PAY AND DISPLAY COMING TO ROADS RUNNING ALONG SIDE MEDWAY MARITIME HOSPITAL

[BAILIFFCHASER]

From what I understand. Medway council is now pushing along putting in pay and display machines along Marlborough road , York avenue , Windmill road and also along part of Byron road. These will be located alongside Medway maritime hospital walls. I know there are a few petitions going around. What do you think ?

[The Bald Eagle]

@BAILIFFCHASER

Does the Medway Maritime Hospital charge for using its car park by any chance?

And have drivers avoided paying those charges by parking in the streets nearby?

If that's the case it would be interesting to know how many local residents have contacted the council to ask them to put in some kind of parking control?

Also, why use pay and display instead of implementing a residents parking scheme?

Something doesn't smell right here.

[The Bald Eagle]

Strike that last comment. Have just had a look on Googlemaps and it seems that on all of the roads mentioned there is some kind of residents parking scheme in place, sometimes combined with one hour free parking.

This smacks of profiteering, something that is contrary to law. Remember Attfield -v- Barnet council?

http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2013/2089.html&query=attfield&method=boolean

The circumstances in the Attfield case may have been different, but the principle that councils should not set out to make a profit from parking remains the same.

Perhaps a concerned Medway resident should be asking what changed and triggered the need to start charging for parking in the affected streets? 

[DastardlyDick]

Also, why use pay and display instead of implementing a residents parking scheme

Usually, Resident Permit Schemes involve the Residents paying the Council for their permits - on top of Council Tax, of course. I can see why people wouldn't want that.

I would have thought that single yellows in force from 10am - 4pm would do the trick.

[BAILIFFCHASER]

Strike that last comment. Have just had a look on Googlemaps and it seems that on all of the roads mentioned there is some kind of residents parking scheme in place, sometimes combined with one hour free parking.

This smacks of profiteering, something that is contrary to law. Remember Attfield -v- Barnet council?

http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2013/2089.html&query=attfield&method=boolean

The circumstances in the Attfield case may have been different, but the principle that councils should not set out to make a profit from parking remains the same.

Perhaps a concerned Medway resident should be asking what changed and triggered the need to start charging for parking in the affected streets? 

With medway it is the same story everywhere. They do it for traffic calming.

[The Bald Eagle]

With medway it is the same story everywhere. They do it for traffic calming.

If that's the case then surely the question is, how does starting to charge to park in an area that already has traffic calming measures in place add to traffic calming?

[BAILIFFCHASER]

How does one ick a stink up about this ?

[The Bald Eagle]

@BAILIFFCHASER

There will be a report somewhere (probably from someone in the parking department) where there is a recommendation to put in pay and display bays in the areas you highlighted. That report should be available somewhere on the council's website, because it will need full council approval before being implemented. Reports like these are normally published in meeting agenda papers prior to their being discussed at cabinet or council meetings.

An alternative would be to put in a FoI request for sight of the report. However, be aware that all such requests cost you, the taxpayer money to process, which is why I would urge you to try to find the information on the website first.

Once you have the relevant report/s, send them to us so that we can assess whether the council are getting up to naughtiness. What we want to see is what they say has changed, that requires the installation of profit making pay and display machines.

If it's all about the money, THAT is when you can kick up a stink. If there is a perfectly legitimate reason, there is no stink.

However, knowing the antics that Medway council have got up to in the past I suspect that you will find the biggest, smelliest pile of excrement since Tony Blair convinced the government to go to war in Iraq in order to find the non existent weapons of mass destruction.

Cynical?

Moi?

[BAILIFFCHASER]

Ok Will do this.