DCLG to oversee off street parking. Like now.

[Ewan Hoosami]

And now for a weather report. A dark cloud has moved over Haywards Heath. The outlook is expected to be grim and frosty for the foreseeable.

------------------------------------------

House of Commons: Written Statement (HCWS402)
Prime Minister
Written Statement made by: Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron) on 12 Mar 2015.
Machinery of Government Change: Off-Street Parking

This written ministerial statement confirms that responsibility for off-street parking will transfer from the Department for Transport to the Department for Communities and Local Government. This includes Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 in respect of the recovery of unpaid parking charges. Responsibility for those aspects of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and the Traffic Management Act 2004 which relate to off-street parking, will also move to the Department for Communities and Local Government. This change is effective immediately.

-------------------------------

As reported by Pranky,
http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/picture-of-week-morely-outpickles-in.html

[Bazster]

Well he promised to do something about it.  Now he can.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2713646/We-curb-parking-cowboys-says-Cabinet-Minister-Victory-Mail-campaign-official-probe-launched-bully-boys.html

[DastardlyDick]

Well he promised to do something about it.  Now he can.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2713646/We-curb-parking-cowboys-says-Cabinet-Minister-Victory-Mail-campaign-official-probe-launched-bully-boys.html

Yes, we shall see....

I hope it works better than when Mr Pickles said he was going to make Councils resume weekly bin collections - most of them told him (politely) to F*** Off.

[The Bald Eagle]

Bet Mr trouser fire attempted to extinguish the flames with cack when he heard that news.



"This change is effective immediately."

[Ewan Hoosami]

If uncle Eric does nothing at all, it will have all been worth it just for next weeks hotly anticipated Wednesday Whingeing. I can almost hear the little piggies squealing from here.

[DastardlyDick]

If uncle Eric does nothing at all, it will have all been worth it just for next weeks hotly anticipated Wednesday Whingeing. I can almost hear the little piggies squealing from here.

Yes, I'm rather looking forward to that as well!

But what I'd really like to see is what happens in Haywards Heath when all the Local Authority members of the BPA ask Mr Trouser Fire "So, exactly why do we pay you large amounts of wonga to represent us with the government if this is the best you can do?"

[Bazster]

Did you see this week's Monday Mendacity?  The BPA described Pickles as a very bitter person with a twisted mind, and questioned whether he knows what he is doing.

Whoops!

Whatever rag-bag 5-party coalition we finish up with after the election it is to be hoped that Pickles remains in his office to show The Bullshit Purveyors Association how bitter and twisted he can really be if he puts his mind to it!

[2b1ask1]

Sounds like it is coming together... Good work!

Irks a bit when the Mail claim it is all down to them though!

[Kill Switch]

Irks a bit when the Mail claim it is all down to them though!

Damn right it does, "......in a victory for the Daily Mail." yeah right.

[Ewan Hoosami]

The press have been instrumental in opening the public's eyes to to the parking wea$els so I'll let them cream a percentage of the credit off the top. The main thing is we have prevented a not inconsequential amount of money being sucked out of the economy by the weasely parking industry. Besides, I know where the credit is due, you know where the credit is due, and the parking industry, they definitely know where the credit is due.

[Pat Pending]

Haha well said team NoToMob!  Remember this isn't the end its still the beginning. 

[DastardlyDick]

I bet Capita are well p***** off too, having bought Parking Eye for £57m!

Interesting that, according to the Mail, it was all started with Government funding!

[Pat Pending]

Anything that gets up Crapita's nose or hits their revenue stream is good in my book.

[Ewan Hoosami]

I'm thinking of renaming this thread "That bloke you slagged off last week, he's now your boss" as I've found another unhappy parking weasel.

http://www.localgov.co.uk/Pickles-parking-reforms-are-nonsense-says-councillor/38311


Pickles' parking reforms are 'nonsense', says councillor

Eric Pickles' parking reforms are 'nonsense' and could set costs soaring for all council tax payers, according to a Lib Dem councillor.

Cllr Iain Sharpe, cabinet member for regeneration and development at Watford BC, accused the Government of being 'unable to resist' trying to micromanage council policies that are best managed 'on the ground'.

His calls came just days after communities secretary Eric Pickles announced sweeping changes to parking enforcement, including a 10-minute 'grace period' for drivers before they are fined while parked in a bay and a ban on using CCTV enforcement at locations apart from schools, bus stops and bus lanes.

Pickles said his reforms were 'ending the war on drivers who simply want to go about their daily business', bringing 'big benefits for high streets, motorists and local authorities' and putting 'common sense' back into parking.

Yet writing on Lib Dem Voice, Cllr Sharpe refuted suggestions that councils were 'waging war' on the motorist or using parking as a 'cash cow'.

'Pickles' 10-minute nationally enforced grace period is nonsense,' Cllr Sharpe wrote. 'It seems to be based on an assumption that those parking where they shouldn't or longer than permitted are doing no harm. But in fact they may be holding up traffic unnecessarily, causing a safety hazard, preventing residents parking near their homes or depriving shops of potential paying customers.' Spokesweasels have been trumpeting that many councils already have a '10 minute grace period'. Thanks for clearing that up for us.

He said councils were already under 'strict' central government control on parking, with fines set nationally and a parking appeals service available to drivers.

'Councils must ring-fence money from on-street parking enforcement for transport use. It can fund public transport, walking and cycling, all of which can help to reduce parking pressures. If councils are denied this income though being obliged to issue fewer tickets, either there will be less money for transport schemes or the cost will effectively be transferred from those who park illegally to all council tax payers,' Cllr Sharpe added.

'There are always going to be conflicting views in any community about parking controls - but the point is these are best managed on the ground by those who are aware of specific local circumstances - not by diktat imposed from Whitehall and Westminster.' Diktat - an order or decree imposed by someone in power without popular consent.

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has said that the Government's measures will 'deliver a fairer deal for motorists and help boost the high street by ensuring that parking enforcement is proportionate, while also protecting school children and keeping key routes and bus lanes clear'.

For future reference it's Mr. or the Rt Hon Eric.

[DastardlyDick]

They're obviously either a) hoping that Pickles is not re-elected or b) think that he's done his worst, so they have nothing to lose.