highway authority) in managing on-street parking. The district councils are responsible in their own right for managing off-street car parks.

The key elements of the new regulations are:

Under the new regulations the system for enforcing parking regulations will become known as Civil Parking Enforcement and, consequently, parking attendants will be called civil enforcement officers.

Streets and car parks will be patrolled by civil enforcement officers employed by the district council. When a car is parked in contravention of the regulations, they will issue a penalty charge notice from their hand held computer and photograph the vehicle. The penalty charge notice will detail what the offence was and give details outlining how to pay the required fine or appeal against the notice.

Differential penalty charges

Recognising that some offences have greater impact than others, the regulations introduce different levels of penalty charges, depending on the seriousness of the offence. For example, parking on a yellow line or in a disabled bay without a blue badge will attract a higher penalty (£70), while the penalty for staying too long in a free parking space is reduced to £50. This provides a greater deterrent to those who are tempted to park in a way that causes danger, disruption or difficulty for others. There is an early payment discount of 50% on all penalties if they are paid within the first 14 days.

The new legislation also aims to be fair to those on the receiving end of a penalty charge notice, for example:

If you receive a penalty charge notice you may submit a challenge and we will give full consideration to the points you have made and aim to respond within 14 days.

If you challenge the ticket within 14 days, but are unsuccessful, we will usually re-offer the early payment discount.

For those who wish to appeal further following the rejection of their initial challenge, there will be an appeal process, including the right for the appeal to be considered by an independent adjudicator.

Civil enforcement officers will be able to issue penalty charge notices for parking on zigzag lines at pedestrian crossings and within taxi ranks.

Enforcement of parking across dropped kerbs and for parking more than 50cm from the kerb is included in the regulations, subject to additional legislation.

In cases where the driver moves off or becomes aggressive before the penalty charge notice can be served, we will be able to serve it by post.

Authorities will also be able to use CCTV evidence to issue a penalty charge notice. This is not planned for Cumbria at the present time.

Civil parking enforcement seeks to strengthen the link between the purpose of the enforcement and the results that it achieves. Each year the council will publish an annual report showing the results of its enforcement.

Role of the police

The police will continue to enforce non traffic related traffic offences and obstruction on the highway.