https://www.transportxtra.com/publications/parking-review/news/48760/nick-lester-davis-passes-london-councils-transport-brief-to-spencer-palmerNick Lester-Davis passes London Councils' transport brief to Spencer Palmer
Lester-Davis will remain active on parking and low-emission vehiclesNick Lester-Davis, corporate director of services at London Councils, will be formally handing overall responsibility for transport issues to Spencer Palmer, who joined as director of transport and mobility last September.
Palmer will join London Councils’ corporate management team and take on wider management responsibilities.
Lester-Davis continues as corporate director, but his primary focus will be on a ‘challenge process’ that aims to inform thinking about what London local government requires from London Councils over the next five years.
He will also continue to lead London Councils’ work on ultra-low emission vehicles, electric vehicles and car sharing. He remains London Councils’ primary point of contact with the British Parking Association (BPA).
Lester-Davis will continue to have responsibility for services such as: Capital Ambition, the regional improvement and efficiency partnership for London; grants and communitty services; and Young People's Education and Skills (YPES).
London Councils and the BPA are set to undergo arbitration over payments relating to the operation of Parking on Private Land Appeals (PoPLA). London Councils says it is owed over £168,000 by the BPA, a figure the parking association disputes.
London Councils operated PoPLA on behalf of the BPA from its launch in November 2012 until September this year. The contract saw the BPA paying London Councils around £900,000 a year to hear appeals by drivers issued parking charge notices by members of its Approved Operator Scheme (AOS).
London Councils sought to operate the contract on a “non-profit, full cost recovery basis”, meaning that it recharged the BPA a proportion of its management time and management overhead.